Preliminary communication

WIND DIRECTION AS ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IN NAVIGATION ON THE ADRIATIC IN GREEK AND ROMAN PERIOD

Tomislav Bilić orcid.org/0000-0001-6587-2561 ; Archaeological Museum in Zagreb

Abstract

An often (undeservedly) neglected aspect of navigation on the Adriatic is the influence of wind direction on the sailing along both shores of the sea in Greek and Roman period. The classical literary sources that describe the eastern shore of the Adriatic generally proceed from NW to SE. I believe that the reason behind this is the fact that ancient ships could not sail directly upwind, moreover, they could not sail on a course that lay within seven compass points of the direction of the wind. This conditioned the fact that the Greeks had to sail into the Adriatic along its western shore, while they followed its eastern shore on their way back. The most frequent winds during the course of the year at different points on the eastern shore of the Adriatic and their influence on navigation are also discussed. Finally, a comparison is offered with one of the most important sea routes in the Roman Empire, the Rome-Alexandria-Rome route.

Keywords

Greek and Roman navigation on the Adriatic; wind direction

Hrčak ID:

83499

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/83499

Publication date:

27.6.2012.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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