The anchors were very unlike those of the present day. The Greeks and Pliny ascribe them to Æolus, Dædalus, and Icarus. Sails were invented by the Samothracians. The oldest ships could sail in either direction, and had rudders at both ends. 15) was invented by Typhis, the steersman of the Argo.
The boat was first propelled by poles, and subsequently by oars ( pl. The idea afterwards occurred of using bent wood instead of wicker-work, and boards fitted to each other instead of skins. If we may credit Pliny and Pollux, the first vessels of this kind were made of light wicker-work, and covered with skins. The desire to carry more than one or two persons in the same boat, led to the construction of larger vessels. The first mention of a boat is found in Sanchoniathon, where Ausos hollows out the branch of a tree with fire, and in this frail vessel commits himself to the sea. It was not until a later period that coasting voyages were attempted on the sea with rafts, which are now used for the transportation of passengers and merchandise. In the first instance, probably, vessels were confined to rivers. The Greeks ascribed it to their Minerva the Romans, to Neptune the Chinese, to Hoang-Ti while, in fact, it is the social impulse of man, his necessity, his desire of gain, to which we owe the art that brings together the most distant parts of the world.
It is made use of by the poets, and every nation claims the invention of it as its own. We find its application in the mythical ages. Navigation, or the art of crossing water, is so old that we know not who was its inventor.
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