PHOCAEA, AEGEAN SEA
610 BCE
Tyrrhenus was already at the edge of the water before the shipbuilders, dock workers, and slaves arrived. The sun rose behind his back as he faced the broad expanse of the Aegean Sea to the west. He was a great commander of men and a well-respected leader, and he always arrived early to inspect the work from the previous day before beginning the new day’s activities.
On this day, with three ships built and two more to create before the trip was turned to, he wanted to check the wood timbers and rope bindings that were held in store for the construction. Between the piles of these materials, he walked toward the hulls of the ships already built, vessels that floated in the shallow waters off the edge of the port in Phocaea, the embarkation point that the Lydia
