Hypothesis The Vedic Origin of Greek Ship Design

The vedic origin of Greek ship design
Content of paper: This paper asserts that the Greek ships, like the Pentaconters and Trireme design are based on
the Vedic Makara, the legendary sea creature.
Author: Stijn van den Hoven
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/stijnvdhoven
Website: www.stijnvandenhoven.com
Published date: 02-05-2019
Image: Original Tunisian mosaic of a Trireme
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme#/media/File:Romtrireme.jpg
Index
Introduction
Identifying the Makara
- Different shapes and forms through the ages
Makara ships in Cambodia

- Khmer ships in Makara shape
Mediterranean Trireme ships

- Greek, Roman and Phoenician ships
- Mosaics
- Modern reconstruction of a Trireme
- Reviewing the design
Conclusion
Footnotes and Bibliography

Introduction
After the author wrote on the Makara as link between the Vedic and meso American civilization [1]
with a keen understanding how the makara looked like through the ages and seen the Khmer Makara
ships, the design of the Greek ships started to make sense to him. This addendum paper proposes that
the design of the Greek and Phoenician ships where influenced by this sea monster or sea dragon so to
say.
Identifying the Makara
Different shapes and forms through the ages
The makara is a creature that has gotten many forms through the ages. From a legged alligator shape to
a composite land sea animal to a more fish like shape. Sometimes with a floral tail (in its alligator tree
form) , sometimes with a fish tail. Its elongated snout was a key feature most of the times yet not
always. It was the mount (ride animal) of the god Varuna and Ganga. For a full cultural view on the
Makara I refer to my Makara paper [1], this is a short addendum paper to that paper elaborating on
Makara ship design.
Image: Varuna, riding the makara:
Location: KA Hampi Malyavantha Raghunath Temple Complex, Stone reliefs on the Exterior Wall Enclosure of
the Main Complex on top of Malyavantha Hill, Hampi, India.
Makara ships in Cambodia
Khmer ships in Makara shape
Looking at these stone relief we can identify the Makara as such return in ships design. This is a
logical approach since the Makara was seen as “a large sea creature” and played a vital role in these
peoples cultures. To make a boat in its image seems logical.
Image: Khmer empire Makara shape boat. Located at the east section of the south wall in the outer gallery of the
Bayon Temple in Cambodia.
Image: a boat from the Cambodian water festival in 1914. Still in shape of the (Naga) Makara
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Om_Touk#/media/File:Cambodia_Water_Festival_1914.jpg
Mediterranean Trireme ships
Greek, Roman and Phoenician ships
When having studied the Makara or the images and forms associated with them, I had a different view
to the Mediterranean ships of the Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans. Especially the Trireme (3 rows of
oars, triple rower)
Mosaics
Below we see images of how these ships looked back in Greek and Roman times. These are ancient
authentic mosaics. One can clearly see the CURLED bough element. The ship needs to be seen as a
whole. Eye, snout tail, battering ram, it’s a makara sea creature.
Image: Genuine Tunesian Mosaic of a Roman ship

Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme#/media/File:Romtrireme.jpg
Image: Mosaic of Trireme
By Brian J. McMorrow (http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/131638128)
Location: Unknown
Assertion: Greek, Roman and Phoenician boats boasted a Makara design, like the Khmer
civilisation, complete with curled up nose. One would only recognise this if one knew the link
with the Makara and how this animal looked. This relation has never been published
anywhere before as one need to have made these specific cultural correlations.
As discussed in the authors Makara paper, we see the Makara throughout the civilisations of
India, the Americas, The Olmec, the Aztec, The Maya etc etc. This was clear part of the vedic
culture and the milkyway in the sky as the Makara creature or “big fish in the ocean”
Modern reconstruction of a Trireme
Now let us look at the modern reconstruction of a Trireme. The Greek naval vessel Olympias. [2]
In 1985 the Greek navy commissioned a replica of the ancient vessel named the Olympias. [3]
However in the authors opinion they “missed the boat.” on its design. To the authors knowledge no
study has been done to what was actually the basis of the design of the Greek ship. In missing this vital
information, key elements of the design where falsely executed so that the (front) end result does not
look like the mosaics found simply because they did not know what they were making or why such
elements where of crucial importance. As such the design of the sea creature still identifiable in the
mosaics is lost in the replica of the Olympias and shows as a incoherent mix of some eyes to the bough
and a tail that is no longer part of a uniform intention of a ship as a creature.
Although I can agree somewhat with the overall design, they completely missed the curled snout
element of the Makara and put a straight up “stick” on the bow and slapped some eyes on.
Thereby the overall shape of the boat as a Makara sea monster is hardly discernable or lost in this
modern “replica”.
Image: front of the Olympias, The Greek Naval replica Trireme vessel
Image: Rear of the Olympias, The Greek Naval replica Trireme vessel
Reviewing the design
Looking at the example mosaics, I found these below drawings to be a far better representation of what
these boats could have looked like. Note the overall impression of a creature, the fishlike tail
specifically, an element that was not executed as well in the Greek replica also, simply because they
thought they where building a ship and spend not so much attention to the why of the shape. The author
hereby identifies these ships as representation of the Vedic Makara sea creature.
This has large implications as it indirectly suggests that the Vedic seafarers where perhaps responsibly
for seeding the Greek, Roman and Phoenician cultures based on the design of the ships that brought
them there. If they would have not known this vedic creature why make a boat design in it, like the
Khmer people of Cambodia.
One must see the ship designs as a makara shape, something that is visible in this antique Chinese
pottery which is a perfect example to compare to the Mediterranean ship shapes.
Image: Celadon green-blue glazed Pottery Ewer 19th, Molded as Makara Dragon-Fish,liao Dynasty(907-1125)a
property of my asian art collection
Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Celadon_Glazed_Pottery_%22_Makara-Dragon-Fish-
Ewer_%22_Liao_Dynasty_(907-1125).JPG
Now having seen the above shape, one can easily see that the Mediterranean ships of the Greek, the
triremes and the penteconters where based on the vedic image of the Makara.
Image: Artistic impressions of Trimere and Penteconters ship. Note the clear curled snout.
Source: Pinterest.com (unknown original source or creator)
Conclusion
Assertion: The ancient Mediterranean ships of the Greek and Romans where also based on the
Vedic Makara sea creature just like the Vedic Khmer culture build ships in the Makara design.
- Greek, Roman and Phoenician ships have a clear Makara design, as we see in the Cambodian Khmer
culture. The front of the ship is the head with the curled up snout.
- The replica of the Olympias did not follow these design elements. They missed important design
elements like the curled up snout and failed to tie the ship in as a large makara sea creature with head
and tail purely because they probably did not know what they where building besides a ship.
- If this theory would be accepted, it will have far reaching consequences, since that would imply that
the Makara design reached the Mediterranean.
- In the makara paper of the author he already identified Cha’ac as being the makara creature and as
such these ships would have indirectly had the “head of Cha’ac” at the bow.
Footnotes
[1]
https://www.academia.edu/34955818/The_Makara_a_clear_link_between_Meso_American_and_Asian_Vedic_cultures
[2] http://www.trireme.org/
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympias_(trireme)

Hypothesis The Vedic Origin of Greek Ship Design

Uploaded by

Document Informationclick to expand document information

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hypothesis The Vedic Origin of Greek Ship Design

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Hypothesis The Vedic Origin of Greek Ship Design

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The vedic origin of Greek ship design

Author: Stijn van den Hoven

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/stijnvdhoven

Published date: 02-05-2019

Image: Original Tunisian mosaic of a Trireme

Makara ships in Cambodia

Mediterranean Trireme ships

Footnotes and Bibliography

Image: Genuine Tunesian Mosaic of a Roman ship

You might also like