The real story of the discovery of what some archaeologists believe may be Homer's Troy is like an adventure story itself.As a boy, Heinrich Schliemann became fascinated by his father's reading of the Iliad, so as soon as he was old enough, he set out to discover the lost city of Troy. Despite no formal archaeological training himself (he had only been on one dig before), he managed to excavate the site Hissarlik that some believe today could be the ancient city of Troy. To some archaeologists, he was huckster who was more interested in proving he had found Troy than assessing whether he had; nevertheless, he made some of the greatest finds from Antiquity, and today Hissarlik is the site of Troy VI, the best known candidate site for Troy. Of note, Schliemann would also find remarkable relics at Mycenae including the "Agamemnon's mask" at right. To Schliemann's credit, his documentation and logging of archaeological finds improved over the twenty years of his life's work.
Some archeologists believe Troy VI is too well fortified to be the Troy of Homer's Iliad, but dating suggests that Troy VI was at least be a city contemporary to the time of Homer's writing.If you are tempted to see whether any recent Hollywood treatment of the Trojan War is worthwhile, check out Troy's Fallen! for the Archeology Magazine's mournful description of what that reviewer calls a "chronological train wreck." I think we're better off reading a Classic Comic of The Iliad.
This past week we got a board game called Hector and Achilles and it's really fun. We kept getting confused about the names, cities, and events in the Iliad, so this could both help with the people and places, and kick our regular card games up a notch. It's amazing how quickly I got used to cringing when I saw Achilles appear for the Achaens!
In Search of the Trojan War: Greek Art and Archeology
Virtual Reconstructions of Troy
Evidence from Homer about the Site of Troy
Heinrich Schliemann: The "Father" of Modern Archeology
Mask of Agamemnon
Reconstruction of Troy
Very Interesting ! Nice blog!
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