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[[File:ACO Klysma Trireme.jpg|thumb|250px|A trireme docked near the Klysma Quarry]]
A '''trireme''' (Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; [[Greece|Ancient Greek]]: τριήρης ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient sea-faring vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], especially the {{wiki|Phoenicia|Phoenicians}}, ancient Greeks, and [[Rome|Romans]].<ref name="The Athenian Trireme">Coates, John F. (2000). ''The Athenian Trireme''. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 127–230.</ref><ref>Welsh, Frank (1988). ''Building the Trireme''. London: Constable and Company Limited.</ref>

==History==
The [[Korinthia]]ns are regarded as the inventors of this ship class.<ref name="Bounty">''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' – [[Bounty on a Spartan Ship]]</ref>

Triremes played a vital role in the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], as the [[Achaemenid Empire]] used triremes to transport [[soldier]]s to battles of [[Battle of Marathon|Marathon]] and [[Battle of Thermopylae|Thermopylae]], and the ships were the basis of the [[Athens|Athenian]] maritime empire as well as its eventual downfall in the [[Peloponnesian War]].

In 431 BCE, the [[Sparta]]n ''[[Mercenary|misthios]]'' [[Kassandra]] became the commander of the ''[[Adrestia]]'', a light trireme captained by [[Barnabas]].<ref name="ACOd">''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey''</ref>
[[File:ACOD Persian Fleet.png|thumb|229x229px|Persian ships during the Battle of Thermopylae.]]
After the 4th century BCE triremes were gradually superseded by the larger {{wiki|quadriremes}} and {{wiki|quinqueremes}}.{{Fact|June 2019}}

Triremes were used as late as the [[Egypt|Ptolemaic dynasty]] by Ptolemy's soldiers and Romans alike during the late-1st century BCE.<ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref>

==Qualities==
Triremes were larger than [[bireme]]s, whereas [[penteconter]]s were smallest of the three classes. During the Peloponnesian War in the 5th century BCE the triremes were further classified into light and heavy variants, as well as elite versions of these. The heavy triremes had multiple sails and heavier artillery at their disposal than their lighter counterparts.<ref name="ACOd" />

==Behind the scenes==
Characters in ''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' say ''trireme'' with Greek pronunciation. This is slightly false, since trireme is an English word, derived from the Latin word ''trirēmis''. The Greek word for trireme is [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/τριήρης τριήρης] (''triērēs'').

==Appearances==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]''
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Nexus VR]]''

==References==
{{GalleryBox|Trireme}}
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Triremes]]