Soteria, Greek Goddess of Safety and Deliverance

Who wouldn’t prefer to board a ship named for the goddess of safety and deliverance, especially when sea travel was so risky? Certainly, Achilles did, the retired gladiator who’d killed his old buddy in “The Dagger,” one of the nine stories in The Deadliest Deceptions.

Ships traveling in most southerly directions; such as from Italy or Greece to Africa, Asia Minor, or Syria; could count on a quick and easy “downhill” voyage of 10 days to 3 weeks, but they would pay the price on their return in the teeth of the prevailing winds, perhaps for 2 months or more.

Achilles would have to face these winds, the Etesians, strong, dry northerly winds that blow across the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean from mid-May to mid-September. They peak in July and August, blowing strongly especially during the day. The Etesians could attain such violence that sailing vessels for weeks at a time could not beat against them but had to tie up behind islands.

No wonder the Romans, to feel secure, named their ships after male or female deities. Nevertheless, they also relied on a host of other rituals and superstitions. For example, sailors strictly avoided whistling, as doing so was thought to summon dangerous gales, and when boarding a vessel, they used their right foot first. The crew also placed coins under the mast to pay Charon, the mythological ferryman, to safely transport their souls across the River Styx if the ship went down.

So, rather than boarding a Roman ship, I recommend you take your voyages only with Miriam and her characters. Just click here.