The comparison assumes an Odyssey-era Greek setting around 1000 BC. Warships are distinguished from merchantmen, with early trireme-type designs linked to Phoenician practice in the Mediterranean. Merchant vessels generally used sails and a small crew, with rowing available for emergencies. Every additional rower consumed provisions and cost money, including an enslaved rower whose labor still required food. Roman restrictions on teaching navigation to enslaved people are also cited as evidence of concern about crews taking over ships. Seizing a vessel could enable escape or a turn to piracy.
Notable Point · 1:07:27-1:09:20
Why ancient merchants avoided large slave rowing crews
Early war galleys and merchant sailing ships had different crew requirements; the cost of feeding rowers and the possibility of escape also worked against large enslaved rowing crews.