I'm asking because I'm writing a story that involves this as a plot point, but I don't want to have it if it's obviously implausible from a historical standpoint. And I'm not asking did they or why would they, but could they.
Thanks very much, I appreciate any help.
I dont think it would have been possible.
The Hellenistic ships that the Romans would have used do have Sails but they are mainly propelled by rowing.
The Quinquereme(or "5") was one of the most famous ancient ship types and it was used by Romans and Carthaginians.
It could carry around 400 men, 300 would be rowers.
Those ships arent designed for long travel and they were mostly sailed on coastal routes.