Where were the three? Where is Troy? City of Troy - history

The Trojan Horse is a symbol of Troy (located at the entrance to the Troy National Historical Park)

Myths say that the goddess of discord Eris was not invited to the wedding of the nymph Thetis with Peleus. After which she decided to take revenge, appeared at the feast uninvited and threw a golden apple on the table, on which was written: “To the most beautiful.”

Three goddesses - Aphrodite, Hera and Athena - immediately started a dispute about who should get it, and they invited the Trojan prince Paris to play the role of judge.

Hera promised to make him the ruler of all Asia, Athena promised beauty, wisdom and victories in all battles, and Aphrodite - the love of the most beautiful woman - Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus.

Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite. And then he kidnapped Helen and took her to Troy.

After the abduction of Helen, the Greek kings, allies of Menelaus, at his call, gathered an army of 10 thousand soldiers and a fleet of 1178 ships and marched on Troy. The commander-in-chief was King Agamemnon of Mycenae.

The siege of Troy, which had many allies, lasted ten years. The Greek hero Achilles, the Trojan prince Hector and many others died in the battles. Finally, the cunning king of Ithaca, Odysseus, proposed a plan to capture the city.

The Greeks built a hollow wooden horse and, leaving it on the shore, pretended to set sail. The Trojans rejoiced and dragged the horse in which the Greek soldiers were hiding into the city. At night, the Greeks got out and opened the gates to their comrades, who were actually behind the nearest cape.

Troy was destroyed and burned. Menelaus returned Helen and took her home. This happened at the beginning of the 12th century. BC e.

Troy - history revealed by myth

Already in ancient times, among the peoples of Hellas, tales were known about the Trojan War, its heroes and the gods who helped them - the cunning Odysseus, the brave Achilles, the brave Hector, the powerful Poseidon, the beautiful Aphrodite and others.

Troy- this is a city-museum under open air and one of the most famous historical ones. Historians generally believe that the Greek poet Homer describes it in his famous works “Odyssey” and “Iliad”.

Troy was located in the north of the Asia Minor peninsula, not far from the Dardanelles Strait, which in ancient times was called the Hellespont. The area where this city stood was called Troas. In the Hittite archives, Troy appears as Taruisha.

But in the seventies of the nineteenth century, the famous archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, while conducting excavations on the Hissarlik hill, came across the ruins of nine cities located in different historical layers of the earth, one after another. After a thorough analysis, it was found that this is the place Homer describes, and this is where the legendary Troy is located.

The exact time of Homer's life is not known. It is believed that he lived between the 12th and 6th centuries. BC e. The right to be called his homeland was disputed by seven cities: Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Solomon, Rhodes, Argos and Athens.

Since then, this city has been one of the most popular, famous and visited attractions in Turkey. This city-museum is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Troy- there are probably few people in the world who have not heard this name legendary city at least once in their life, who has not heard of the famous Trojan horse, which abruptly changed course Trojan War. Starting from Homer's Iliad, where fifty-one days are described last year Trojan War, O Three a lot has been said and written. Troy has always interested and continues to interest a variety of scientists: archaeologists, historians, writers and local historians.

Sasha Mitrakhovich 21.10.2015 15:55

Troy on the map of Turkey

Tales of the Trojan War have been widely known in Greece since ancient times. Aed singers sang songs about this event everywhere. Around the 8th century. BC e. several poems were composed.

Two of them have reached us - the Iliad and the Odyssey, the author of which is considered to be the blind poet Homer. The Iliad tells about the events that occurred in the ninth year of the war, and the Odyssey is the story of the long, ten-year return home of the Ithacan king, who recalls some episodes of the siege and death of Troy, including the Trojan Horse.

In ancient times, everyone knew the Iliad and the Odyssey. All literate people had lists of them in their homes; many rich people even kept slaves who recited these poems by heart. Roman literature began with the translation of the Iliad into Latin. And everyone in antiquity was convinced that this was a story about real events in which the deeds of gods and heroes were mixed.

« Troy" And " Ilion"two different names for the same mighty city in Asia Minor, at the entrance from Aegean Sea into the strait.

The city was located on an ancient maritime trade route that connected the Aegean Sea with the Marmara and Black Seas.

