myth spin-off: Archimedes' flashbang

Why bother? Blinding the men on deck isn't going to net to any real advantage. True, you *might* spoil the aim of the Roman archers a little, but you already have the twin advantages of greater range over them and better protection.

Archers were the machine gunners of their (very lengthy) period, in that they relied on volume of fire rather than pin point accuracy. So tactically you'd be better off deploying more archers than having even a small number of men standing their shields in hand - who could not fire a bow while holding their shield.

I also seriously doubt that the convex Greek shields would 'blind' an opponent long enough or badly enough to cause them any problems. While Jamie did note that he was blinded by the light during the testing, the 'shields' being used were flat. It certainly isn't going to cause any problems for the rowers* since they would be facing the stern of the ship rather than the walls.

(*Remember, we are talking about galleys not sailing ships)