Greece is a country with long tradition in the art of sailing. So it is expected many stamps to have the icon of a ship.
Ivory Plaque, Ship with warriors, one person fishing, three persons are adjusting the sail, on the left side a pair. Greece has a very rich tradition in maritime trade. Under Greek or foreign flags Greek owners with their ships control around 16% of the world trade. The information about ancient Greek ships is very limited. The problem is that the wood with which these ships are built does not survive long enough in the sea. The lifetime of wooden ships is very limited as we for example know from various stories such as that of Columbus and his last voyage to America where he had problems that his ships after the long time in sea water were so much destroyed (eaten up by worms) that there was always a danger of sinking. After a few centuries sunken ships are eaten up by various organisms in the sea and therefore it is not surprising that almost none of the ancient Greek ships survived. We know what we know from literature sources such as from Homer describing Odysseus building a ship or from pottery images or from fresco paintings. Here the problem is how much these images (or text) are artistic and how much they represent the reality.
Homer describes in the second book of the Iliad how 1186 Greek ships were used for the transport of the Greek army to Troy or Ilios which was probably derived from Wilusa. The reason for this expedition was not the beautiful Helena but probably to obtain the control of the passage to the black sea from Troy (a city that now is known as Troy VIIa and which was destroyed by the Greeks in 1180 BC ) . Among the ships Homer describes that each of the 50 Boetian Ships carried 120 warriors. The ships were probably covered by a black paint (probably pitch for the protection of the wood) and had a single sail. When the Greek Ships arrived in Troy they were drawn on land and were surrounded by a wall for their protection, a procedure used later as described also by Julius Caesar. The anchor was a simple heavy stone. Homer describes how Odysseus built his own Ship by cutting 20 trees. Navigation at that time was probably mostly limited close to the land and not on the open sea without sight of the land.
Where the U.S. Postal Service seems uninterested in Pilgrim related matters, other countries pick up the slack. Here we have a nice combination set featuring the Pilgrims and the future residents of Pitcairn landing in their respective New Worlds.
A tugboat! The museum is landlocked in the neighborhood of Crown Heights (not as luxurious as it sounds). However, the museum was undergoing a major renovation which meant several people, including me, had to set up shop in temporary offices in the neighborhood of DUMBO. For any non New Yorkers out there, DUMBO stands for "down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass". It's an old industrial warehouse district (now turned yuppie gallery district) right on the East River between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges. The tugboat watching in DUMBO is fantastic. Weather permitting I would eat my lunch everyday outdoors in Brooklyn Bridge Park and count tugboats. Good times.
Greek Ships
Greece is a country with long tradition in the art of sailing. So it is expected many stamps to have the icon of a ship.Ivory Plaque, Ship with warriors, one person fishing, three persons are adjusting the sail, on the left side a pair.
Greece has a very rich tradition in maritime trade. Under Greek or foreign flags Greek owners with their ships control around 16% of the world trade. The information about ancient Greek ships is very limited. The problem is that the wood with which these ships are built does not survive long enough in the sea. The lifetime of wooden ships is very limited as we for example know from various stories such as that of Columbus and his last voyage to America where he had problems that his ships after the long time in sea water were so much destroyed (eaten up by worms) that there was always a danger of sinking. After a few centuries sunken ships are eaten up by various organisms in the sea and therefore it is not surprising that almost none of the ancient Greek ships survived. We know what we know from literature sources such as from Homer describing Odysseus building a ship or from pottery images or from fresco paintings. Here the problem is how much these images (or text) are artistic and how much they represent the reality.
Homer describes in the second book of the Iliad how 1186 Greek ships were used for the transport of the Greek army to Troy or Ilios which was probably derived from Wilusa. The reason for this expedition was not the beautiful Helena but probably to obtain the control of the passage to the black sea from Troy (a city that now is known as Troy VIIa and which was destroyed by the Greeks in 1180 BC ) . Among the ships Homer describes that each of the 50 Boetian Ships carried 120 warriors. The ships were probably covered by a black paint (probably pitch for the protection of the wood) and had a single sail. When the Greek Ships arrived in Troy they were drawn on land and were surrounded by a wall for their protection, a procedure used later as described also by Julius Caesar. The anchor was a simple heavy stone. Homer describes how Odysseus built his own Ship by cutting 20 trees. Navigation at that time was probably mostly limited close to the land and not on the open sea without sight of the land.
SOME OTHER COUNTRIES:
Boat(s) #155, Pitcairn Islands - A Thanksgiving Afterglow
Boat(s) #159, Isle of Man - Highlights from the Ann Arbor Stamp Show, Day Ten
The Isle of Man is the greatest boat and ship stamp producing nation, territory, dependency, or colony in the world.
Boat(s) #160, Palau - Highlights from the Ann Arbor Stamp Show, Day Nine
Here's a unique stamp set. It follows the appearance of Halley's comet in Palau across two centuries:
Boat #161, Tuvalu - Highlights from the Ann Arbor Stamp Show, Day Eight