In this history of Homer's references to ships and seafaring, author 
Samuel Mark reveals patterns in the way that Greeks built ships and 
approached the sea between 850 and 750 B.C. In discussing and 
clarifying the terms used by Homer, Mark refers to scholarly literature 
as well as examples from recent excavations of ancient shipwrecks.

    In Homeric Seafaring, in which the subjects are partly historical, 
partly archaeological, and partly myth and legend, Mark reaches 
several tentative, but nonetheless surprising, conclusions: that in an 
agricultural society, seafaring was a common activity, even among 
the nobles; that hugging the coast could be more treacherous than 
sailing across open sea; that Homeric ships were built mainly to be 
sailed, instead of rowed; that sea battles were relatively common; 
that helmsmen were crucial to a safe voyage; and that harbors were 
little more than natural anchorages. Mark's discussion of Homer's 
geography covers theories that posit Odysseus sailing in the Adriatic 
and Mediterranean Seas and on the Atlantic Ocean.

    This comprehensive and meticulous study of Homer's references 
to ships and seafaring is sure to become a standard study on the 
subject.

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SAMUEL MARK holds a Ph.D. in nautical archaeology. He currently 
teaches anthropology at Texas A&M University at Galveston. He is 
the author of From Egypt to Mesopotamia: A Study of Predynastic 
Trade Routes, also published by Texas A&M University Press.


Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series


What people are saying about this book

"While some of the conclusions will provoke questions, the author 
has supported his arguments carefully and acknowledges any 
ambiguous evidence. On a more general level, he has contributed a 
study of eighth-century ship construction and seafaring that is 
unlikely to be surpassed for some time."—International Journal of 
Maritime History, Fall 2006