HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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serable remnant which escaped, returning back to Athens, carried thitherthe first intelligence of the misfortune which had befallen the armament,and of the wretched state to which their then surviving companions werereduced.

It was very shrewdly and properly remarked, that the Athenians, had theyexerted the wisdom which it appears they very undeservedly acquired the cha-racter of possessing, might have derived more advantage from the useful lessonwhich this unfortunate expedition afforded them, than would have completelycounterbalanced its want of success : that could they have learned to fix properbounds to their ambitious desires, they would have been content with their ownterritories, would have confined their means of defence to them only, and notaimed at the conquest of distant countries, in which project, should they evenprove successful, they must of necessity lessen the ability of defending their own.They contemned, however, the doctrine of experience, and by that means volun-tarily effected, some years afterwards, through their own obstinacy, the total de-struction of one of the most powerful republics at that time existing in the world.

Such was the origin, such the history, and such the fate, of the Athenianmarine! It is apparent, from the testimony of many writers, that the vesselswhich composed it, were, during the earlier ages of the republic, little betterthan mere open boats. To the genius of the renowned Themistocles, whodied about four hundred and fifty years before Christ, they were indebted forthe first points of improvement, both in the mode of fitting gallies so as torender them more capable of defence against, as well as of offence toward,their enemies. His ideas were rendered still more effectual in respect to thispurpose which they were intended to answer, by the zeal and ingenuity ofCimon, who first introduced the custom of decks, or constructing a platform in^allies, which extended above the rowers, from the stem to the stern, serving

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as a proper footing, or place, for the soldiers to stand on, who defended thevessel. Previous to this necessary addition, even the triremes of the Athenianswere so contemptible in respect to force, that at the battle of Salamis, whichtook place only thirty years before the death of T hemistocles, the largest ofthe Grecian vessels carried, according to the testimony of Plutarch, onlyeighteen soldiers, exclusive of the rowers, and persons occupied in workingthe galley. The ingenuity of Cimon was immediately productive of the mostdecisive advantage to his country ; for having suddenly attacked the Persianfleet, which consisted of six hundred triremes, two hundred of them were lost,

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