Seamanship is the art , competence , and knowledge of operating a ship , boat or other craft on water. The Oxford Dictionary states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea."
118-575: Thales of Miletus ( / ˈ θ eɪ l iː z / THAY -leez ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Θαλῆς ; c. 626/623 – c. 548/545 BC ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia , Asia Minor . Thales was one of the Seven Sages , founding figures of Ancient Greece . Many regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition , breaking from
236-454: A Carian name and his mother had a Greek name. Diogenes Laërtius seems to also reference an alternative account: "Most writers, however, represent him as a genuine Milesian and of a distinguished family". Encyclopedia Britannica (1952) concluded that Thales was most likely a native Milesian of noble birth and that he was certainly a Greek. Diogenes continues, by delivering more conflicting reports: one that Thales married and either fathered
354-434: A maritime (or marine) pilot . Marine pilots are seafarers with extensive seafaring experience and are usually qualified master mariners who have been trained as expert ship-handlers. These pilots should be conversant with all types of vessel in their local waters and possess a good knowledge of the different propulsion systems, as well as handling ships of all sizes in all weather and tidal conditions. They are also experts in
472-558: A "fighting together", with the Lydians. This has sometimes been interpreted as an alliance. Croesus was defeated before the city of Sardis by Cyrus the Great , who subsequently spared Miletus because it had taken no action. Cyrus was so impressed by Croesus’ wisdom and his connection with the sages that he spared him and took his advice on various matters. The Ionian cities should be demoi, or "districts". He counselled them to establish
590-577: A basis for coinages: anthropology , photography , telephony , isomer , biomechanics , cinematography , etc. Together with Latin words , they form the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary ; for example, all words ending in -logy ('discourse'). There are many English words of Greek origin . Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient language most closely related to it may be ancient Macedonian , which, by most accounts,
708-435: A boat if possible, the use of oars or sails, as well as basic sail theory, sail terminology and markings on sails. One other aspect of traditional good seamanship is housekeeping on the vessel. This involves correct stowage of stores, supplies, crew personal effects, etc. It also involves keeping the decks, engine room and accommodation clean and free of debris or spills. This reduces the chances of fire at sea and reduces
826-558: A fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts . The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): In all its stages, the morphology of Greek shows an extensive set of productive derivational affixes , a limited but productive system of compounding and a rich inflectional system. Although its morphological categories have been fairly stable over time, morphological changes are present throughout, particularly in
944-560: A faster, more convenient cursive writing style with the use of ink and quill . The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase ( majuscule ) and lowercase ( minuscule ) form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used in the final position of a word: In addition to the letters, the Greek alphabet features a number of diacritical signs : three different accent marks ( acute , grave , and circumflex ), originally denoting different shapes of pitch accent on
1062-540: A foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, " Homeric Greek is probably closer to Demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English ". Greek is spoken today by at least 13 million people, principally in Greece and Cyprus along with a sizable Greek-speaking minority in Albania near
1180-420: A greater degree of seamanship may be necessary for some vessel types compared to others. Seamanship involves paying close attention to the stability of the vessel at all times. This involves calculation of the vessel and the effects of its cargo at various stages of the voyage (on departure, at sea and on arrival in port) to allow for safe passage and prevent capsizing (where a vessel turns on to its side or
1298-531: A ship. Larger ship types usually have a crane for cargo operations and for bringing on stores, provisions and supplies for the crew. Seamanship knowledge and experience is an integral part of Dry-docking . This includes careful planning (of all jobs, tasks and repairs), adequate preparations (eg or painting), dry-docking calculations (primarily stability and upthrust), safety within the dry-dock and checks upon departure (eg plugs returned and sealed). Lifeboat, rescue boat and survival craft maintenance and operation
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#17327653917061416-598: A single seat of government, and pointed out Teos as the fittest place for it; "for that," he said, "was the centre of Ionia . Their other cities might still continue to enjoy their own laws, just as if they were independent states." Miletus, however, received favorable terms from Cyrus. The others remained in an Ionian League of twelve cities (excluding Miletus), and were subjugated by the Persians. Early Greeks, and other civilizations before them, often invoked idiosyncratic explanations of natural phenomena with reference to
1534-517: A son (Cybisthus or Cybisthon) or adopted his nephew of the same name; the second that he never married, telling his mother as a young man that it was too early to marry, and as an older man that it was too late. Plutarch had earlier told this version: Solon visited Thales and asked him why he remained single; Thales answered that he did not like the idea of having to worry about children. Nevertheless, several years later, anxious for family, he adopted his nephew Cybisthus. The culture of Archaic Greece
1652-542: A stage, rigging of a bosuns ladder, canvas work, use of chain blocks and pulleys, etc. Other traditional practices apply to life onboard, such as forms of address to the Captain and in use of marine flag, including courtesies and flag signalling. Specifically, these include items such as flag signalling terms, single and double letter meanings according to the International Code of Signals, flag maintenance,
