History Main / SlaveGalley

* ''Series/HorribleHistories'': S1E6 has "Things to remember when you're a Galley slave": a two-part parody of airline passenger announcements.[[note]]This is one of the show's rare slips, as the people rowing Roman galleys were almost always regular members of the Roman navy and not slaves. However, there were a few desperate occasions when slaves were pressed into service as rowers for a naval battle, with the promise of their freedom if the battle was won. [[AccidentallyCorrectWriting One of them happened to be a battle mentioned in the sketch.]][[/note]]

* The ''ComicBook/{{Thorgal}}'' volume "The Black Galley": Thorgal gets captured and becomes one of these. There's the drummer (who's a ScaryBlackMan) and the whip-man.

* The undead crew of the Black Pearl in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' used galley oars for a speed advantage. Since the crew were immortal zombies, they could conceivably push to flank speed for hours at a stretch, and still be ready to fight when they caught their prey.
* ''Film/TheSeaHawk'' Thorpe and the other surviving crew of the Albatross are sentenced to this by the Inquisition.
* ''Film/MonsieurVincent'': Still in use in 17th century France, complete with slave drivers banging a drum and whipping the men on the oars. Vincent is so horrified by what he sees that he takes the place of a galley slave at an oar.
* A very weird example in ''Film/FashionsOf1934''. The wild, trippy BusbyBerkeleyNumber includes a scene with a "slave galley" on a stage set, filled with half-naked chorus girls, all wearing platinum blonde wigs, smiling beatifically as they row.
* ''Film/TheMagicChristian'' has a brief scene in which a modern cruise ship is revealed to be powered by topless female galley slaves driven by a whip-wielding stripperific Raquel Welch. Played for laughs[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gamebooks]]
* ''Literature/MasterOfChaos'' begins like this. Unusually, the [[AnAdventurerIsYou hero]] went into slavery ''voluntarily'', as a discreet way of gaining entry to the local WretchedHive.

* British humor: A new galley slave replaces an old one who has died. As the old slave's body is flung overboard, the overseer flogs the rest of the slaves, who respond by opening their breech-clouts and urinating into the air. Confused, the new slave asks his bench-mate what is going on, and receives the reply "we always have a whip-round and a piss-up when somebody leaves." (collection of money and a drinking party)[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'': Humans made prisoners by the Tribus elves of Arianus are often forced into flight harnesses to move the wings of the elves' flying ships, a very difficult and dangerous task. Later, after the human/elven war ends, the need to move galleys still remains and the elves resort to paying volunteer rowers instead -- and a lot of former galley slaves, having built up quite a bit of practice and without many other career options, sign up for this job. The narration notes that, somewhat paradoxically, many become quite proud of their career, now that they are doing it by choice as paid professionals.
* ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'': Discussed at length, where most of the embellishments noted on this page are also pointed out. Jones also notes that, since these galleys only ever seem to contain rows of chained-up slaves and nothing in the way of merchandise or soldiers (and for that matter often lack a clear reason for their voyage) it's a bit difficult to understand why people keep building them.

* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', the main character is referred to as a galley slave ("galérien"), as was typical at the time, even though by that point the prisoners were no longer allowed to serve as actual galley slaves. However some translations seem to be slightly confused by this and have Valjean as an actual galley slave, as do some of the films. Valjean and those like him were more like enslaved dock workers/manual laborers.
* ''Literature/SaxonChronicles'': Uhtred, the AntiHero, spends some time as an oar-slave. Instead of the traditional ScaryBlackMan friend, he instead finds himself a crazy badass Irishman. They keep each other angry enough to survive.
* ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'': Cazaril's backstory is revealed to contain two life-changing experiences/epiphanies during his 19 months as a rower on a Slave Galley (three if you count the circumstances of him ending up on there to begin with). He also fits the ScaryBlackMan slot[[note]](more scrawny, sunburned, stinking, and shaggy than anything; but scary enough)[[/note]] noted in the description insofar as a 'boy from a good family' dumped next to him was concerned. Greeting him as one would a lad sharing a tavern bench, sharing his water ration, teaching him, and in the end earning a near-fatal flogging defending him from a rapist.
* ''Literature/TheGoldenCrown'': The time traveling Harry Hawkins is sold as a slave to Romans and finds himself on a ship heading who-knows-where. Lucky for him, pirates burn down the ship (after he grabs the key, and unlocks all the other rowers).
* ''Literature/{{Gor}}'': One of the few roles a male slave could live and die in. Captain Bosk made it a practice to free slaves of captured vessels, which made them more motivated rowers, and fighters when necessary, out of gratitude and aversion to re-enslavement.

* ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'': Played with. When Blackthorne sees the galley that will transport him to the capital, he panics thinking its a slave ship and is willing to die in order not to be a galley slave. It is revealed that the rowers were all full samurai doing their duty rather than slaves.

* ''Literature/TimeMachineSeries'': In ''The Mystery of Atlantis'', the hero can end up as a galley slave at one point. Being a time-traveller, he simply time travels out of there while everyone are hanging their heads down out of fatigue.
* ''Literature/{{Outcast}}'', Creator/RosemarySutcliff's second and worst-researched Roman novel, has its protagonist Beric arrested and sentenced to row a Roman army transport galley on the Rhine. His oarmate is a dreamy artist with an IncurableCoughOfDeath, leaving Beric in the role of barbarian best friend.

* ''Literature/TheShipOfIshtar'': The titular ship is crewed by Galley Slaves in the ''alla scaloccio'' type arrangement, with two guys on each oar. AdventurerArchaeologist John Kenton, having been magically transported onto the ship from the 1920s, is MadeASlave and put to work there. His rowing partner is a big warm-hearted Viking called Sigurd. When John takes a whipping meant for Sigurd, Sigurd swears [[BloodBrothers Blood Brothership]] with him. Far from dying for him, Sigurd helps John and two other allies plan and execute a mutiny.
* "[[http://www.online-literature.com/kipling/3775/ The Finest Story in the World]]", a Creator/RudyardKipling short story, involves an unimaginative would-be writer [[PastLifeMemories remembering in vivid detail his past life]] as a Greek galley slave, while believing that he's inventing it.
* ''Literature/TheCrimsonShadow'': This is where anyone the Huegoths capture ends up on. It's considered a {{fate worse than death}}.
* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': In "The Grim Grotto", as well as [[Recap/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEventsS03E04TheGrimGrottoPart2 it's adaptation]], the villain's submarine is powered by the labour of the snowscouts, whom they abducted in the previous book.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': Discussed in ''Literature/{{Eric}}''. When Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.[[note]]In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more force was required.[[/note]] Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* The closing song of Music/{{Accept}}'s ''Stalingrad'' album is "The Galley", a lengthy song about the hopelessness of being a galley slave.

* One of the "bad endings" of the ''TabletopGame/TunnelsAndTrolls'' solo adventure ''City of Terror'', has your character end up as galley slave. "You learn to enjoy your life as a galley slave, it's not bad.. But it is HELL, when the captain wants to water-ski."

[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/BenHur https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b8a019f2bc231c12ccd53249e752065e.jpg]]]]

[[/folder]]

* ''Film/TheMagicChristian'' has a brief scene in which a modern cruise ship is revealed to be powered by topless female galley slaves driven by a whip-wielding strippereific Raquel Welch. Played for laughs[[/folder]]

* ''Film/TheMagicChristian'' has a brief scene in which a modern cruise ship is revealed to be powered by topless female galley slaves driven by a whip=wielding strippereific Raquel Welch. Played for laughs[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gamebooks]]
* ''Literature/MasterOfChaos'' begins like this. Unusually, the [[AnAdventurerIsYou hero]] went into slavery ''voluntarily'', as a discreet way of gaining entry to the local WretchedHive.
[[/folder]]

* Discussed at length in the ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'', where most of the embellishments noted on this page are also pointed out. Jones also notes that, since these galleys only ever seem to contain rows of chained-up slaves and nothing in the way of merchandise or soldiers (and for that matter often lack a clear reason for their voyage) it's a bit difficult to understand why people keep building them.
* Whole chapters of this in ''Literature/TheBaroqueCycle''. This is the [[AuthorFilibuster Baroque]] [[{{Doorstopper}} Cycle]], so 'whole chapters' doesn't mean much.