Troy occupied a dominant position over the strait and this allowed the city to become a key center of trade between East and West during the Bronze Age.

According to Homer, the Scamander and Simois rivers flowed near the city. The Scamander River (Turkish: Karamenderes) originates on the slopes of the Ida Mountains, which are now called Kaz-Dag.

When Troy was first founded, it was located on the shores of the bay of the same name. But what we see today is no longer a bay, but a large plain because the alluvial sediments of the Scamander and Simoes rivers gradually accumulated and over the course of many centuries these river sediments practically filled the bay.

Nowadays, the ruins of the ancient Troy are located in Turkey, 30 km from the city of Canakkale, near the village of Tevfikiye.

Sasha Mitrakhovich 30.10.2015 10:36

Around 700 BC e. the Greek colony of New Ilion was founded in those places. Alexander the Great made sacrifices there before his victorious campaign in Asia; Constantine the Great at one time thought to establish his capital there, but chose Byzantium.

Many travelers specifically went to Troas to look at the places where these events took place. However, centuries passed, New Ilion fell into decay, and gradually the Trojan War began to be considered a fairy tale, a myth, especially since gods participated in the events.

Some researchers saw in the Iliad an allegory for other events, for example, the Hellenic colonization of Asia Minor. This seems plausible, because ancient legends say that the Greeks who besieged Troy sowed grain every spring and also constantly plundered the coast.

Such events really do not look like a punitive campaign, but like an expansion, slow and difficult.

Today, the area where the modern Troy, is strikingly different from the one Homer describes. The silt deposits of the Kara Menderes and Dumrek-Su rivers moved the coastline back year after year, day after day, and now the city lies on a completely dry hill.

In the city-museum " Troy“There is certainly something to see; the ruins alone, dating back to different historical periods, are worth it. Tourist visits here are allowed from May to September from 8.00 to 19.00, and from September to April from 8.00 to 17.00. Price entrance ticket is 15 liras. The optimal solution for a more complete acquaintance with all the exhibits would be to hire a guide.

One of the most popular and favorite places in the city is the famous Trojan Horse, or to be precise, its wooden copy. Everyone can climb inside the horse and feel like cunning and dexterous supporters of Odysseus.

True, most often there are so many tourists that the majority not only cannot stand in line to get inside the Trojan horse, they simply cannot even get closer than a few hundred meters to it.

It may also be interesting to visit the Museum of Excavations, with numerous photographs, models and many other exhibits describing the stages of work to discover the city.

Numerous inquisitive tourists can visit the temple of Athena, impressive in its size and majesty, a mysterious and gloomy sanctuary of the ancient gods, concert hall Odeon, and the houses of celebrities and rich people of Troy that have survived to this day.

Sasha Mitrakhovich 30.10.2015 10:39

For a long time the very existence Troy considered a myth or invention of Homer and the exact location Troy no one knew. Geographical descriptions given in Homer's Iliad, led some scientists to suggest that the ruins Troy may be in the north-west of Asia Minor, somewhere at the entrance to (in the territory of modern Turkey).

In 1870, the famous self-taught archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, having received permission from the then Ottoman authorities, began excavations in the northwestern part of the Hissarlik hill (near the city of Canakkale). On May 31, 1873, Schliemann discovered a treasure, which he hastily named the “Treasure of Priam.”

Later it turned out that this was not the “Treasure of Priam”, because the age of the treasure was a thousand years older than the times described by the blind poet Homer. According to the permission of the Ottoman government for the right to excavate Hissarlik, Schliemann was obliged to transfer half of the finds to Archaeological Museum in Istanbul. But he hid the treasures from the Turkish authorities and smuggled them to Greece.

In 1881, after unsuccessful attempts to sell the treasures to the world's largest museums, Schliemann donated them to the city of Berlin, which allowed him to become an honorary citizen of Berlin. Since 1945, the Trojan Treasure, taken as a trophy during the Second World War, has been located in Moscow in the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin.

Many still doubt that Schliemann discovered the very Troy, but one way or another, most scientists today are inclined to believe that Schliemann was still right, “Troy has been excavated, and there is no second.”

