A trireme or triema is an ancient warship. Used by the peoples of the Mediterranean.

Triremes got their name from three rows of oars, which, presumably, were located one above the other in a checkerboard pattern, each oar was controlled by one person.
Early triremes were the result of the evolution of uniremes - ancient warships with one row of oars from 12 to 25 on each side, and biremes - warships with two rows of oars.
It is possible that the Phoenicians were the first to build the trireme.
As the fastest and most agile warship, the trireme dominated the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 4th century BC. e., until the larger warships of the quadrireme and quinquereme appeared.
Triremes played an important role in the Greco-Persian wars, in the formation of the maritime empire of Athens and its fall as a result of the campaign against Sicily and the Battle of Egospotam.