The archaeology site i have chosen to investigate is Troy.
This site contains 4000 years of history and is immensely significant to us as it has provided us with an understanding into the early development of European civilisation. The site appears to have been inhabited from the Early Bronze Age to arounder—bout 1180 B.C. Troy was the name given to the Bronze Age City displayed in the Trojan War of ancient Greek. Other names for this site are ‘Hisarlik’, ‘Iliios', ‘Ilion’ and ‘Ilium’. The Trojan War is said to be what destroyed the city of Troy in 1180 B.C. The war was waged against the city of Troy by the Greek’s after the King of Sparta’s wife Helen was taken by the Prince of Troy. The war was an intense battle which is thought to of lasted
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This is an important event in Greek mythology and has been recounted most prominently through Homer's Iliad which recounts the siege. The first excavations at the site were conducted in 1870 by Heinrich Schliemann. Heinrich Schliemann was a young businessman and a pioneer in the field of archaeology. Around his 40’s he retired to pursue his dream of finding the site. Prior to Schliemann’s excavation most scholars considered the site to be a mythological place. There was much scholarly debate as to whether the site actually existed, however it is almost universally accepted that the excavations have revealed the city of Troy. Due to Schliemann’s determination to uncover the site he has enabled modern civilisation to gain a understanding into European civilisation in its early years of development. Because of his finds he has been given the title ‘Father of Mediterranean Archaeology’. Schliemann collapsed into a coma on Christmas Day in 1890 with the cause being ‘Cholesteatoma’ and died the next day. Heinrich Schliemann located the city of Troy by following the geographical clues in the 'Iliad' and started excavating a hill called Hisarlick in Anatolia on the coast of North West Turkey. The …show more content…
From the beginning Frank Calvert told Schliemann to go slowly in excavating ‘Hisarlick’ and to dig a network of small trenches but Heinrich was connived that Troy was located deep down in the bed rock and attacked the hill with more than 100 workers at a time. After much persistence and even doubting himself Heinrich found huge walls and a city destroyed by fire and was convinced he had discovered the city of Troy. After walking around the site and reading the Iliad for two hours Heinrich wrote, “I was fully convinced that it was here that ancient Troy had stood.” During 1988 Manfred Kauffman accompanied by a team from University of Tubingen and Cincinnati began to excavate the site further. The team came to the conclusion that the city of Troy was much bigger than they had originally thought as they located a deep ditch around the city indicating a means of defence of a larger city. They also found an abundance of arrowheads that dated back to the 12 Century B.C. The issue with discovering information about this site is that its still unclear which level was destroyed by the Trojan War as there are nine
At the beginning of Book 2 of The Aeneid, Aeneas tells his story about the fall of Troy. The Greeks constructed a massive wooden horse to which the Trojans believed was an offering goddess Minerva. They then sent one of their youths, Sinon, to give the offering to the Trojans. The Trojans brought the wooden horse into to please the goddess but, the wooden horse was actually a structure to house some Greek soldiers to infiltrate Troy as well as execute a sneak attack when the city was asleep. Similar to guerrilla soldiers, the Greeks exit the wooden horse to begin their attack on the Trojan city. When Aeneas sees the city in flames, he gathers his men to attempt to save Troy. Aeneas attempts to kill as many Greeks as he can, but forced to retreat.
The research discussed above focused mainly on the Greek mainland itself, understandably so. But one would be remiss to discard any discussion relating to the physical site from which Homer drew inspiration, the city of Ilion located in Troy. In Aslan’s recent publication, she provides remarkable detail on her findings regarding pottery found in burials near the city of Troy itself, which discovered offerings mixed together ranging from the Late Bronze Age all the way to the Roman Empire. . Although Aslan provides the possibility of incidental mixture of layers, one cannot dismiss the possibility of worshippers wanting to mix their friends/relatives directly with heroes who may have attained immortality in the battle for Troy itself. And since
The Iliad, written by Homer, plays an adequate role in determining the events of Troy. Although there is a five-century separation between the fighting of the Trojan War in 1250 BC and the composition of the Iliad in 750 BC, Homer’s legend still remains to be one of the key evidences to this day.