Sasha Mitrakhovich 30.10.2015 10:46

Modern science identifies 9 main cultural layers of Troy

• Troy I— The oldest archaeological traces of Troy date back to 2900 - 2500. BC e. Troy I was a small settlement and even at the height of its existence had a diameter of only 100 m. Despite its modest size, Troy I had a fortress with massive walls, gates and towers made of rough stone. This settlement existed for almost five centuries and, most likely, was destroyed by fire.
• Troy II- Despite the fact that Troy I was destroyed by fire, it arose on the site of the ashes Troy II represents the rebirth of a lost city. The second cultural layer of Troy (2500-2300 BC) is one of the most impressive archaeological sites of the Early Bronze Age. Many treasures were discovered in this layer, including the treasure discovered by Schliemann, which he hastily called the “Treasure of Priam.” All these treasures of gold, silver, bronze and copper indicate active trading activity in the city. However, Troy II also collapsed, but as a result of a sudden attack, as evidenced by the discovered traces of deliberate destruction.
• Troy III, IV and V- Troy III, IV and V are already larger settlements that existed from 2300-1800. BC e. Over the centuries, the city's citadel has grown, but no concrete traces of the city's development are observed; on the contrary, traces of the city's decline have been discovered. In these settlements there are already groups of small houses standing close to one another, separated by small streets. Troy V was again destroyed by fire.
• Troy VI and VII— During this period, a new royal palace-citadel was built in Troy. In size, the new citadel surpassed not only the old one, but also any other in western Asia Minor. Made of hewn stone and reinforced with massive towers, the new fortress walls of the city were 4 to 5 m thick. All this testifies to wealth, prosperity and power Troy in this period. But large vertical faults on the fortress wall in the VI cultural layer of Troy(1800-1250 BC) , indicate that a strong earthquake occurred. After the earthquake, life began to emerge again at the site of the destroyed settlement. The Trojan War and the events mentioned by Homer in the Iliad refer to either Troy VI or Troy VII (1250-1025 BC).
• Troy VIII and IX— According to modern scientists, the Greeks settled Troy, abandoned after the war, 250 years later, that is, during the life of Homer. At first, a small settlement arose on the site of old Troy, then the city grew. On the territory of Troy there was a temple to Athena, as well as a sanctuary for sacrifices (900-85 BC). According to Arrian (ancient Greek historian and geographer), Alexander the Great made a pilgrimage to Troy and visited the temple of Athena. From the Temple of Athena, only a few fragments of altars and marble fragments have reached us. With the growing power of the Roman state, a legend arose that it was the descendants of the Trojan Aeneas who founded Rome. That's why the Romans honored Troy. Gaius Julius Caesar ordered the expansion of the temple of Athena after his visit there in 48 BC. Augustus, who replaced him, also ordered the construction of a bouleuterion (council hall) and an odion for musical performances in the “sacred Ilium”.

Sasha Mitrakhovich 30.10.2015 10:49

Many of the great discoveries in the history of mankind were made not by dedicated scientists, but by self-taught, successful adventurers who did not have academic knowledge, but were ready to go ahead towards their goal.

“A little boy read the Iliad as a child. Homer. Shocked by the work, he decided that he would find Troy no matter what. Decades later Heinrich Schliemann fulfilled his promise."

This beautiful legend about the history of one of the most significant archaeological discoveries has little in common with reality.

The man who revealed Troy to the world early years was sure of something else: sooner or later he would become rich and famous. Therefore, Heinrich Schliemann was very scrupulous about his biography, carefully erasing dubious episodes from it. The "Autobiography" written by Schliemann has as much to do with his real life, as much as “Priam’s treasure” - to Troy, described by Homer.

Ernst Schliemann. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann was born on January 6, 1822 in Neubukov, into a family whose members had been shopkeepers for centuries. Ernst Schliemann, Henry's father, broke out of this series by becoming a pastor. But in his spiritual rank, Schliemann Sr. behaved indecently: after the death of his first wife, who bore him seven children, Ernst began an affair with a maid, which is why he was removed from his duties as a pastor.

Later, Ernst Schliemann completely went downhill, gradually becoming an alcoholic. Henry, who had become rich, did not have warm feelings for his parent, sent him barrels of wine as a gift, which may have accelerated his father’s transition to the best of worlds.

