The ship is the representative of an Athenian state and the captain is the Athenian people. The Athenian people own the state and have the power to choose their leader. The crew members on board are politicians who constantly argue over how to navigate the ship. They also try to do everything they can to get the captain to give them the hold of the ship. These sailors refuse to recognize that the true navigator is best suited to steer the ship, because he knows how to control a ship more than anyone else on board. Instead, they believe that the sailor with the most charisma and desire to lead should be the one tasked with steering the ship. The sailors end up replacing the real ones