Thirty years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul was a prisoner under Centurion Julius’s command. They were on a journey to Rome on an Alexandrian grain ship. Accompanying Paul on this voyage was St Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles and of one of the four gospels.
Luke’s first-hand account of the voyage and shipwreck on Maltese shores in chapter 27 of the Acts of the Apostles is considered by many scholars as the best contemporary writing, describing the difficulties faced by ancient seafarers − difficulties which were encountered by other sea captains throughout the ages, even if their ships were better equipped and modern in comparison with those of two millennia ago.
Naval tactics
One of England’s greatest naval heroes, Lord Horatio Nelson, employed the same skills in his battles as did the captain of the ancient Egyptian grain ship carrying Paul westward towards Rome.
Seventeen centuries later and in more seaworthy ships, Nelson used at least three tactics clearly described by Luke during the tempestuous sea voyage.
The first tactic is seen in the Battle of Copenhagen, where Nelson sailed his ships into the narrow and shallow straits so as to attack the Danes at their weakest point. To avoid being shipwrecked in the shallow seas, the crews sounded the depth by dangling a sounding weight from their ships.
The crew of the Egyptian grain ship 1741 years earlier did the same thing when, at midnight, they felt they were approaching land. They sounded and found they had 20 fathoms on the lead, and the second sounding gave them a depth of 15 fathoms. (Acts 27:28). Fearing that at midnight they could have been fast approaching land, the captain of the ancient Egyptian grain ship ordered that four anchors be deployed from the stern.
Ships usually drop their anchors from the bow, which has always been better designed to ride the waves than the stern. But the captain of the Egyptian grain ship foresaw the decisions required the following morning, when he would finally be able to see how close to land they actually were. And where the land was − port side, starboard side or dead ahead.
Anchored from the stern resulted in the crew cutting off the anchors and leaving them on the seabed. They then sailed to port side into a bay with a beach, hoping to ground the ship on some sandy shore. (Acts 27:39 NIV)
The second tactic was used at 3pm of August 1, 1798, when Nelson ordered his fleet to prepare for battle. One hour later, to accurately position his ships in readiness for his battle plan, he ordered his fleet to be ready to anchor by the stern. At 5.30pm, Nelson sent the simple signal to his fleet “as most convenient!” and the ships formed in line for battle.
Like the captain of the Egyptian grain ship, Nelson had navigation and strategic acumen. Attacking in a concerted way, he destroyed the French fleet at Aboukir Bay. Annihilating Bonaparte’s fleet made it easier for the British to eventually destroy his army too, resulting in Pax Britanica.
The third tactic was seen three years before this great sea battle. Nelson used another skill employed by the ancient sea captain − undergirding. Patrolling the Riviera for a year in Agamemnon, she was so warn out from battles that he ordered she be frapped by passing hemp hawsers at midship, round the hull to support the ship’s weakened frame and she limped back to the sanctuary of Leghorn (Livorno), Italy.
Caught in the violent storm, the crew of the heavily laden ancient grain ship had to undergird her in the same manner. Wet grain expanded, pushing out the hull’s planks and allowing seawater to enter into the holds. (Acts 27:17)
The weaponisation of grain
The continuous supply of grain to Rome was vital. Egypt was Rome’s bread basket. Roman emperors depended on the daily distribution of grain to the plebs to prevent them from rioting. Bread and circuses − panem et circenses − was the appeasement analogy to keep the populace quiet while the nobility, senators and emperors continued to siphon wealth into their coffers. Panem et circenses remains to this day.
Quite a few Roman generals who had issues with Rome’s regime weaponised grain rather than seeking immediate military confrontation. For examples, Sextus Pompey cut off Sicily’s grain supply. Octavian, conscious of the fact that attacking Antony would make him unpopular, declared war on Cleopatra. Egypt was annexed to Rome and Caesar Augustus (Octavian), praefectus annonce (prefect of the provisions), took full control of the grain trade. This was also the beginning of Pax Romana.
Eighty-seven years later, Apostle Paul was travelling on an Egyptian grain ship which shipwrecked on our shores. A few years later, Vitellius and his army returned to Rome from Germany. His soldiers plundered and slaughtered anyone who opposed them. Vitellius became emperor. Vespasian and his army had just laid waste to all of Judea. He was about to attack the Jewish rebels in Jerusalem when he heard of Vitellius becoming emperor. Vespasian’s troops exhorted him to become emperor.
History will keep on laughing at our ability to repeat historical blunders
Josephus was a captured Jewish general who later befriended Vespasian and his son Titus. He wrote extensively on Jewish and Roman history and he even witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. In his book The Jewish War, Josephus states that after overthrowing all the places near Jerusalem, Vespasian went to Caesarea and heard of the troubles in Rome. When his troops declared him emperor too, he entrusted his son Titus with his army. Titus eventually completed the destruction of Jerusalem.
Quoting Josephus: “So upon the exhortations of Mucianus, and the other commanders, that he would accept of the empire, and upon that of the rest of the army, who cried out that they were willing to be led against all his opposers, he was in the first place intent upon gaining the dominion over Alexandria, as knowing that Egypt was of the greatest consequence, in order to obtain the entire government, because of its supplying of grain to Rome.” (Josephus, The Jewish War, book 4, chapter 10, para. 605).
Grain was important before and after St Paul’s voyage and shipwreck, and remains so to this day. This can be seen in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. As the sweeping victory he was dreaming of started to fade away, he turned his guns on the Black Sea lanes and Ukrainian sea ports, intending to stop the grain shipments. He weaponised grain exports, causing suffering in Ukraine and soaring prices worldwide.
But poorer countries were suffering even more, among them Egypt. Realising that by causing suffering and famine in mainly Africa, Putin was fast losing popularity, he turned his attacks on the Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. Will the outcome of this war deter other megalomaniacs from delusions of omnipotence and grandeur, at least for a brief period in world history?
As Sir Winston Churchill said in 1948 in an address to the House of Commons: “Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it!” History will keep on laughing at our ability to repeat historical blunders.
Mark Gatt is the author of PAULUS The Shipwreck 60 AD (Allied Publications, 2009). A documentary trailer is available here.