The Greek ship Syracuse, according to some sources the largest ship built in antiquity, rightfully ranks among the most miraculous achievements of ancient shipbuilders.
Our knowledge about this ship is largely due to the Greek writer Athenaeus. According to his words, Hiero II, ruler of the Sicilian city of Syracuse (270-215 BC), commissioned the construction of Syracuse. It took a year to build the ship and as much timber as is needed for about 60 standard ships, so the material was even imported from Spain and Germany.
It was an unusual combination of an armed luxury passenger ship and a super-freighter, measuring 55 meters in length and with a carrying capacity of up to 1800 tons. It was propelled by twenty rows of oars and three masts, and besides weapons such as cranes for dropping stone projectiles on enemy ships, it also had a gigantic catapult designed by the famous Archimedes.
The third, highest deck was intended for about four hundred soldiers housed in eight large armored towers. On the second deck, there would be There were 142 cabins located on board, intended for first-class passengers, while the lowest deck was used for cargo transport. The water tank had a fascinating capacity of 800 tons, and right next to it was a tank for seawater, ensuring a constant supply of fresh fish on board. There was also a stable for twenty horses, a massive kitchen equipped with four flour mills and bread ovens, as well as numerous storage rooms for various supplies.
The officer’s deck had a bathroom with three bronze bathtubs, a fighting arena, and a promenade with urns and flower beds. On the same deck, there was a shrine of the goddess Aphrodite with a floor made of semi-precious stone and doors made of cedar wood and ivory. Passengers also had access to a richly equipped library, with floors and walls adorned with meticulously crafted mosaics and illustrations of stories from the Iliad.
Due to its grandeur, Siracusa faced an unsolvable problem – it was so large that only one port in the Mediterranean could accommodate it. Therefore, it had And only one journey; packed with grain, it set off from Sicily towards Alexandria, where it was gifted to King Ptolemy, who promptly had this ship giant run aground.
By the middle of the 2nd century BC, the fashion of building ships of such immense dimensions disappeared, and Mediterranean shipbuilders returned to constructing smaller and more practical projects.