Trierarch ( gr, τριήραρχος, triērarchos) was the title of officers who commanded a

trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizat ...

(''triēres'') in the classical Greek world. In

Classical Athens The city of Athens ( grc, Ἀθῆναι, ''Athênai'' .tʰɛ̂ː.nai̯ Modern Greek: Αθήναι, ''Athine'' or, more commonly and in singular, Αθήνα, ''Athina'' .'θi.na during the classical period of ancient Greece (480–323 BC) wa ...

, the title was associated with the trierarchy (τριηραρχία, ''triērarchia''), one of the public offices or liturgies, which were filled by wealthy citizens for a year. As the name implies, the trierarch was responsible for the outfitting and crewing of a trireme, and for commanding it in battle. Trierarchs thus had to be men of considerable means, since the expenses incurred could run as high as a talent in the course of a year. As the cost of the office was great, co-trierarchs (''syntriērarchoi'') were also appointed. By the 4th century BC, trierarchies in Athens were assumed by navy boards (''

symmoria The ''symmoria'' ( el, συμμορία, pl. συμμορίαι, ''symmoriai'') was a group of wealthy citizens in Classical Athens during the 4th century BC, assessed together for the purposes of taxation. Fiscal ''symmoriai'' The ''symmoriai'' ...

i''), as the financial burden of the job had become too great.

References

*Hornblower, Simon, and Anthony Spawforth ed., ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (Oxford University Press, 2003)

External links

Alexander's Courtiers
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505233106/http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t57.html , date=2016-05-05 Ancient Greek titles Military ranks of ancient Greece Military ranks of ancient Macedon Navy of ancient Athens