part of the crew which manned an Athenian vessel. The triremes of this people were of two sorts, either swift-sailing vessels or transport ships. The latter were filled with land forces which it was intended to transport to some particular point, and, being heavily laden, were never employed in battle excepting in cases of great emergency; the former contained only the necessary crew for the working and defence of the vessel. The troops embarked in these transports were, like all other passengers by sea, called Epibatae. But the crew also of the swift-sailing vessels consisted of two distinct bodies of men; the soldiers intended for their defence, called Epibate, who seem to have occupied the place of our marines; and the sailors who were employed for the purpose of working the vessel. These Epibatae were perfectly distinct from the land forces, the oplitae and pelleteae, and were entirely devoted to the sea. It seems difficult to decide how many of them were attached to each ship, for there are only two passages in ancient authors from which any inference can be drawn. Herodotus (vi. 15) says, that the Chians, when they armed one hundred ships against the Persians, embarked forty able-bodied citizens as Epibate in each trireme; whilst Plutarch (in Themist. 14) tells us that there were only eighteen Epibate on board the Attic triremes at Salamis, four of whom were archers, and the rest heavy-armed men. See Böckh, Die Staatsverwaltung der Athener, vol. i. p. 301, Berlin, 1817.