dicted
by Homer.

The principal officer in ships intended for trade was the pilot: he was
expected to know the right management of the sails, rudder, &c. the wind,
and celestial bodies, the harbours, rocks, quick-sands, and course to be
steered. The Greeks were far behind the Phoenicians in many parts of
nautical knowledge: we have seen that the latter at an early period changed
the Greater for the Lesser Bear, for the direction of their course; whereas
the Greeks steered by the Greater Bear. In very early periods it was the
practice to steer all day by the course of the sun, and at night to anchor
near the shore. Several stars were observed by the pilot for the purpose of
foretelling the weather, the principal of which were Arcturus, the Dog
Star, Orion, Castor and Pollux, &c. In the time of Homer, the Greeks knew
only the four cardinal winds; they were a long time ignorant of the art of
subdividing the intermediate parts of the horizon, and of determining a
number of rhombs sufficient to serve the purposes of a navigation of small
extent. Even so late as the date of the Periphes of the Erythraean Sea,
which Dr. Vincent has fixed about the tenth year of Nero's reign, only
eight points of the compass are mentioned; these are the same as are marked
upon the temple of the winds at Athens. The utmost length to which the
ancients arrived in subdividing the compass, was by adding two intermediate
winds between each of the cardinal winds. We have noticed these particulars
relative to the winds and the constellations, in order to illustrate the
duty which the pilot had to perform, and the difficulty and responsibility
of his office, at a period when navigators possessed such a small portion
of experience and knowledge.

Besides the chief pilot, there was a subordinate one, whose duty it was to
keep a look out at the prow, to manage and direct the sails and rowers, and
to assist the principal pilot by his advice: the directions of the
subordinate pilot were conveyed to the rowers by another officer, who seems
to have answered to the boatswain of our men of war. The rowers were
enabled to pull all at once, or to keep time, by a person who sung and
played to them while they were employed. During the night, or in difficult
navigations, the charge of the sounding lead, or of the long poles, which
were used either for the same purpose, or to push the ship off, when she
got a-ground, was committed to a particular officer. There were,