Citizen of the Russian Empire

By that time, Henry had not been to his home for a long time. Ernst Schliemann sent his children to be raised by wealthier relatives. Henry was brought up by Uncle Friedrich and demonstrated a good memory and desire to learn.

But at the age of 14, his studies ended, and Heinrich was sent to work in a shop. He got the most menial work, his working day lasted from 5 am to 11 am, which affected the teenager’s health. However, at the same time, Henry’s character was forged.

Five years later, Heinrich went to Hamburg in search of a better life. In need, he wrote to his uncle asking for a small loan. The uncle sent money, but described Henry to all his relatives as a beggar. The offended young man vowed never to ask his relatives for anything again.

Amsterdam in 1845. Drawing by Gerrit Lamberts. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

In 1841, 19-year-old Schliemann reached Amsterdam, where he found permanent work. In just four years, he went from a delivery boy to a bureau chief with a large salary and a staff of 15 subordinates.

The young businessman was advised to continue his career in Russia, which was then considered a very promising place for business. Representing a Dutch company in Russia, Schliemann amassed a substantial capital in a couple of years by selling goods from Europe. His ability for languages, which manifested itself in early childhood, made Schliemann an ideal partner for Russian merchants.

One of the few surviving photographs of E. P. Lyzhina. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Despite the fact that he managed to warm his hands on the California gold rush, Schliemann settled in Russia, receiving citizenship of the country. And in 1852 Heinrich married daughter of a successful lawyer Ekaterina Lyzhina.

Hobby of "Andrey Aristovich"

The Crimean War, unsuccessful for Russia, turned out to be extremely profitable for Schliemann thanks to military orders.

Henry's name was "Andrei Aristovich", his business was going well, and a son was born into the family.

But Schliemann, having achieved success in business, became bored. In April 1855, he first began studying the Modern Greek language. His first teacher was student of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Nikolai Pappadakis, who worked with Schliemann in the evenings according to his usual method: the “student” read aloud, the “teacher” listened, corrected pronunciation and explained unfamiliar words.

Along with the study of Greek came an interest in literature Ancient Greece, especially to the Iliad. Henry tried to get his wife involved in this, but Catherine had a negative attitude towards such things. She openly told her husband that their relationship was a mistake from the very beginning, because the interests of the spouses were very far from each other. Divorce, according to the laws of the Russian Empire, was an extremely difficult matter.

The first surviving photograph of Schliemann, sent to relatives in Mecklenburg. Circa 1861. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

When problems in business were added to the troubles in the family, Schliemann simply left Russia. This was not a complete break with the country and family: Heinrich returned several more times, and in 1863 he was transferred from Narva merchants to the St. Petersburg First Guild of Merchants. At the beginning of 1864, Schliemann received hereditary honorary citizenship, but did not want to stay in Russia.

"I'm sure I'll find Pergamon, the citadel of Troy"

In 1866, Schliemann arrived in Paris. The 44-year-old businessman is eager to revolutionize science, but first he considers it necessary to improve his knowledge.

Having enrolled at the University of Paris, he paid for 8 courses of lectures, including on Egyptian philosophy and archeology, Greek philosophy, and Greek literature. Without having listened to the lectures in full, Schliemann went to the USA, where he both dealt with business issues and became acquainted with various scientific works of antiquity.

In 1868, Schliemann, having visited Rome, became interested in excavations on the Palatine Hill. Having looked at these works, he, as they say, “lit up,” deciding that archeology would glorify him throughout the world.

Frank Calvert in 1868. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Having moved to Greece, he landed on the island of Ithaca, where he first began practical excavations, secretly hoping to find the palace of the legendary Odyssey.

Continuing his travels through the historical ruins of Greece, Schliemann reached the territory of Troas, at that moment under Ottoman rule.

Here he met the British diplomat Frank Calvert, who spent several years excavating the Hissarlik Hill. Calvert followed the hypothesis scientist Charles McLaren, who 40 years earlier announced that under the hill of Hisarlik there were the ruins of the Troy described by Homer.

Schliemann not only believed in it, he became “sick” with the new idea. “In April next year I will expose the entire hill of Hisarlik, for I am sure that I will find Pergamon, the citadel of Troy,” he wrote to his family.

