Mortal Gods - Athenian Marine Hoplites

The Athenian navy was by far the most superior to all other Greek city-states. In all, they had 300 triremes ready to fight at any time with the money to man them for nearly two years would they have had the manpower to do so (it would have taken tens of thousands of able-bodied men). Typically, the whole Athenian navy wasn’t needed, and most of these ships were kept in reserve or docked. The naval vessels operating would have been grouped into smaller fleets (up to twenty vessels or so) to handle the securing of trade routes and patrolling hostile waters. No navy at the time could compare with Athens in pedigree and skill with which an Athenian trireme crew could manage a ship in both combat and transit.