If this theory be correct, then the problem of how the various classes of galleys were rowed is solved; for, if this was the principle of their classification, the difficulty does not increase with their dimensions, as is the case in all other theories; the extreme height of the highest bank of rowers, either in the case of the quinquereme, or in that of any of the larger vessels, being not necessarily more than nine feet above the water. At the word of command from the officer, who walked upon the elevated portion of the deck, and guided by the leading men, who were stationed at the inner end of the oars, the rowers, when seated, stretched the handles of their oars as far aft as their arms would permit, as shown in the following representation:— [Illustration] The action of the rowers would, however, in some measure be regulated by the size of the galley and the space at their disposal. Placed alternately, those who worked at the lower tiers would, in all galleys, have full swing for their oars, as the footstools of the rowers who sat above them would not interfere with the free action of their bodies, though such might appear to be the case by the side representation, which in itself, and without reference to the front view, necessarily fails to show their exact position. But while the men in small galleys, no doubt, rowed from their seats, there is every reason to suppose that in the larger vessels, where great numbers of rowers were employed, they rose, if seated, and after moving forward, according to the space at their disposal, threw themselves backward into their seats with an impetus as simultaneous and harmonious as it would be possible to attain without the aid of a machine to regulate their joint action. Indeed, the ancients practised this art with the greatest care, and the rowers were frequently exercised on benches erected on the shore, and their harmonious movements were sometimes made an object of display in their theatres. In nearly every case they plied their oars to the sound of either vocal or instrumental music, so that a fleet of the larger description of galleys, when under way on the smooth waters of the Levant, must have been, as various ancient authors describe, a heart-stirring and magnificent display. Vossius, Le Roy, and all who have written on the subject of how the rowers were placed at their oars, though they differ less or more from each other, and fail, as we conceive, to propound a theory applicable to vessels of every class, agree in the opinion that the rowers were divided into classes, and that the _thranitæ_, who pulled the longest and highest oars and had the greatest amount of labour, “were exposed to the darts of the enemy.” For these reasons they received, as we learn from Thucydides, the highest pay; and from the same authority we ascertain that even the largest description of galleys “were _not_ decked _throughout_.”[401]