New wife and start of excavations

In March 1869, Schliemann came to the United States and applied for American citizenship. Here he actually fabricated a divorce from his Russian wife, presenting false documents to the court.

Wedding photography. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Fascinated by Greece, Schliemann asked his friends to find him a Greek bride. In September 1869, the aspiring archaeologist married Sofia Engastromenu, daughters of the Greek merchant Georgios Engastromenos, who was 30 years younger than the groom. At the time of the wedding, Sofia was only 17 years old, she honestly admitted that she obeyed the will of her parents. The husband tried his best to educate her, took his wife to museums and exhibitions, trying to attract Sofia to her passion for archeology. The young wife became Schliemann’s obedient companion and assistant and bore him a daughter and a son, whom the father, immersed in archeology, named accordingly: Andromache And Agamemnon.

Having finished settling family affairs, Schliemann entered into a lengthy correspondence to obtain permission for excavations from the authorities of the Ottoman Empire. Unable to bear it, he began them without permission in April 1870, but was soon forced to interrupt the work.

Real excavations began only in October 1871. Having recruited about a hundred workers, Schliemann resolutely set to work, but at the end of November he closed the season due to heavy rains.

In the spring of 1872, Schliemann, as he once promised, began to “expose” Hisarlik, but there were no results. It’s not that there were none at all, but Schliemann was interested exclusively in Homer’s Troy, that is, in what he was ready to interpret in that way. The field season ended without results; minor finds were handed over to the Ottoman Museum in Istanbul.

Plain of Troas. View from Hisarlik. According to Schliemann, Agamemnon's camp was located on this site. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Brian Harrington Spier

"Priam's Treasure"

In 1873, Schliemann publicly declared that he had found Troy. He declared the ruins, excavated by May, to be the legendary “Palace of Priam,” which he reported to the press.

View of Schliemann's Trojan excavations. 19th century engraving. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

On May 31, 1873, as Schliemann himself described, he noticed objects made of copper and announced a break for the workers to dig up the treasure himself together with his wife. In fact, Schliemann's wife was not present at this event. From under the ancient wall, Schliemann used one knife to unearth various objects of gold and silver.

Total over the next three weeks About 8,000 items were discovered, including jewelry, accessories for performing various rituals, and much more.

If Heinrich Schliemann had been a classical scientist, it is unlikely that his discovery would have become a sensation. But he was an experienced businessman and knew a lot about advertising.

He, violating the excavation agreement, took his finds from the Ottoman Empire to Athens. As Schliemann himself explained, he did this to avoid looting. He put the women's jewelry discovered during excavations on his Greek wife, photographing her in this form. Photographs of Sophia Schliemann wearing these jewelry became a world sensation, as did the find itself.

A photograph of the “Priam’s treasure” in its entirety, taken in 1873. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Schliemann confidently declared: he discovered the very Troy that Homer wrote about. The treasures he found are a treasure hidden by king Priam or one of his associates at the time of the capture of the city. And they believed the self-taught archaeologist! Many people still believe.

Sins and merits

Professional scientists have a lot of complaints about Schliemann. Firstly, as promised, he literally “exposed” the Hissarlik hill. From the point of view of modern archeology, this is real vandalism.

Excavations must be carried out by gradually studying one cultural layer after another. In Schliemann's Troy there are nine such layers. However, the discoverer destroyed many of them in the course of his work, mixing them with others.

Secondly, “Priam’s treasure” absolutely has nothing to do with the Troy described by Homer.

The treasure found by Schliemann belongs to the layer called “Troy II” - this is the period 2600-2300. BC e. The layer belonging to the period of “Homeric Troy” is “Troy VII-A”. Schliemann went through this layer during excavations, practically not paying attention to it. Later he himself admitted this in his diaries.

Photo of Sophia Schliemann wearing jewelry from the “Priam’s treasure.” Circa 1874. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

But, having mentioned the sins of Heinrich Schliemann, it is necessary to say that he did something useful. The sensation into which he turned his discovery gave a powerful impetus to the development of archeology in the world, ensuring an influx of not only new enthusiasts into this science, but, very importantly, financial resources.

