12-08-2019, 04:04 PM
The standard view is that proper hammocks were absent on ancient ships and that sailors slept on the wooden planks and the rowing benches.
Upon closer examinations though there is some scattered evidence in ancient literature that a sort of hammock existed. Alcibiades is said to have used a bed on ropes on galleys for comfort according to Plutarch. There are also some references in Latin to "lecti pensiles" and "suspensi lecti", ironically in a medical context. These may or may not have been more akin to porch swings, that is fixed vertically at the ceiling, we cannot tell.
And there are some more in Greek I cannot read:
- Aristophanes, Clouds, 218ff.: νὴ Δί᾽ οἰμώξεσθ᾽ ἄρα. φέρε τίς γὰρ οὗτος οὑπὶ τῆς κρεμάθρας ἀνήρ; Would you translate the piece Socrates is in as hammock or basket?
- Galen, De Sanitate Tuenda (Hygiene) 2, II, K 6, 150 uses the word skimpous according to secondary literature. How would you translate that (I haven't found the Greek text online).
The ambiguous literary evidence aside, we can almost certainly discount the hope for any archaeological finds as the material out of which hammocks are made is chronically perishable. But maybe somewhere has iconographic evidence surfaced in the meantime? I know it is always dangerous to infer from the usefulness of an item to its actual existence but at least the idea of sailors sleeping on benches in a restless sea strikes me as absurd. It would not add up for reasons of space alone, given that the rowers found themselves already in pretty cramped conditions while sitting and rowing upright on them.
So perhaps the naval hammock existed after all despite the absence of clear evidence.
Upon closer examinations though there is some scattered evidence in ancient literature that a sort of hammock existed. Alcibiades is said to have used a bed on ropes on galleys for comfort according to Plutarch. There are also some references in Latin to "lecti pensiles" and "suspensi lecti", ironically in a medical context. These may or may not have been more akin to porch swings, that is fixed vertically at the ceiling, we cannot tell.
And there are some more in Greek I cannot read:
- Aristophanes, Clouds, 218ff.: νὴ Δί᾽ οἰμώξεσθ᾽ ἄρα. φέρε τίς γὰρ οὗτος οὑπὶ τῆς κρεμάθρας ἀνήρ; Would you translate the piece Socrates is in as hammock or basket?
- Galen, De Sanitate Tuenda (Hygiene) 2, II, K 6, 150 uses the word skimpous according to secondary literature. How would you translate that (I haven't found the Greek text online).
The ambiguous literary evidence aside, we can almost certainly discount the hope for any archaeological finds as the material out of which hammocks are made is chronically perishable. But maybe somewhere has iconographic evidence surfaced in the meantime? I know it is always dangerous to infer from the usefulness of an item to its actual existence but at least the idea of sailors sleeping on benches in a restless sea strikes me as absurd. It would not add up for reasons of space alone, given that the rowers found themselves already in pretty cramped conditions while sitting and rowing upright on them.
So perhaps the naval hammock existed after all despite the absence of clear evidence.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
