There Were, Besides,
Men Whose Duty It Was To Serve Out The Victuals, To Keep The Ship's
Accounts, &C.
The usual day's sail of a ship of the ancients was five hundred stadia, or
fifty miles; and the course run over, when they sailed night and day,
double that space.
We have confined ourselves, in this account of the ships of the ancients,
principally to those particulars that are connected with the construction,
equipment, &c. of those employed for commercial purposes, and shall now
proceed to a historical sketch of the progress of discovery among the
Greeks, from the earliest records to the era of Herodotus, the father of
geographical knowledge.
The first maritime expedition of the Greeks, of which we have a particular
narration, and certainly one of the most celebrated in ancient times, is
the Argonautic expedition. As we purpose to go into some length on the
subject of this expedition, it may be proper to defend ourselves from the
charge of occupying too much space, and giving too much attention to an
enterprize generally deemed fabulous, and so obscured by fable and
uncertainty, as to be little capable of illustration, and little conducive
to the improvement of geographical knowledge. This defence we shall borrow
from a name deservedly high among those who have successfully illustrated
ancient geography, for the happy and successful mutual adaptation of great
learning and sound judgment, and not less worthy of respect and imitation
for his candour and liberality: we allude to Dr. Vincent, the illustrator
of the Voyage of Nearchus, and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
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