Compared to the grinding tedium of travel overland, travel by water, if the winds were favorable, seemed almost immediate. Thus, while the Greeks had many words for the sea, their favorite term was pontos, a word that never entirely severed its connotation of a bridge.
As there were no dedicated passenger boats, those wishing to travel by sea booked passage aboard merchant vessels destined, ideally, for the same port. The largest of the grain ships might take on 600 passengers (Joseph. Vit. 15); but on Paul’s ship to Rome, there were 276 people in all, of which perhaps 260 were passengers (Acts 27: 37). Synesius tells us that he traveled with about fifty other passengers, a third of whom were women ( Ep. 4). Those desiring to go from Rome to Alexandria were the most fortunate. The capital city’s constant need for wheat insured a steady stream of huge cargo ships. These freighters offered no special amenities for travelers, but typically made good time. Those wishing to go to less frequented destinations had to resign themselves to several layovers and the use of progressively smaller vessels. A passenger heading to Palestine from Rome was well advised to board a grain ship for Alexandria and proceed from there to Palestine (Philo, In Flacc. 5. 26).
During the summer months, when the so-called ‘‘yearly’’ or ‘‘etesian’’ winds blew steadily from the northwest, the run from Rome to Alexandria was relatively speedy, with two weeks being average. But the return voyage was a laborious affair; boats skirted the coast of Roman Palestine until they could cross on the leeward side of the island of Rhodes. From there, they sailed to Crete, before striking across to Malta and on to Sicily. Only then could they make their way up the western side of Italy into the harbor at Puteoli or Ostia (Ramsay 1904: 379-81). This circuitous route usually took about two months, but might be longer. When Gregory of Nazianzus sailed from Alexandria to Greece, he reached Rhodes only on the twentieth day (Or. 18. 31). Even with a favorable wind, ancient ships probably averaged no more than 4 to 6 knots, and against the wind, half of that or less.
Unlike modern sailing craft, which are more at risk when sailing close to land, ancient ships were most vulnerable on the open sea. Sudden strong gusts of wind brought pressure to bear on the huge central sail, causing the central mast to work like a giant lever and splinter the ship’s hull (Ramsay 1904: 399; Acts 27; Achilles
Tatius, Leucippe and Cleitophon 3.3. 1-5. 5). In addition to the danger of storms and pirates (Achilles Tatius 5. 7; Chrysostom, De virg. 24. 2), travelers had to contend with the inevitable bouts of seasickness (Oldelehr 1977).
Most people who wished to travel by sea simply walked the quays asking where ships were bound, as Libanius did in ad 340 when looking for passage from Constantinople to Athens (Or. 1. 31). But in Rome’s great port city of Ostia, a square directly inland from the harbor held the offices of all the merchants plying trade overseas. A prospective traveler might simply make a round of the square to book passage on any ship (Casson 1988: 361). Because ships did not sail on a schedule, passengers were then compelled to linger about the waterfront until a herald announced their ship’s departure (August. Conf. 5.8; Philostr. VA 8. 14).
As the hold was mostly reserved for cargo, ballast, and packing material, there was limited room for passengers below board. A few might travel down by the bilge water in the ancient equivalent of steerage. Lucian’s characters describe these quarters as so cramped and uncomfortable that they were fit only for criminals (Jupp. trag. 48; see Athenaeus, Learned Banquet 5. 207-8). Most passengers camped out on the open deck, either setting up temporary shelters or simply rolling out bedding (Achilles Tatius, 2. 33. 1; Petron. Sat. 100. 6; Lucian, Toxaris 20; Pachomius, Reg. 119). Well-to-do travelers brought on board an impressive array of creature comforts with a corps of servants to deploy them but, for the majority, few amenities were available. Fresh drinking water was provided from a specially lined tank located either in the hold or on deck (Gregory of Nazianzus, Poemata 11. 145-7; Casson 1971: 177). In boats equipped with a galley, passengers might make use of it once the crew had been fed (Van Doorninck 1972: 137-44). The only other convenience may have been a latrine. Some relief sculptures show a small covered structure perched over the water on the stern directly behind the steering apparatus, but this is only a guess (Casson 1971: 180).
Having discovered a kind of concrete capable of setting under water, Roman engineers were able to construct breakwaters to insure calm harbors. In Alexandria, the first lighthouse was acclaimed as one of the seven wonders of the world. Like all lighthouses in antiquity, it served to guide boats into the harbor rather than to warn them of dangerous rocks or reefs (Casson 1988: 362). This function is clear in Chrysostom’s praise of monastic life: ‘‘There is a calm port. [Monks] are like beacons sending forth their light from a high point to those sailing in from afar. Stationed in the harbour, drawing all people to their own tranquility, they preserve from shipwreck those who look to them’’ (Hom. in Ep. 1 ad Tim. 14. 3).
Having arrived in port, passengers headed further inland might reembark, as did Lady Poemenia, on smaller vessels designed to travel along rivers (Palladius, Hist. Laus. 35; Hunt 1982: 76-7). Traveling upstream on rivers such as the Danube, Rhlone, or Seine, often demanded towing, which was effected usually by humans but sometimes by animals. For this reason, towpaths were a common feature along both sides of the riverbanks.
Travel by sea, potentially so swift, was available only part of the year. From November 10 until March 10, the sea was ‘‘closed.’’ During the winter season, only vessels constrained by need, such as the Roman grain ships and military craft, plied the waters (Rouge 1966: 32-3). Travel was restricted not only because of the risk of storms but also because of the increased cloud cover that precluded navigation (Casson 1988: 357).
Even this brief overview of the infrastructure of travel by land and by sea in Late Antiquity reveals its extraordinary scope. As impressive as the monumentality of the system is the mobility that it insured. Both of these aspects, I suggest, were always about power. The long reach of the road and water transport system was synonymous with the grasp of Rome; and the mobility it fostered was fundamental to the creation of imperial subjects.
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