* Uhtred, the AntiHero of Bernard Cornwell's ''Saxon Chronicles'', spends some time as an oar-slave. Instead of the traditional ScaryBlackMan friend, he instead finds himself a crazy badass Irishman. They keep each other angry enough to survive.
* Cazaril's backstory in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'' is revealed to contain two life-changing experiences/epiphanies during his 19 months as a rower on a Slave Galley (three if you count the circumstances of him ending up on there to begin with).
** He also fits the ScaryBlackMan slot[[note]](more scrawny, sunburned, stinking, and shaggy than anything; but scary enough)[[/note]] noted in the description insofar as a 'boy from a good family' dumped next to him was concerned. Greeting him as one would a lad sharing a tavern bench, sharing his water ration, teaching him, and in the end earning a near-fatal flogging defending him from a rapist.
* In the Golden Crown, by Chris Hiemerdinger, the time traveling Harry Hawkins is sold as a slave to Romans and finds himself on a ship heading who-knows-where. Lucky for him, pirates burn down the ship (after he grabs the key, and unlocks all the other rowers).
* In the [[Literature/{{Gor}} World of Gor]], one of the few roles a male slave could live and die in. Captain Bosk made it a practice to free slaves of captured vessels, which made them more motivated rowers, and fighters when necessary, out of gratitude and aversion to re-enslavement.
* Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'':

* Played with in ''Literature/{{Shogun}}''. When Blackthorne sees the galley that will transport him to the capital, he panics thinking its a slave ship and is willing to die in order not to be a galley slave. It is revealed that the rowers were all full samurai doing their duty rather than slaves.

* ''Master of Whitestorm'' begins with the titular character and his slaves working the same oar of a Mhurgai ship.

* ''[[Literature/TimeMachineSeries The Mystery of Atlantis]]'': the hero can end up as a galley slave at one point. Being a time-traveller, he simply time travels out of there while everyone are hanging their heads down out of fatigue.

* In the Sevenwaters book Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier, one of the Painted Man's men had this as his backstory - captured by Vikings as a way to supplement their losses, freed by the Painted Man who asked the chained slaves to row them to Ulster, after which they could either go free with a bit of gold or stay with him.
* A. Merritt's ''The Ship of Ishtar'' is crewed by Galley Slaves in the ''alla scaloccio'' type arrangement, with two guys on each oar. AdventurerArchaeologist John Kenton, having been magically transported onto the ship from the 1920s, is MadeASlave and put to work there. His rowing partner is a big warm-hearted Viking called Sigurd. When John takes a whipping meant for Sigurd, Sigurd swears [[BloodBrothers Blood Brothership]] with him. Far from dying for him, Sigurd helps John and two other allies plan and execute a mutiny.
* Creator/RudyardKipling's 1891 short story "[[http://www.online-literature.com/kipling/3775/ The Finest Story in the World]]" involves an unimaginative would-be writer [[PastLifeMemories remembering in vivid detail his past life]] as a Greek galley slave, while believing that he's inventing it.

* Discussed in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Eric}}''. When Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.[[note]]In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more force was required.[[/note]] Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* In the early ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The Romans'', the heroes are separated while visiting Nero's Rome, and Ian ends up enslaved and working a galley.
* In Frankie Howerd's ''Series/UpPompeii'', the main character has a HaveWeMet? moment with another slave. He doesn't recognize the other guy at first, and the other guy only realizes when he sees the back of his head. He sat behind him in the galley, so that's all he saw of him for all those years, but he would recognize the back of that bonce ''anywhere'' after that.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/BenHur1959 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b8a019f2bc231c12ccd53249e752065e.jpg]]]]

Compare GladiatorGames, the alternative for a male slave in ancient times.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Eric}}'', when Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.[[note]]In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more force was required.[[/note]] Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': When Diana and her sky pirate foes led by Nifta are tossed back in time by an odd {{Clock Roach|es}} to maintain the TimeLoop that has Nifta feeling like she's fought Diana before Diana ends up shackled on a slave galley, and she breaks her oar for a weapon and convinces the others slaves to revolt as well.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Eric}}'', when Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.{{note]]In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more force was required.[[/note]] Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* In the ''{{Literature}}/Discworld'' novel ''{{Literature}}/Eric'', when Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.{{note:In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more force was required.}} Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* In ''{{Discworld}}/Eric'', when Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.{{note:In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more force was required.}} Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* In ''Discworld/Eric'', when Rincewind and Eric are transported back to the time of the [[Literature/TheIliad Tsortean War]] and taken captive by the Tsorteans as enemy spies, the interrogator threatens to put them as rowers on a trireme. He says that if they cooperate, he can put in a good word so that they get to be on the top deck.[[note:In RealLife, rowing at the bottom deck of a trireme was actually preferable; the oars necessarily got longer the higher the deck, meaning that more strength was needed.]] Later, he tells them that if they're trying to trick him, there is such a thing as [[UpToEleven quinquiremes]].

* ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'': After [[TheUsurper Prince Jewelius]] seizes the throne of Equestria, he legalizes slavery and sentences Applejack and Pinkie Pie to work as galley slaves. They're in this situation for a week before the other discredited heroes free them.