1770-620: A triangle inscribed in a circle and having the circle's diameter as one side; the other, also called the intercept theorem , is about an angle intercepted by two parallel lines, forming a pair of similar triangles . Modern scholars are skeptical that anyone in Thales's time was producing mathematical proofs to the standard of later Greek mathematics, though not enough direct evidence remains to draw firm conclusions. While Thales may have discovered some basic geometric relations and provided some justification for them, attribution to him of formal proofs
1888-570: Is a statutory requirement and considered good seamanship to regularly practice (drill) these skills when at sea. Other emergency skills include the Man overboard rescue turn . Historic or traditional seamanship skills are less frequently used on modern commercial ships, but are usually still practiced in training colleges and used on smaller ships, fishing vessels and leisure craft. These include ropework (included tying knots, rope splicing , wire splicing, lashings and whippings ), as well as rigging of
2006-645: Is also attributed to Thales, as well as the timings of the solstices and equinoxes . He was also an engineer , known for having diverted the Halys River . The main source concerning the details of Thales's life and career is the doxographer Diogenes Laërtius , in his third-century-AD work Lives and Opinions of the Eminent Philosophers . While it is all we have, Diogenes wrote some eight centuries after Thales's death and his sources often contained "unreliable or even fabricated information". It
2124-804: Is also found in Bulgaria near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Greek is also spoken worldwide by the sizable Greek diaspora which has notable communities in the United States , Australia , Canada , South Africa , Chile , Brazil , Argentina , Russia , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and throughout the European Union , especially in Germany . Historically, significant Greek-speaking communities and regions were found throughout
2242-485: Is also possible Thales knew about Egypt from accounts of others, without actually visiting it. Aside from Egypt, the other mathematically advanced, ancient civilization before the Greeks was Babylonia, another commonplace attribution of travel for a mathematically-minded philosopher. At least one ancient historian, Josephus , claims Thales visited Babylonia. Historians Roger L. Cooke and B.L. Van der Waerden come down on
2360-773: Is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece , Cyprus , Italy (in Calabria and Salento ), southern Albania , and other regions of the Balkans , Caucasus , the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor , and the Eastern Mediterranean . It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system
2478-479: Is an Indo-European language, but also includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before the arrival of Proto-Greeks, some documented in Mycenaean texts ; they include a large number of Greek toponyms . The form and meaning of many words have changed. Loanwords (words of foreign origin) have entered the language, mainly from Latin, Venetian , and Turkish . During
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#17327653917062596-432: Is an essential part of seamanship. This involves being able to operate survival craft in emergencies, but also to be able to maintain them effectively to operate in accordance with SOLAS requirements. The STCW Convention requires that modern seafarers be familiar with emergency operations, including fire fighting. Personnel at sea are required to undertake fire fighting training at shore based training establishments. It
2714-403: Is based on the nautical mile . Navigation also includes electronics such as GPS and Loran (Long Range Navigation). Celestial navigation involves taking sights by sextant on the planets, moon, stars, sun and using the data with a nautical almanac and sight reduction tables to determine positions. Accurate time information is also needed. After nautical dusk , navigation at sea referencing
2832-523: Is being able to manoeuvre a vessel safely with accuracy and precision both at sea and also in port and during pilotage . Unlike land based vehicles, a ship afloat is subject to the forces of the water in which it floats, as well as the resistance and effects of marine weather. A complicating factor is that the mass of a ship that has to be accounted for when stopping and starting, as the inertia of large vessels may take large distances to stop and therefore ship-handlers must be aware of basic Hydrodynamics and
2950-594: Is believed the Babylonians knew the theorem for special cases. The theorem is mentioned and proved as part of the 31st proposition in the third book of Euclid 's Elements . Dante's Paradiso refers to Thales's theorem in the course of a speech. The story is told in Diogenes Laërtius , Pliny the Elder , and Plutarch , sourced from Hieronymus of Rhodes , that when Thales visited Egypt , he measured
3068-461: Is dependent upon the nature of the work and the type of vessel employed by a seafarer . Seamanship on a commercial level involves a knowledge of all the different ship types (such as bulk carriers , container ships , oil tankers , cruise ships , platform supply vessels , and others), including a basic knowledge of ship recognition, a basic understanding of nautical terms, ship structure and naval architecture and cargo operations, specific to
3186-497: Is his own thinking, his statement that Thales held it as water is generally accepted as genuinely originating with Thales. Writing centuries later, Diogenes Laërtius also states that Thales taught "Water constituted ( ὑπεστήσατο , 'stood under') the principle of all things." According to Aristotle: That from which is everything that exists and from which it first becomes and into which it is rendered at last, its substance remaining under it, but transforming in qualities, that they say
3304-519: Is important because when a pilot is in command, the master can not take any action, but is limited to advising the pilot on any circumstance that creates what he considers a dangerous situation. A working knowledge of the relevant rules and regulations, including those of the International Maritime Organization is good seamanship as it ensures compliance with international, flag and port State requirements. For example,
3422-466: Is known Thales was from Miletus , a mercantile city settled at the mouth of the Maeander river . The dates of Thales's life are not exactly known, but are roughly established by a few datable events mentioned in the sources. According to the historian Herodotus , writing in the 5th century BC, Thales predicted a solar eclipse in 585 BC. Assuming one's acme (or floruit ) occurred at the age of 40,