With the whole city of Troy quiet, the Greeks attack and take hold of the city. The loss of Troy, in Virgil’s eyes was deceit, lies, and broken
In the passage "Lost Cities, Lost Treasure" Schiliemann's careless actions erased important clues to Troy's past. That careless action set Schliemann and Calvert back from finding the ancient city Troy. Schliemann did get all credit for discovering Troy but he was not just famous for the. He, Schliemann, also became
The topic of the Trojan War has been analyzed, criticized, and researched for millennia. Many archeologists have spent decades trying to unveil the truth of the Trojan War. In 1894, the University of Texas was presented with the opportunity to purchase the alleged site of Troy. Alexander Watkins Terrell, the minister to the Ottoman Empire, believed it was imperative that the University of Texas capitalize on this opportunity as he felt the site was teeming with academic possibilities. The University of Texas, however, did not purchase the site. The decision to not obtain the land was a mistake on the part of the University of Texas as the site held the potential to gain an advantage over other universities of the time and reveal truths pertaining
In actuality, there are many theories concerning the destruction of Troy that do not involve a giant wooden horse. One is that Homer, the author of the "Illiad", made up the story of the Battle of Troy, and that there was actually an earthquake instead. According to the article, "'...Homer knew that the city he was describing had been destroyed by an earthquake...But that's not how you want to end your monumental saga-with a whimper'" (Lovgren). It is reasonable that Homer would want to defend Troy, since the concept of the Trojan horse made the Greek offense look strong, and Homer was from Greece. In addition, it was probably humiliating for the Trojan empire to have been up taken by something as mediocre as an earthquake. The idea of writing an epic that not only made the Greeks look good, but at the same time make the Trojans look bad, would have been appealing to
Answering dido, Aeneas begins telling about the fall of troy, even though retelling it involves reexperiencing the agony (this is from the actual book which i have a copy of). He takes us back to ten years into the Trojan War, where the Danaans (Greeks) have suddenly retreated (from view) but also built a big wooden stallion with a stomach filled with warrors. They covertly hide their best officers, with supplies, inside the stallion, while whatever is left of the Greek armed force keeps out of sight some separation from Troy. Seeing a monstrous steed before their doors confuses the Trojans
Schliemann assumed that Troy was located in the North West of Turkey; he came to this conclusion with the description given by Homer. When Schliemann arrived he attacked the mountain with pic axes to get rid of all the debris, and to be able to see the hidden treasure underneath, “Troy”. One day he found ruins of the pre historic city. Ramps guided to a gate. Schliemann found gold, and jewels that Helen once wore, or so he thought.
The Trojan war was a ten year siege on the city of the city of Troy at the hands of the Greek forces led by a psychopathic king, Agamemnon. This conflict, which took place about 1200 B.C has become one of the most well known Greek mythology events in history. In the 13th century B.C, Troy and Sparta had stopped their wars and become allies, this was until Paris the youngest prince of Troy seduced Helen, the Queen of Sparta and left with her back to Troy. When Menelaos (The King of Sparta) found out what had happened, he vowed
The ancient city of Troy, a legendary city in classical literature and Hollywood films alike, has been an attraction to visit for at least twenty-five centuries. Visitors such as Alexander the Great, who stopped at Troy in 334 BC while on route east to conquer Asia, came to Troy looking for the city immortalized in Homer's Iliad. Presently, archaeologists visit Hisarlik, a site in northwest Turkey, as it is believed to be the location of the ancient city. Alexander must have been puzzled when he had arrived in Ilion, the name of the city at the time of his visit. Ilion was a small colony founded centuries after the Trojan War supposedly took place; Alexander and his men must have had a similar reaction to what they saw as many a
The Trojan War is described as one of histories most legendary battles. This battle is told to have lasted ten years, resulting in the eventual collapse of Troy, under the siege of Greek forces. Modern knowledge of the Trojan War has survived mainly through the account given in Homer’s Illiad, and while having proved to be a rich source of inspiration for other writers, artists, and even filmmakers in recent history, much speculation still exists surrounding his account. I will analyze modern interpretations of the Trojan War and examine both speculation and support for Homer’s account. Concluding with sufficient evidence that has been collected surrounding this epic battle, proving Homer’s account of a massive battle between these two powerful city states to not be just a tale of myth and legend, but actual history.
In Greek mythology there is a classic tale of the Trojan War. According to Homer’s Illiad, the Greeks besieged Troy for ten years without success. Subsequently after the death of the warrior Achilles, many wanted to give up the fight. However the king of Ithaca, Odysseus, formulated a strategy which would admit the Greek army access into the city of Troy. Odysseus erected an immense wooden horse. He and his warriors hid inside it. Moreover, after leaving the horse at the gates of Troy, the Greek army sailed away. The Trojans concluded that the Greeks had surrender and left the horse as a gift to the gods. Therefore, the Trojans didn’t want to anger the gods brought the horse inside the gates.
Barry Strauss, professor of classics at Cornell University attempts to redefine a one of history’s biggest love affairs, the Trojan War. Strauss explains how certain events and characters from Homers “The Odyssey” might have actually existed, but also uses modern discoveries from the Bronze Age to compare Homers account to those of Egypt, the Middle East, and etc. While Homer’s epic should not be read as a historical document which recounts the Trojan War hundred percent accurately, it can still be seen as document which embodies some historical truth. The novel as a whole explains the customs, economic standing, fighting styles and beliefs of the Greeks. Strauss’s writing style allows for the book to be accessible to both students and historians. He argues that just like Franz Ferdinand was the spark which ignited World War 1, Helen on the other hand was just a spark which escalated an existing tension between the Greeks and Trojans. Strauss’s personal input on the war itself gives the novel a different outlook on the Trojan War because, it allows for readers to see beyond the facts and make connections with ideas that Strauss had made with recent discoveries and Homers epic.
In ancient times, people thought that the great War of Troy was just a myth of Homer's. Then in the mid 19th century, a German businessman, Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), discovered Troy. Heinrich had always loved Homer's poem. Since his childhood he had believed that the story of Homer was truth and not a myth. He absorbed the beauty of the epics, but his practical mind also caused him to analyze the facts behind the poetic fiction. He became convinced that the Greeks were right; the War of Troy was not a myth but historical reality. He carried on his excavations from 1870 to 1873, 1878 to 1879, and in 1881. The results were fantastic. Nine cities that had been successively destroyed emerged from the excavations. According to the archeologists' studies, Priam had ruled Troy. Priam was one of the kings who ruled Troy