Ancient Greeks were stronger than today's athletes

Even with the contemporary to training and the diet, it would be today difficult to find the sufficiency of selected athletes for the actuating of Ancient Greek fleet from the rowing warships - Athenian screening machine.

At such conclusion arrived doctor Garry rossiter, trainer- physiologist from The lidsskeyeo university (Great Britain), as a result of a study, which he published in periodical New Scientist.

In this experience Of rossiter was measured the intensity of exchange of substances in contemporary athletes with rowing in the rekonstruirovannoy Athenian screening machine, he writes Epoch Times. The metabolism of athletes they measured by the portable analyzers of metabolism, and the energy consumption of the selective number of athletes, who set to screening machine into the motion, it was noted for a number of different speeds in order to estimate the productivity of the human engine of this warship.

Rossiter compared obtained information with the classical texts and arrived at the conclusion that the ancient Athenian rowers would be considered as the elite athletes even according to today's sport standards.

Athenian screening machines - the ancient warships long 37 it is meter, which were set in motion by rowers, located into three tiers. According to Rossitera, the ancient Athenians at any time had at their disposal to 200 a screening machine, for each of whom was required 170 rowers.

Thus, in the ancient Athenians was the large group of the rowers, who could compose worthy competition to the best today's athletes. The information Of rossitera, are similar, they indicate that these ancient rowers were genetically better those fitted out to the endurance tests, than contemporary people.

Rossiter worked together with one additional expert, professor Boris rankov from the London university, at interpretation in the classical texts of the details of that, by how hardy there were ancient rowers. In one of the examples, in the texts the Athenian meeting, which sent to screening machine, was mentioned, in order to arrange slaughter to the inhabitants Of mitileny city, which mutinied on Lesbos island, that in the eastern part of the Aegean sea. Meeting thought over and sent other to screening machine in order to stop slaughter house. According to records, the second of screening machine had to travel way during 24 hour.

Because of of this type to historical records, Rossiter could approximately calculate average stable speeds screening machine. On the basis of the data about metabolism and energy consumption in rowers in that recreated screening machine, it drew the conclusion that, if the historical evidences were accurate, then it would be today difficult to find the sufficiency of athletes, who would be sufficiently trained in order to set in motion such warships.


Screening machines in their time became significant breakthrough in the sea battles, after allowing Athenians to rule at sea. Athenian of screening machine, besides 170 rowers, included 20 members of the crew, 10 seamen and captain. Rowers sat on three tiers from each side - on 31 in the upper, 27 on the average and 27 in the lower tiers. Construction and quantity of rowers made possible for screening machines to be sufficiently rapid and maneuverability in order to ram and to make a hole others of vessel, which became new tactics in the battles at sea.