Twintig Minuten op Paxos

In March, 2013 Rien de Meij, the author of this book, joined 40,000 other people from around the world on a journey through Ancient Greek classics. It was an online version of the popular Harvard University masterclass, The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, taught by the distinguished Dr. Gregory Nagy of the Classics department. The experience later inspired de Meij—a devotee of ancient Greek classics, and a man with a worldwide reputation in the shipping industry—to write this book about the vessels that sailed the seas during the era of the ancient Greeks. As a participant in the course, I became familiar with de Meij’s ideas, as he frequently posted them on the Discussion Board. That de Meij was a devotee of ancient Greek classics soon became evident. Moreover, he quickly established himself as an astute commentator on the ships sailed by the Greeks of antiquity. De Meij continued and refined his observations at the Kosmos Society, a website created by the CHS.