3540-700: Is now thought to represent speculative rationalization and reconstruction by later authors, rather than concrete accomplishments of Thales himself or his contemporaries. According to one author, while visiting Egypt, Thales observed that when the Egyptians drew two intersecting lines, they would measure the vertical angles to make sure that they were equal. Thales concluded that one could prove that all vertical angles are equal if one accepted some general notions such as: all straight angles are equal, equals added to equals are equal, and equals subtracted from equals are equal. Pamphila says that, having learnt geometry from
3658-519: Is protected and promoted officially as a regional and minority language in Armenia, Hungary , Romania, and Ukraine. It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The phonology , morphology , syntax , and vocabulary of the language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to
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3776-1409: Is sometimes called aljamiado , as when Romance languages are written in the Arabic alphabet. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Greek: Transcription of the example text into Latin alphabet : Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern Seamanship It involves topics and development of specialised skills, including navigation and international maritime law and regulatory knowledge; weather , meteorology and forecasting; watchkeeping ; ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck equipment, anchors and cables; ropework and line handling; communications ; sailing ; engines ; execution of evolutions such as towing; cargo handling equipment, dangerous cargoes and cargo storage; dealing with emergencies; survival at sea and search and rescue ; and fire fighting . The degree of knowledge needed within these areas
3894-461: Is space, for it holds all things. —attributed to Thales Thales was known for introducing the theoretical and practical use of geometry to Greece, and has been described as the first person in the western world to apply deductive reasoning to geometry, making him the West's "first mathematician." He is also credited with the West's oldest definition of number : a "collection of units", "following
4012-475: Is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey , and the many other countries of the Greek diaspora . Greek roots have been widely used for centuries and continue to be widely used to coin new words in other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary . Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around
4130-763: Is still used internationally for the writing of Ancient Greek . In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point (•), known as the ano teleia ( άνω τελεία ). In Greek the comma also functions as a silent letter in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι ( ó,ti , 'whatever') from ότι ( óti , 'that'). Ancient Greek texts often used scriptio continua ('continuous writing'), which means that ancient authors and scribes would write word after word with no spaces or punctuation between words to differentiate or mark boundaries. Boustrophedon , or bi-directional text,
4248-650: Is the Greek alphabet , which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary . The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin , Cyrillic , Coptic , Gothic , and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with
4366-448: Is the art and science of safely and efficiently directing the movements of a vessel from one point to another. Piloting uses water depth and visible references, while dead reckoning uses courses and distances from the last known position. More than just finding a vessel's present location, safe navigation includes predicting future location, route planning and collision avoidance. Nautical navigation in western nations, like air navigation ,
4484-446: Is the element and principle of things that are. …For it is necessary that there be some nature ( φύσις ), either one or more than one, from which become the other things of the object being saved... [The first philosophers] do not all agree as to the number and the nature of these principles. Thales the founder of this type of philosophy says that it is water. Aristotle further adds: Presumably he derived this assumption from seeing that
4602-500: Is the origin of things, that is, that it is that out of which every thing arises, and into which every thing resolves itself, Thales may have followed Orphic cosmogonies, while, unlike them, he sought to establish the truth of the assertion. Hence, Aristotle, immediately after he has called him the originator of philosophy brings forward the reasons which Thales was believed to have adduced in confirmation of that assertion; for that no written development of it, or indeed any book by Thales,
4720-779: Is upside down). This includes familiarity and application of the Load Line Convention , where a vessel can only be safely loaded to its markings to ensure residual stability for the likely weather conditions. Seafarers should regularly inspect their vessel and ensure the hull is in good condition for navigation. Seamanship skills apply to the safe use of different types of lifting gear, whether for cargo operations or for bringing on stores, supplies and provisions. These example Derricks , Union purchase arrangements, midship or aft cranes , heavy lifting gear, rigging other sheer legs etc. This should include knowledge of calculations of stresses and effects on stability. Navigation
4838-527: The Suda , the proverb is both "applied to those whose boasts exceed what they are" and "a warning to pay no attention to the opinion of the multitude." Diogenes Laërtius relates several stories of an expensive, gold tripod or bowl that is to go to the most wise . In one version (that Laërtius credits to Callimachus in his Iambics ) Bathycles of Arcadia states in his will that an expensive bowl " 'should be given to him who had done most good by his wisdom.' So it
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4956-495: The Eastern Mediterranean , in what are today Southern Italy , Turkey , Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Egypt , and Libya ; in the area of the Black Sea , in what are today Turkey, Bulgaria , Romania , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan ; and, to a lesser extent, in the Western Mediterranean in and around colonies such as Massalia , Monoikos , and Mainake . It
