Kerkuroi are double rowed vessels, also known as biremes.

Kerkuroi Fleet

The Bireme - Though not our lightest scout ships, these vessels have greater manoeuvrability in battle than triremes and quadriremes. These vessels, invented long ago by our ancestors and perfected by our own craftsmen will serve us well.

Historically, some of the earliest warships in times such as that of the Trojan War were single deck vessels that only carry as many as fifty men at most and often only had room for twenty to be rowing at any one time. These ships were later replaced by vessels called Triakonteroi which had thirty oars and Pentekonteroi which had fifty, each ship being logically longer than the last. Once the practical limit in length had been reached, the way to increase power (oarsmen) was to sit the rowers at different levels. The earliest biremes were Phoenician, dating back to circa 700BC. One type of bireme later used by pirates was called a hemiola, or one and a half, due to its rear fourteen rowers of the upper bank acting as deck crew combining the speed of one and a half decks of oars with the staying power of moving under sail. The Rhodians later countered this fast vessel with a form of the Triere called a Trieremiolia, two and a half, equipped with a ‘quick-release’ mast. Triakonteroi and Pentekonteroi were still used by later fleets but largely as light scout vessels, not intended to engage an enemy force for any period of time.