In addition, when talking about Troy and the “treasure of Priam”, Schliemann’s other discoveries are often forgotten. Continuing his tenacious belief in the accuracy of the Iliad as a historical source, in 1876 Schliemann began excavations in Mycenae, Greece, in search of the tomb of an ancient Greek hero Agamemnon. Here the archaeologist, who gained experience, acted much more carefully and discovered the Mycenaean civilization of the 2nd millennium BC, unknown at that time. The discovery of Mycenaean culture was not so spectacular, but from the point of view of science it had much higher value than the finds in Troy.

However, Schliemann was true to himself: having discovered the tomb and the golden funeral mask, he announced that he had found the tomb of Agamemnon. Therefore, the rarity he found is today known as the “mask of Agamemnon.”

Photo of summer excavations in Troy in 1890. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

"The Acropolis and the Parthenon greet him in death"

Schliemann worked before last days life, despite rapidly deteriorating health. In 1890, ignoring doctors’ orders, after an operation he hurried once again to return to excavations. A new exacerbation of the disease led to him losing consciousness right on the street. Heinrich Schliemann died in Naples on December 26, 1890.

He was buried in Athens, in a specially built mausoleum, designed in the style of buildings in which ancient heroes were buried. “In death he is greeted by the Acropolis and the Parthenon, the columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the blue Saronic Gulf and, on the other side of the sea, the fragrant mountains of the Argolid, beyond which lie Mycenae and Tiryns,” wrote the widow Sophia Schliemann.

Heinrich Schliemann dreamed of fame and world fame and achieved his goal, standing next to the heroes of Hellas in the eyes of his descendants.

Despite the fact that Schliemann was looking for the Troy described by Homer, the real city turned out to be older than the one mentioned in the chronicles of the Greek author. In 1988, excavations were continued by Manred Kaufman. Then it turned out that the city occupied a larger territory than originally thought.

In total, nine different levels were discovered at the excavation site, that is, the city was rebuilt 9 times. When Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy, he noticed that the settlement had been destroyed by fire. But whether this was the same city that, according to legend, was destroyed by the ancient Greeks during the Trojan War in 1200 BC remained unclear. After some disagreement, archaeologists came to the conclusion that two levels of excavations fit Homer's description, which they called "Troy 6" and "Troy 7".

In the end, the remains of the legendary city began to be considered an archaeological excavation called “Troy 7”. It was this city that was destroyed by fire around 1250–1200 BC.

The Legend of Troy and the Trojan Horse

According to the literary source of that time, Homer's Iliad, the ruler of the city of Troy, King Priam, waged a war with the Greeks because of the kidnapped Helen.

The woman was the wife of Agamemnon, the ruler of the Greek city of Sparta, but she ran away with Paris, the prince of Troy. Since Paris refused to return Helen to her homeland, a war broke out that lasted 10 years.

In another poem called The Odyssey, Homer talks about how Troy was destroyed. The Greeks won the war thanks to cunning. They are a wooden horse, which they allegedly wanted to present as a gift. The inhabitants of the city allowed the huge statue to be brought inside the walls, and the Greek soldiers sitting in it went out and captured the city.

Troy is also mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid.

There is still a lot of debate as to whether the city discovered by Schliemann is the same Troy that is mentioned in the works of ancient authors. It is known that about 2,700 years ago the Greeks colonized the northwestern coast of modern Turkey.

How old is Troy?

In his study Troy: City, Homer and Turkey, Dutch archaeologist Geert Jean Van Wijngaarden notes that at least 10 cities existed at the Hisarlik hill excavation site. Presumably the first settlers appeared in 3000 BC. When one city was destroyed for one reason or another, a new city arose in its place. new city. The ruins were manually covered with earth, and another settlement was built on the hill.

The heyday of the ancient city came in 2550 BC, when the settlement grew and a high wall was built around it. When Heinrich Schliemann excavated this settlement, he discovered hidden treasures that he assumed belonged to King Priam: a collection of weapons, silver, copper and bronze vessels, and gold jewelry. Schliemann believed that the treasures were in the royal palace.

It later became known that jewelry existed a thousand years before the reign of King Priam.

Which Troy is Homer?