5074-571: The Hyades , supposed by the ancients to indicate the approach of rain when they rose with the Sun. According to Seneca , Thales explained the flooding of the Nile as due to the river being beaten back by the etesian wind. Greek language Greek ( Modern Greek : Ελληνικά , romanized : Elliniká , [eliniˈka] ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνική , romanized : Hellēnikḗ )
5192-516: The Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ), but little definitive evidence has been found. In addition, Albanian has also been considered somewhat related to Greek and Armenian, and it has been proposed that they all form a higher-order subgroup along with other extinct languages of the ancient Balkans; this higher-order subgroup is usually termed Palaeo-Balkan , and Greek has a central position in it. Linear B , attested as early as
5310-500: The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea are the principal international rules for navigation between vessels at sea. Rule 2 sets out responsibility for safe navigation by stating “Nothing in these Rules shall exonerate any vessel or the owner, master or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these Rules or of the neglect of any precaution, which may be required by
5428-500: The Suez canal . Crew should be able to keep the vessel from collisions, moor the vessel during canal lockgate operations and also respond to local currents and river conditions while on passage. Two other types of operations, berthing alongside another ship (usually for Ship-to-ship cargo transfer and replenishment at sea, are occasionally included in ship-handling seamanship for some vessel types. In addition to being fully conversant with
5546-578: The United Kingdom and the United States of America ), the pilot's role is as an advisor. However, in practice, they are likely to have the conduct of the vessel, especially on larger ships using tug boats to assist. In some places, specifically in the Panama Canal , a pilot assumes command of a vessel and is not classed as "an advisor". Other instances may be crossing the sill of a drydock , or in any port in Russia (or ex-Soviet States). This distinction
5664-418: The charted area , including the depth of water in which their ship is navigating. Ship-handling in coastal areas may involve arriving and departing a berth, anchorage or buoy , maneuvering in confined channels and harbours and in proximity to other ships, whilst at all times navigating safely. Seamanship also involves safe navigation in restricted waterways, for example in river and canal transits eg along
5782-492: The nominal and verbal systems. The major change in the nominal morphology since the classical stage was the disuse of the dative case (its functions being largely taken over by the genitive ). The verbal system has lost the infinitive , the synthetically -formed future, and perfect tenses and the optative mood . Many have been replaced by periphrastic ( analytical ) forms. Pronouns show distinctions in person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), number (singular, dual , and plural in
5900-437: The seked from the height of the stick and its distance from the point of insertion to the line of sight. Thales was also a noted astronomer, acknowledged in antiquity for describing the position of Ursa Minor , and he thought the constellation might be useful as a guide for navigation at sea. He calculated the duration of the year and the timings of the equinoxes and solstices . He is additionally attributed with calculating
6018-470: The 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language . Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages . The Greek language is conventionally divided into
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#17327653917066136-479: The Earth floated on water. In mathematics, Thales is the namesake of Thales's theorem , and the intercept theorem can also be known as Thales's theorem. Thales was said to have calculated the heights of the pyramids and the distance of ships from the shore. In science, Thales was an astronomer who reportedly predicted the weather and a solar eclipse . The discovery of the position of the constellation Ursa Major
6254-469: The Egyptian view". The evidence for the primacy of Thales comes to us from a book by Proclus , who lived a thousand years afterward but is believed to have had a copy of Eudemus 's lost book History of Geometry (4th century BC). Proclus wrote that Thales was the first to visit Egypt and bring the Egyptian study of mathematics to Greece, and that Thales "himself discovered many propositions and disclosed
6372-530: The Egyptians, Thales was the first to inscribe in a circle a right-angled triangle, whereupon he sacrificed an ox . This is sometimes cited as history's first mathematical discovery. Due to the variations among testimonies, such as the story of the ox sacrifice being accredited to Pythagoras upon discovery of the Pythagorean theorem rather than Thales, some historians (such as D. R. Dicks) question whether such anecdotes have any historical worth whatsoever. It
6490-486: The Greek alphabet since approximately the 9th century BC. It was created by modifying the Phoenician alphabet , with the innovation of adopting certain letters to represent the vowels. The variant of the alphabet in use today is essentially the late Ionic variant, introduced for writing classical Attic in 403 BC. In classical Greek, as in classical Latin, only upper-case letters existed. The lower-case Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes to permit
6608-425: The Greek language are often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to the extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than
6726-495: The Greek language was the Cypriot syllabary (also a descendant of Linear A via the intermediate Cypro-Minoan syllabary ), which is closely related to Linear B but uses somewhat different syllabic conventions to represent phoneme sequences. The Cypriot syllabary is attested in Cyprus from the 11th century BC until its gradual abandonment in the late Classical period, in favor of the standard Greek alphabet. Greek has been written in
6844-629: The Greek verb have likewise remained largely the same over the course of the language's history but with significant changes in the number of distinctions within each category and their morphological expression. Greek verbs have synthetic inflectional forms for: Many aspects of the syntax of Greek have remained constant: verbs agree with their subject only, the use of the surviving cases is largely intact (nominative for subjects and predicates, accusative for objects of most verbs and many prepositions, genitive for possessors), articles precede nouns, adpositions are largely prepositional, relative clauses follow
