Troy and the Trojan War
Troy was considered a mythical city until archeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the remains of the city in 1871. Archeological digs have brought up many truths about the history of Troy, and about the Trojan War, which supposedly occurred around 1250 B.C. The war is the subject of the epic poem, The Iliad by Homer, however, there are several theories regarding the existence of Troy and the events of the Trojan War.
In 1871, Heinrich Schliemann, with the aid of geographical clues mentioned in The Iliad, discovered the legendary city of Troy on a coast in North West Turkey (TROY). The remains of the city of Troy were located on the hills of Hisarlik in Anatolia, Canakkale (CÃANAKKALE), and nine layers of the city have been unearthed at the site, each built on top of each other (TROY). Great damage was done to the newer layers of Troy, due to Schliemann lacking in archeological knowledge and his thinking that the oldest layers of Troy were the most important (ThinkQuest. “The). Historical artifacts, such as arrowheads and pottery, were found while excavating the city, and findings show that the city of Troy was bigger than was originally thought (TROY). Archeologists have questioned which layer of Troy was the city Homer mentioned in his epic poems. There are two cities which fit the time period, and therefore could have been the Troy mentioned in the in The Iliad: Troy VI and Troy VII (Hirst). Troy VI was a magnificent city, and “was a city like no others” (ThinkQuest. “Troy). The walls of this sixth layer were over four meters thick, about nine meters tall, and was well-fortified than the previous cities (History). Because of the impressive walls, archeologists believed that this was the Troy under King Priam’s rule (ThinkQuest. “Troy). However, Troy VI was possibly destroyed by an earthquake, not by fire, and judging from the lack of bodies unearthed, researchers believe many of the citizens escaped the disaster (ThinkQuest. “The). This fact
In 1871, Heinrich Schliemann, with the aid of geographical clues mentioned in The Iliad, discovered the legendary city of Troy on a coast in North West Turkey (TROY). The remains of the city of Troy were located on the hills of Hisarlik in Anatolia, Canakkale (CÃANAKKALE), and nine layers of the city have been unearthed at the site, each built on top of each other (TROY). Great damage was done to the newer layers of Troy, due to Schliemann lacking in archeological knowledge and his thinking that the oldest layers of Troy were the most important (ThinkQuest. “The). Historical artifacts, such as arrowheads and pottery, were found while excavating the city, and findings show that the city of Troy was bigger than was originally thought (TROY). Archeologists have questioned which layer of Troy was the city Homer mentioned in his epic poems. There are two cities which fit the time period, and therefore could have been the Troy mentioned in the in The Iliad: Troy VI and Troy VII (Hirst). Troy VI was a magnificent city, and “was a city like no others” (ThinkQuest. “Troy). The walls of this sixth layer were over four meters thick, about nine meters tall, and was well-fortified than the previous cities (History). Because of the impressive walls, archeologists believed that this was the Troy under King Priam’s rule (ThinkQuest. “Troy). However, Troy VI was possibly destroyed by an earthquake, not by fire, and judging from the lack of bodies unearthed, researchers believe many of the citizens escaped the disaster (ThinkQuest. “The). This fact
Cited: "CÃANAKKALE Hisarlık-Troy." CÇANAKKALE -- Hisarlık-Troy. Pointsfromturkey.com, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . Hirst, K Sept. 2012. . "History of Troy." History of Troy. TRIPOD, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . Korfmann, Manfred of America, May-June 2004. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . Riorden, Elizabeth H. "Did the Trojan War Really Happen?" TROY. University of Cincinnati, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . Salimbeti, Andrea "The Greek Age of Bronze - Trojan War." The Greek Age of Bronze - Trojan War. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . ThinkQuest ThinkQuest. "Troy." Troy. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . "Trojan War - The Real Story." Trojan War. WWW Support Service, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . "Trojan War." Trojan War "TROY (Ilion)." Ancient Greece - City of Troy. Ancient Greece, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . Wilkens, Iman Jacob