She was built to drawings by the naval architect John F. Coates which he developed through long discussions with the historian J. S. Morrison following the longest correspondence on any subject in The Times in the early 1980s.

The work was also advised by the classics teacher Charles Willink and drew on evidence gained from Greek literature, history of art and archaeology above and below water.

Olympias achieved a speed of 9 knots (17 km/h) and was able to perform 180 degree turns within one minute, in an arc no wider than two and a half (2.5) ship-lengths.

These results, achieved with an inexperienced, mixed crew, suggest that ancient historians like Thucydides were not exaggerating about the capabilities of triremes.

Olympias is now an exhibit in a dry dock at the Naval Tradition Park in Palaio Faliro, Athens, Greece.

In order to sustain the bending moments of her considerable length, a tightened rope (hypozomata) was mounted beneath the deck spanning from bow to stern.