6962-685: The Greek-Albanian border. A significant percentage of Albania's population has knowledge of the Greek language due in part to the Albanian wave of immigration to Greece in the 1980s and '90s and the Greek community in the country. Prior to the Greco-Turkish War and the resulting population exchange in 1923 a very large population of Greek-speakers also existed in Turkey , though very few remain today. A small Greek-speaking community
7080-407: The Greeks learnt the gnomon from the Babylonians. Thales's follower Anaximander is credited with introducing the gnomon to the Greeks. Herodotus also wrote that the practice of dividing the day into 12 parts, and the polos , came to the Greeks from the Babylonians. Yet this too is disputed, for example by historian L. Zhmud, who points out the gnomon was known to both Egyptians and Babylonians,
7198-569: The Seven Sages were created in the archonship of Damasius at Athens about 582 BC and that Thales was the first sage. The sages were associated with the Delphic maxims , a quote or maxim attributed to each one inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi . Thales has arguably the most famous of all, gnothi seauton or know thyself . According to the 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia
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#17327653917067316-533: The Thelidae who are Phoenicians and amongst the noblest descendants of Cadmus and Agenor " who had been banished from Phoenicia and that Thales was enrolled as a citizen in Miletus along with Neleus . However, Friedrich Nietzsche and others interpret this quote as meaning only that his ancestors were seafaring Cadmeians from Boeotia . It is also possible that he was of mixed ancestry, given his father had
7434-577: The U.S., the progression begins with what is known as "the six pack", a license that allows fishing guides to operate with up to six passengers . In the United Kingdom , all seafarers, both deck officers and crew, must complete an Efficient Deck Hand (EDH Course) at an approved training provider under direction of the UK Merchant Navy Training Board . The crew of a large ship will typically be organized into "divisions" or "departments", each with its own specialty. For example,
7552-404: The acute during the late 20th century, and it has only been retained in typography . After the writing reform of 1982, most diacritics are no longer used. Since then, Greek has been written mostly in the simplified monotonic orthography (or monotonic system), which employs only the acute accent and the diaeresis. The traditional system, now called the polytonic orthography (or polytonic system),
7670-402: The ancient language; singular and plural alone in later stages), and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and decline for case (from six cases in the earliest forms attested to four in the modern language). Nouns, articles, and adjectives show all the distinctions except for a person. Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree with the noun. The inflectional categories of
7788-497: The change of injury eg due to slips, trips and falls. Officers and Masters must pass formal examinations to demonstrate their knowledge at various levels, in accordance with national laws and the STCW Convention . These examinations have a progression based on the size and complexity of the ship, including its sailing area as well as by rank. Globally, most seafarers are required to possess a basic seamanship certificate. In
7906-419: The chronicle of Apollodorus of Athens , written during the 2nd century BC, therefore placed Thales's birth about the year 625 BC. While the probability is that Thales was as Greek as most Milesians, Herodotus described Thales as "a Phoenician by remote descent". Diogenes Laërtius references Herodotus, Duris , and Democritus , who all agree "that Thales was the son of Examyas and Cleobulina, and belonged to
8024-462: The deck department is responsible for navigation, ship handling and general maintenance, while the engineering division are responsible for propulsion and other mechanical systems. Crew start on the most basic duties and as they gain experience and expertise advance within their area. Crew who have gained proficiency become "able seamen", "petty officers", "rated", or "mates" depending on the ship type and organisation. On smaller commercial craft, there
8142-526: The division of the day into twelve parts (and by analogy the year) was known to the Egyptians already in the 2nd millennium BC , and the idea of the polos was not used outside of Greece at this time. Thales is recognized as one of the Seven Sages of Greece, semi-legendary wise statesmen and founding figures of Ancient Greece. While which seven one chooses may change, the seven has a canonical four which includes Thales, Solon of Athens, Pittacus of Mytilene , and Bias of Priene . Diogenes Laërtius tells us that
8260-404: The early 19th century that was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, after having incorporated features of Katharevousa and thus giving birth to Standard Modern Greek , used today for all official purposes and in education . The historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of
8378-618: The epics of Homer , ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon . Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science and philosophy were originally composed. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world , the Greek texts and Greek societies of antiquity constitute
8496-445: The first among them. Also, while the other Seven Sages were strictly law-givers and statesmen and not speculative philosophers, Plutarch noted "it would seem that Thales was the only wise man of the time who carried his speculations beyond the realm of the practical." Thales's most famous idea was his philosophical and cosmological thesis that all is water, which comes down to us through a passage from Aristotle 's Metaphysics . In
8614-727: The first opportunity. Training is more formal in the merchant navy and naval forces, but still covers the basics of traditional seamanship. Smaller vessel types may have traditional methods of seamanships unique to their vessel types, for example turtling on dinghies and small sailing boats. Boatwork is a traditional seamanship skill. On commercial ships, this is usually limited to rescue boats and lifeboats, however yachts and other vessels such as passenger ships may have tenders and small boats for transporting people between ship/shore. boatwork includes knowledge and operation of different types of boat, launching procedures, recovery of boats (in normal and in heavy weather conditions), how to beach
