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The role of marines in Greek naval warfare
#1
I've seen and read precious little works on roles of marines in Greek warfare from the Persian Wars to the end of the Diadokhi. I have a keen interest in the history of marine forces, coming from a USMC family, and I'd like to know more about the history of how marine forces worked in these time periods. I'll use the Peloponnesian Wars-era trireme as I believe it's the ship and era with the most research.

First, I assume marines were not needed to keep the crew in line. In the Napoleonic Wars, marines were professionally employed full-time by their government, which made them more likely to do what they were told unlike sailors who were pressed into service in times of need; in Athens or Corinth, the sailors were just as professionally employed as everyone else, and as such did not require such a stern leadership to keep them busy.

Marines have traditionally been the fighting force aboard the ship, so that even while the ship's battery(guns in the modern era, but the ram in the ancient times) was the primary offensive weapon, that would not be the only option available to a captain or treirarch. Marines would also defend the ship against boarding actions.

In Stephen Pressfield's book The Tides of War, he describes marines having actions which could contribute to a ship such as rushing to the bow of the ship just before ramming another trireme, so that the ram might be pushed farther underwater and hole the ship below the waterline. Also mentioned is having to throw javelins and defend from a kneeling position, etc. I'm not totally sure as to the veracity of such claims but I'd sure like to know more about how marines were equipped, and their roles, aboard ships during the Peloponnesian Wars and beyond.
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