The Phoenicians, the Ancient Greeks, and the Romans used the trireme, a type of ancient ship and galley, widely throughout the Mediterranean. The trireme's name refers to a three-row oar with one person in every oar. The evolution of the ancient warships Penteconter, which had 25 oars lined up on each side, and the Bireme, a two-bank warship from Phoenicia, led to the creation of the earliest triremes. It was a swift, maneuverable ship that saw extensive use between the seventh and fourth century BC. The bigger quadriremes and quinqueremes eventually took its place as the dominant warship in the Mediterranean.
 
The trireme was crucial to the outcome of the Peloponnese War, the foundation of the Athenian Navy Empire, and the Persian War.
 
The trireme was first created by the Phoenicians, as most scholars agree. According to Thucydides, the Corinthians were the first people to employ triremes on the Greek mainland circa 700 BCE. However, the Athenians created a fleet of triremes that was powerful enough to control the Aegean Sea.