8732-452: The following periods: In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia : the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki , the vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa , meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek developed in
8850-432: The geographical areas they work. In most countries, the pilot takes over the 'conduct' of the navigation from the ship master. This means that the master and crew should adhere to the pilot's orders in respect of the safe navigation of the vessel when in a compulsory pilotage area. However, the master may with good cause resume 'conduct' of the vessel's navigation but this is not done lightly. In some countries and areas (eg
8968-401: The height of the pyramids by their shadows at the moment when his own shadow was equal to his height. According to Plutarch, it pleased the pharoah Amasis . More practically, Thales was said to have the ability to measure the distances of ships at sea. These stories indicate familiarity with the intercept theorem, and for this reason the 26th proposition in the first book of Euclid's Elements
9086-400: The horizon is no longer possible, and after nautical dawn such navigation again becomes possible. Ice navigation involves navigating and operating a ship within sea ice conditions. Along with general navigation, seamanship involves being able to respond to weather at sea. For example, the onset of heavy or rough weather may require an alternative passage plan (or weather routeing) for
9204-439: The infinitive entirely (employing a raft of new periphrastic constructions instead) and uses participles more restrictively. The loss of the dative led to a rise of prepositional indirect objects (and the use of the genitive to directly mark these as well). Ancient Greek tended to be verb-final, but neutral word order in the modern language is VSO or SVO. Modern Greek inherits most of its vocabulary from Ancient Greek, which in turn
9322-467: The late 15th century BC, was the first script used to write Greek. It is basically a syllabary , which was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick in the 1950s (its precursor, Linear A , has not been deciphered and most likely encodes a non-Greek language). The language of the Linear B texts, Mycenaean Greek , is the earliest known form of Greek. Another similar system used to write
9440-640: The membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages . Greek is recognized as a minority language in Albania, and used co-officially in some of its municipalities, in the districts of Gjirokastër and Sarandë . It is also an official minority language in the regions of Apulia and Calabria in Italy. In the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , Greek
9558-441: The modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because, in all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows a mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and
9676-399: The noun they modify and relative pronouns are clause-initial. However, the morphological changes also have their counterparts in the syntax, and there are also significant differences between the syntax of the ancient and that of the modern form of the language . Ancient Greek made great use of participial constructions and of constructions involving the infinitive, and the modern variety lacks
9794-485: The nozzle are the ship can be steered astern which a conventional rudder cannot, and the ship can be steered fully under control to a standstill switching between ahead and astern mode to give complete control over speed. Seamanship applies to general Mooring practices and anchoring (anchors are a device used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting) and established marine procedures for anchoring (anchorwork). This also includes
9912-482: The nutriment of everything is moist, and that heat itself is generated from moisture and depends upon it for its existence (and that from which a thing is generated is always its first principle). He derived his assumption from this; and also from the fact that the seeds of everything have a moist nature, whereas water is the first principle of the nature of moist things." The 1870 book Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology noted: In his dogma that water
10030-536: The objects of study of the discipline of Classics . During antiquity , Greek was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world . It eventually became the official language of the Byzantine Empire and developed into Medieval Greek . In its modern form , Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union . It
10148-706: The older periods of Greek, loanwords into Greek acquired Greek inflections, thus leaving only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from the 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected; other modern borrowings are derived from Albanian , South Slavic ( Macedonian / Bulgarian ) and Eastern Romance languages ( Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian ). Greek words have been widely borrowed into other languages, including English. Example words include: mathematics , physics , astronomy , democracy , philosophy , athletics , theatre, rhetoric , baptism , evangelist , etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as
10266-481: The ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case.” The ordinary practice of seaman is seen as equivalent wording for seamanship. Other accepted practices of seamanship relating to the COLREGs include maintaining a proper look-out (Rule 5), proceeding at a safe speed (Rule 6) and taking correct actions to avoid collision (Rule 8). Seamanship involves the correct and adequate maintenance of
10384-474: The origin of their mathematical knowledge, such as with Thales or Pythagoras or Eudoxus . Several ancient authors assume that Thales, at one point in his life, visited Egypt , where he learned about geometry. It is considered possible that Thales visited Egypt, since Miletus had a permanent colony there (namely Naucratis ). It is also said Thales had close contacts with the priests of Thebes who instructed him, or even that he instructed them in geometry. It
10502-443: The pitch and not the direction of rotation was reversed to go astern. These propellers rotate counterclockwise at all times and so the "walk" is "normal". Other variations on propulsion include what are known as bucket rudders and Kort Nozzles where instead of a conventional rudder a pair of dish-shaped rudders, one either side of the propeller can be swivelled vertically to direct the propeller thrust through 360 degrees. Thus to put
