THE ANCIENT SAILING SEASON

We are offering you to have a glance at this comprehensive and thorough examination of the effects that the shifting seasons used to have on the maritime industry plus on the warfare and pirate activities during antiquity; the publication prepared by James Beresford has overturned most of the long-held assumptions and beliefs concerning the capabilities of the Graeco-Roman vessels together with their sailors.

The volume is remarkably well-written and the way of presenting the information makes it interesting and entertaining to read. One of the greatest features of this book is the ability to distinguish between the generalized traditional academic views and present readers with a variability in sailing conditions in the Mediterranean region of those times. The author of the volume has taken quite a close look at one of the most serious constraints that the ancient navigators faced, i.e. the sailing season.

Traditionally, sailors of the ancient time used to go to the sea only during the time period between the onset of Spring and continuing up to the setting of the Pleiades. The authors has subjected this idea to very detailed examination by reviewing the ancient sources of information directly discussing the sailing season not limited to the Roman and Greek documents but also including the Hebrew papers...