* In the ''[[TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode "Kamp Krusty", in the scene where the kids at the camp are forced to sew cheap wallets for selling, Kearney keeps the beat on a drum in the background like in this type of scene.

** Being a Galley Rower was also a prestigious [[AncientGreece Athenian Navy]] position, for similar reasons as their Roman counterparts. It is true that the rowers were ''thetes''--the lower class of Athenian citizen[[note]]Athens had four classes of citizen: ''Thetes'', the working classes; ''zeugitae'', the middle classes who had enough wealth to purchase their own armor and weapons; ''hippeis'', or "knights", meaning people rich enough to maintain a horse and served as cavalry; and "five hundred bushel men", whose income of 500 bushels of grain (or equivalent) per year made them impossibly wealthy. While the Constitution of Solon originally included some political and legal inequalities, these were mostly eliminated in the time of Pericles.[[/note]]--this was purely economic; the ''thetes'' were the most numerous citizens, as well as the only ones who couldn't afford the weapons needed to fight on land.[[note]]With few exceptions, the soldiers in the armies of Greek city-states paid for their own equipment, while the state would pay for provisions while on campaign.[[/note]] Athens recognized the importance of its navy to its defense (calling them, famously, the "wooden walls") and later their importance to the [[HegemonicEmpire Athenian Empire]], and honored the rowers accordingly. The ''thetes'' also tended to be most favorable towards going to war, because being a galley rower was a better-paying and much more prestigious job than was available to them in peacetime.

Historically, this trope is NewerThanTheyThink and belongs in the realm of BrieferThanTheyThink. The heyday of the slave galley lasted only for some 70 years - from the beginning of the 16th century to the BattleOfLepanto (1571). Galley slaves were introduced only during the Renaissance (16th century) as cannons became the main weapon of galleys instead of ramming and boarding and less skill was required for rowers. Slave galleys were uncommon in the ancient world for various reasons[[note]](see [[Analysis/SlaveGalley analysis page]] for details)[[/note]], making this trope an example of ArtisticLicenseHistory. Some nations, such as Venice, never adopted galley slavery. Some, like Sweden and Russia, used [[{{conscription}} conscript soldiers]] for galley crews.

* In the Golden Crown, by Chris Hiemerdinger, the time traveling Harry Hawkins is sold as a slave to Romans and finds himself on a ship heading who-knows-where. Lucky for him, pirates burn down the ship ( after he grabs the key, and unlocks all the other rowers).

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': When Diana and her sky pirate foes led by Nifta are tossed back in time by an odd ClockRoach to maintain the TimeLoop that has Nifta feeling like she's fought Diana before Diana ends up shackled on a slave galley, and she breaks her oar for a weapon and convinces the others slaves to revolt as well.

* Cazaril's backstory in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'' is revealed to contain two life-changing experiences/epiphanies during his 19 months as a rower on a Slave Galley (three if you cound the circumstances of him ending up on there to begin with).

* In the Golden Crown, by Chris Hiemerdinger, the time traveling Harry Hawkins is sold as a slave to Romans and finds himself on a ship heading who-knows-where. lucky for him, pirates burn down the ship ( after he grabs the key, and unlocks all the other rowers).

* The closing song of Music/{{Accept}}'s ''Stalingrad'' album is "The Galley", a lenghty song about the hopelessness of being a galley slave.

* Averted in the Baltic Sea. Galleys did see some use until the 19th century in shallow, coastal waters, such as in the Baltic archipelagoes during the wars between Sweden and Russia, but they were ''not'' manned by slaves. Both the Swedes and the Russians used [[{{Conscription}} conscripts]] as rowers. They had their weapons (usually short musket and sabre) aside their thwarts and they acted as marines once boarding action or littoral invasion was commenced. Also, both nations simply didn't practice slavery, and use of forced labor like convicts was deemed impractical for the reasons descripted above. While Russia had a serfdom at that time, which was sometimes hardly distinguishable from slavery, enlistment ''always'' immediately freed a person, and a military service was seen as a prestigious, if taxing occupation.

** Similarly, the Phoenician merchant who shows up from time to time uses "business associates who didn't read the contract very well".

** And in another story, the drummer thing is subverted when the pirates end up in command of a Roman galley. They ask their (not very) ScaryBlackMan to be the drummer, at which point he pulls off a high-speed drum solo before being replaced with a standard drummer.