10620-668: The position of the Pleiades . Plutarch indicates that in his day (c. AD 100) there was an extant work, the Astronomy , composed in verse and attributed to Thales. While some say he left no writings, others say that he wrote On the Solstice and On the Equinox . The Nautical Star-guide has also been attributed to him, but this was disputed even in ancient times. No writing attributed to him has survived. Lobon of Argus asserted that
10738-446: The principles of ship-handling, a good shiphandler or pilot will have developed their sense of 'situational awareness' to a point well beyond that of an ordinary member of a ship's crew; their reactions will appear to be instinctive, positive and at all times safe. A key ability for a ship-handler with good seamanship is to possess an understanding of how wind , tide and swell influence vessel movement, along with passing vessels and
10856-409: The prior use of mythology to explain the world and instead using natural philosophy . He is thus otherwise referred to as the first to have engaged in mathematics , science , and deductive reasoning . The first philosophers followed him in explaining all of nature as based on the existence of a single ultimate substance . Thales theorized that this single substance was water . Thales thought
10974-410: The propeller would turn counterclockwise when going astern and the stern would walk to port. This aided in docking operations, where "port side to" was the preferred situation and the vessel would be brought to the dock with a small bow-in angle and backing would flatten the angle, slow or stop the vessel and walk it alongside. An exception to this is vessels which use a controllable-pitch propeller, where
11092-521: The proposition that water is the primal origin and the womb of all things. Is it really necessary for us to take serious notice of this proposition? It is, and for three reasons. First, because it tells us something about the primal origin of all things; second, because it does so in language devoid of image or fable, and finally, because contained in it, if only embryonically, is the thought, "all things are one." Megiston topos: apanta gar chorei ( Μέγιστον τόπος· ἄπαντα γὰρ χωρεῖ. ) The greatest
11210-411: The shape of the nearby seabed (the interaction effect). These must also be combined with an understanding of a specific vessel's performance, including its propulsion and stopping distance to allow safe handling. Fundamental to low-speed maneuvering of most vessel types is an understanding of the configuration and handedness of the propeller (s). An effect known as propeller walk will kick the stern of
11328-780: The ship, as well as the use of an alternative heading to keep the vessel from rolling ( Heaving to ). Additionally, heavy weather precautions onboard such as lashing furniture in the accommodation or keeping crew off the deck is considered good seamanship when navigating in heavy weather. Navigation and seamanship also involves a working knowledge of correct marine communications and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System . Seamanship also involves recognition of and navigation with Buoys including IALA maritime buoyage such as Lateral marks , Cardinal marks , Safe water marks , Special marks and Isolated danger marks . A fundamental skill of professional seamanship
11446-484: The ship’s structure and equipment to keep the vessel seaworthy . This involves knowledge of tasks such as painting, greasing, renewing ropes, wires and other equipment items. Seamanship also involves a working knowledge of the relevant wires, ropes, chains, shackles and slings onboard. This includes mooring ropes using to keep the vessel secure in port. Seamanship on some vessel types may involves being able to maintain and use marine cranes and lifting equipment if fitted on
11564-409: The side of Babylonian mathematics influencing the Greeks, citing the use of e. g. the sexagesimal system (or base 60). Cooke notes "This relation, however, is controversial." Others historians, such as D. R. Dicks, take issue with the idea of Babylonian influence on Greek mathematics. For until around the time of Hipparchus (c. 190–120 BC) their sexagesimal system was unknown. Herodotus wrote
11682-461: The stars were balls of dirt on fire. He seemed to correctly gather that the moon reflects the Sun's light. A crater on the Moon is named in his honor. Rather than assuming that earthquakes were the result of supernatural whims, Thales explained them by theorizing that the Earth floats on water and that earthquakes occur when the Earth is rocked by waves. He is attributed with the first observation of
11800-437: The stressed vowel; the so-called breathing marks ( rough and smooth breathing ), originally used to signal presence or absence of word-initial /h/; and the diaeresis , used to mark the full syllabic value of a vowel that would otherwise be read as part of a diphthong. These marks were introduced during the course of the Hellenistic period. Actual usage of the grave in handwriting saw a rapid decline in favor of uniform usage of
11918-554: The underlying principles of many others to his successors, in some case his method being more general, in others more empirical." In addition to Proclus, Hieronymus of Rhodes (3rd century BC) also cites Thales as the first Greek mathematician. Proclus attributes to Thales the discovery that a circle is bisected by its diameter, that the base angles of an isosceles triangle are equal and that vertical angles are equal. Two fundamental theorems of elementary geometry are customarily called Thales's theorem : one of them has to do with
12036-559: The use of drogues as applicable. Anchor work includes an understanding and awareness of types of anchors, marks on anchors and cable and shackles. It includes learning established procedures for securing anchors and cable, use of windlasses, how to prepare the anchors/clearing away anchors for letting go, letting-go (dropping) the anchor, keeping an anchor watch, clearing a foul Hawse , weighing anchor and securing anchors for sea. Most commercial vessels in excess of size limits determined by local authorities are handled in confined areas by
12154-404: The use of ensigns and also Morse code procedure and practice. In the days of sailing ships , an able seaman was expected to be able to "hand, and reef, and steer" and to "know the ropes" , the basic knowledge on the identity of the many ropes with different functions. This latter knowledge was essential for both safety and efficient working - those without it would be dismissed or dis-rated at