Modern archaeologists believe that Troy, according to Homer, is the ruins of a city from the era of 1700–1190. BC According to researcher Manfred Korfmann, the city covered an area of ​​about 30 hectares.

Unlike the poems of Homer, archaeologists claim that the city of this era died not from an attack by the Greeks, but from an earthquake. Moreover, at that time the Mycenaean civilization of the Greeks was already in decline. They simply could not attack Priam's city.

The settlement was abandoned by its inhabitants in 1000 BC, and in the 8th century BC, that is, during the time of Homer, it was inhabited by the Greeks. They were sure that they lived on the site of ancient Troy, described in the Iliad and Odyssey, and named the city Ilion.

Troy (Turkish Truva), second name Ilion, is an ancient city in the north-west of Asia Minor, off the coast of the Aegean Sea. It was known thanks to the ancient Greek epics and was discovered in the 1870s. during G. Schliemann's excavations of the Hissarlik hill. The city gained particular fame thanks to the myths about the Trojan War and the events described in Homer’s poem “The Iliad,” according to which the 10-year war of the coalition of Achaean kings led by Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, against Troy ended with the fall of the fortress city. The people who inhabited Troy are called Teucrians in ancient Greek sources.

Troy is a mythical city. For many centuries, the reality of Troy's existence was questioned - it existed like a city from legend. But there have always been people looking for a reflection of real history in the events of the Iliad. However, serious attempts to search for the ancient city were made only in the 19th century. In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann, while excavating the mountain village of Gissrlik on the Turkish coast, came across the ruins of an ancient city. Continuing excavations to a depth of 15 meters, he unearthed treasures that belonged to an ancient and highly developed civilization. These were the ruins of Homer's famous Troy. It is worth noting that Schliemann excavated a city that was built earlier (1000 years before the Trojan War); further research showed that he simply walked right through Troy, since it was built on the ruins of the ancient city he found.

Troy and Atlantis are one and the same. In 1992, Eberhard Zangger suggested that Troy and Atlantis are the same city. He based his theory on the similarity of the descriptions of cities in ancient legends. However, this assumption did not have a widespread and scientific basis. This hypothesis did not receive widespread support.

The Trojan War broke out because of a woman. According to Greek legend, the Trojan War broke out because one of the 50 sons of King Priam, Paris, kidnapped the beautiful Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. The Greeks sent troops precisely to take Helen away. However, according to some historians, this is most likely only the peak of the conflict, that is, the last straw that gave rise to the war. Before this, there were supposedly many trade wars between the Greeks and the Trojans, who controlled trade along the entire coast of the Dardanelles.

Troy survived for 10 years thanks to outside help. According to available sources, Agamemnon's army camped in front of the city on the seashore, without besieging the fortress from all sides. King Priam of Troy took advantage of this, establishing close ties with Caria, Lydia and other regions of Asia Minor, which provided him with assistance during the war. As a result, the war turned out to be very protracted.

The Trojan horse actually existed. This is one of the few episodes of that war that has never found its archaeological and historical confirmation. Moreover, there is not a word about the horse in the Iliad, but Homer describes it in detail in his Odyssey. And all the events associated with the Trojan horse and their details were described by the Roman poet Virgil in the Aeneid, 1st century. BC, i.e. almost 1200 years later. Some historians suggest that the Trojan horse meant some kind of weapon, for example, a ram. Others claim that Homer called the Greeks that way. sea ​​vessels. It is possible that there was no horse at all, and Homer used it in his poem as a symbol of the death of the gullible Trojans.

The Trojan horse got into the city thanks to a cunning trick by the Greeks. According to legend, the Greeks spread a rumor that there was a prophecy that if a wooden horse stood within the walls of Troy, it could forever defend the city from Greek raids. Most of the city's residents were inclined to believe that the horse should be brought into the city. However, there were also opponents. The priest Laocoon suggested burning the horse or throwing it off a cliff. He even threw a spear at the horse, and everyone heard that the horse was empty inside. Soon a Greek named Sinon was captured and told Priam that the Greeks had built a horse in honor of the goddess Athena to atone for many years of bloodshed. Tragic events followed: during a sacrifice to the god of the sea Poseidon, two huge snakes swam out of the water and strangled the priest and his sons. Seeing this as an omen from above, the Trojans decided to roll the horse into the city. He was so huge that he couldn’t fit through the gate and part of the wall had to be dismantled.

