The Trireme was used by people of the Mediterranean Sea from the 7th to the 4th century BC and gets its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar. The rowing men were not slaves, but were free men who were paid to row. In Ancient Greece, soldiers (called Hoplites)) had to buy their own armour and weapons so men too poor to afford them became trireme rowers in wartime. They had to have a lot of practice at rowing as, during a battle, the ship had to be able to stop, start and turn very quickly. 