12272-462: The vessel into astern mode the rudder can be rotated through 180 degrees without altering the speed and direction of the engine. Since with the conventional propeller or rudder configuration the propeller is designed to operate at maximum efficiency when going ahead, it produces far less thrust when going astern. But with the Kort Nozzle, the ahead and astern thrust is the same. Other advantages of
12390-421: The vessel the seafarer is working on. Some ship types will have specialist cargo equipment and tools; for example, a bulk carrier may have gantry cranes or grabs for cargo or a container ship may have container lashings. Cargoes should be properly stowed and secured to prevent shifting while at sea. Oil tankers and gas carriers can be somewhat complex due to the hazardous nature of their cargoes, and therefore
12508-399: The vessel to port or starboard depending on the configuration and the type of propeller, when large variations on propeller rotation speed or changes of propeller rotation direction take place. (In single-screw vessels where the rotation of the propeller is reversed on an astern bell, a standard was established that the propeller would turn clockwise when viewed from astern. This would mean that
12626-442: The will of anthropomorphic gods and heroes . Instead, Thales aimed to explain natural phenomena via rational hypotheses that referenced natural processes themselves— Logos rather than mythos . Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition . Rather than theologoi or mythologoi , Aristotle referred to the first philosophers as physiologoi , or natural philosophers, and Thales as
12744-433: The work, Aristotle reported Thales's theory that the arche or originating principle of nature was a single material substance : water. Aristotle then proceeded to proffer a number of conjectures based on his own observations to lend some credence to why Thales may have advanced this idea (though Aristotle did not hold it himself). While Aristotle's conjecture on why Thales held water as the originating principle of matter
12862-525: The writings of Thales amounted to two hundred lines. Thales thought the Earth must be a flat disk or mound of land and dirt which is floating in an expanse of water. Heraclitus Homericus states that Thales drew his conclusion from seeing moist substance turn into air, slime and earth. It seems likely that Thales viewed the land as coming from the water on which it floated and the oceans that surround it, perhaps inspired by observing silt deposits. He thought
12980-574: Was a distinct dialect of Greek itself. Aside from the Macedonian question, current consensus regards Phrygian as the closest relative of Greek, since they share a number of phonological, morphological and lexical isoglosses , with some being exclusive between them. Scholars have proposed a Graeco-Phrygian subgroup out of which Greek and Phrygian originated. Among living languages, some Indo-Europeanists suggest that Greek may be most closely related to Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian ) or
13098-568: Was also used as the official language of government and religion in the Christian Nubian kingdoms , for most of their history. Greek, in its modern form, is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish ) and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (alongside English ). Because of
13216-557: Was also used in Ancient Greek. Greek has occasionally been written in the Latin script , especially in areas under Venetian rule or by Greek Catholics . The term Frankolevantinika / Φραγκολεβαντίνικα applies when the Latin script is used to write Greek in the cultural ambit of Catholicism (because Frankos / Φράγκος is an older Greek term for West-European dating to when most of (Roman Catholic Christian) West Europe
13334-415: Was attributed to Thales. They also indicate that he was familiar with the Egyptian seked , or seqed , the ratio of the run to the rise of a slope ( cotangent ). According to Kirk & Raven, all you need for this feat is three straight sticks pinned at one end and knowledge of your altitude. One stick goes vertically into the ground. A second is made level. With the third you sight the ship and calculate
13452-586: Was extant, is proved by the expressions which Aristotle uses when he brings forward the doctrines and proofs of the Milesian. (p. 1016) Most agree that Thales's stamp on thought is the unity of substance. Not merely the empirical claim that all is water, but the deeper philosophical claim that all is one. For example, Friedrich Nietzsche , in his Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks , wrote: Greek philosophy seems to begin with an absurd notion, with
13570-460: Was given to Thales, went the round of all the sages, and came back to Thales again. And he sent it to Apollo at Didyma , with this dedication...'Thales the Milesian, son of Examyas [dedicates this] to Delphinian Apollo after twice winning the prize from all the Greeks. ' " According to Diogenes Laërtius, Thales gained fame as a counselor when he advised the Milesians not to engage in a symmachia,
13688-532: Was heavily influenced by those of the Levant and Mesopotamia . It is said Thales was engaged in trade and visited either Egypt or Babylonia . However, there is no strong evidence that Thales ever visited countries in the Near East , and the issue is disputed among scholars. Visits to such places were a commonplace attribution to various philosophers by later writers, especially when these writers tried to explain
13806-580: Was under the control of the Frankish Empire ). Frankochiotika / Φραγκοχιώτικα (meaning 'Catholic Chiot') alludes to the significant presence of Catholic missionaries based on the island of Chios . Additionally, the term Greeklish is often used when the Greek language is written in a Latin script in online communications. The Latin script is nowadays used by the Greek-speaking communities of Southern Italy . The Yevanic dialect
13924-621: Was written by Romaniote and Constantinopolitan Karaite Jews using the Hebrew Alphabet . In a tradition, that in modern time, has come to be known as Greek Aljamiado , some Greek Muslims from Crete wrote their Cretan Greek in the Arabic alphabet . The same happened among Epirote Muslims in Ioannina . This also happened among Arabic-speaking Byzantine rite Christians in the Levant ( Lebanon , Palestine, and Syria ). This usage
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