The Athenian fleet is one of the most iconic endeavours of the Greek city-state, a symbol of democracy and naval supremacy. Thanks to its navy, Athens gained power over the seas especially between 480 and 322 BCE. But where are the sails? Many ship archaeologists have studied the construction technology and function of the wooden parts of a trireme, while studies concerning the production and function of the sails are rare. While textile archaeology focuses on the production of garments and utilitarian textiles, it aims to bridge this gap in scholarship. Although the sails were not the main source of energy for the propulsion of a war ship, they remain a vital part of the ships equipment and are recorded in detail in the 4th c. BC naval inscriptions from Piraeus.

This lecture will present the recent results of the research on sails and rigging of the Athenian war ships.

Stella Spantidaki is an archaeologist specialised in archaeological textiles. She studied archaeology at the Universities of Crete and Tübingen and continued with postgraduate studies in textile archaeology at the Sorbonne University and in museology in the École du Louvre. In her PhD at the Universities of Paris Sorbonne and Heidelberg, she focused on textile production in classical Athens. Her study has been published by Oxbow Books in 2016. Since 2015, she is the Director of ARTEX, the Hellenic Centre for Research and Conservation of Archaeological Textiles in Athens and since 2018 she teaches Classical archaeology at the Department of Mediterranean Studies, Aegaeum University. She is interested in the interdisciplinary research of the available sources: written sources, iconography, textile tools and extant textiles, as well as experimental archaeology and the use of digital techniques in the service of cultural heritage.