Ramming Speed!

A brilliant scene only partially negated by our knowledge that the Romans almost never used galley slaves, having the oars manned by sailors and marines.  In civilian galleys the rowers were usually fairly highly paid professionals who sometimes had a percentage ownership in the vessels they propelled.  In the few instances where the Romans did rely upon slaves in military emergencies, they were often given their freedom first as an incentive to row well.  The misapprehension of the film, and the novel on which it was based, on this point was caused by the fact that in later history being a galley rower was often a sentence for a crime in Europe, but not so in Roman times.  Ancient seas were treacherous enough, thank you very much, without importing a large body of men who would have every incentive to mutiny.