Paul and the Shipwreck
Episode 16
Paul was shipwrecked three times altogether! We know this because Paul himself says so in one of the letters he wrote to the church in Corinth. You can read about this for yourself in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 11:25.
We decided to use a Gallo-Roman warship for the shipwreck story in Acts 27 because the Bible story didn’t tell us what type of ship Paul was on. We wanted to use a different kind of ship from the one used in the Jonah story which was a merchant ship. The story mentions army officers being on board to guard Paul so we felt it was appropriate to make the ship a military one.
In our research we found wall murals from buildings in Pompeii, Italy, from the first century AD, which showed scenes of naval battles or parades, including high-prowed ships (ships that look tall at the front) with rows of oars below deck like the one we designed.
Slaves were used to work the oars, and they were not allowed on deck. They had to spend the entire journey below in a confined area. They took it in turns to rest, eat and even sleep in whatever space they could find around the oars and the other slaves. Up on deck, a cloth shelter gave the Roman officers some protection from the weather.
The oars were used to move the vessels during docking or battles and the sails were used for general sea travel. A large sweep oar on each side of the stern (the back of the ship) was used for steering.
Click the picture to see a larger version - you might want to save it or print it too!