The Trojan Horse caused the fall of Troy. According to legend, on the night after the horse entered the city, Sinon released the warriors hiding inside from its belly, who quickly killed the guards and opened the city gates. The city, which had fallen asleep after the riotous festivities, did not even offer strong resistance. Several Trojan soldiers led by Aeneas tried to save the palace and the king. According to ancient Greek myths, the palace fell thanks to the giant Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, who smashed the front door with his ax and killed King Priam.

Heinrich Schliemann, who found Troy and amassed a huge fortune during his life, was born into a poor family. He was born in 1822 into the family of a rural pastor. His homeland is a small German village near the Polish border. His mother died when he was 9 years old. My father was a harsh, unpredictable and self-centered man who loved women very much (for which he lost his position). At the age of 14, Heinrich was separated from his first love, the girl Minna. When Heinrich was 25 years old and already becoming a famous businessman, he finally asked Minna's hand from her father in a letter. The answer said that Minna married a farmer. This message completely broke his heart. A passion for Ancient Greece appeared in the boy’s soul thanks to his father, who read the Iliad to the children in the evenings, and then gave his son a book on world history with illustrations. In 1840, after a long and grueling job in a grocery store that almost cost him his life, Henry boarded a ship bound for Venezuela. On December 12, 1841, the ship was caught in a storm and Schliemann was thrown into the icy sea; he was saved from death by a barrel, which he held on to until he was rescued. During his life, he learned 17 languages ​​and made a large fortune. However, the peak of his career was the excavations of the great Troy.

Heinrich Schliemann undertook the excavations of Troy due to unsettled personal life. This is not excluded. In 1852, Heinrich Schliemann, who had many affairs in St. Petersburg, married Ekaterina Lyzhina. This marriage lasted 17 years and turned out to be completely empty for him. Being a passionate man by nature, he married a sensible woman who was cold towards him. As a result, he almost found himself on the verge of madness. The unhappy couple had three children, but this did not bring happiness to Schliemann. Out of desperation, he made another fortune by selling indigo dye. In addition, he took up the Greek language closely. An inexorable thirst for travel appeared in him. In 1668, he decided to go to Ithaca and organize his first expedition. Then he went towards Constantinople, to the places where Troy was located according to the Iliad and began excavations on the Hissarlik hill. This was his first step on the path to the great Troy.

Schliemann tried on jewelry from Helen of Troy for his second wife. Heinrich was introduced to his second wife by his old friend, 17-year-old Greek Sofia Engastromenos. According to some sources, when Schliemann found the famous treasures of Troy (10,000 gold objects) in 1873, he moved them upstairs with the help of his second wife, whom he loved immensely. Among them were two luxurious tiaras. Having placed one of them on Sophia’s head, Henry said: “The jewel that Helen of Troy wore now adorns my wife.” One of the photographs actually shows her wearing magnificent antique jewelry.

The Trojan treasures were lost. There is a deal of truth in it. The Schliemanns donated 12,000 objects to the Berlin Museum. During World War II, this priceless treasure was moved to a bunker from which it disappeared in 1945. Part of the treasury unexpectedly appeared in 1993 in Moscow. There is still no answer to the question: “Was it really the gold of Troy?”

During excavations at Hisarlik, several layers of cities from different times were discovered. Archaeologists have identified 9 layers that belong to different years. Everyone calls them Troy.

Only two towers have survived from Troy I. Troy II was explored by Schliemann, considering it the true Troy of King Priam. Troy VI was highest point development of the city, its inhabitants traded profitably with the Greeks, but this city seems to have been severely destroyed by an earthquake. Modern scientists believe that the found Troy VII is the true city of Homer's Iliad. According to historians, the city fell in 1184 BC, being burned by the Greeks. Troy VIII was restored by Greek colonists, who also built the temple of Athena here. Troy IX already belongs to the Roman Empire. I would like to note that excavations have shown that Homeric descriptions very accurately describe the city.

Popular myths.

Popular facts.

Troy, Türkiye: description, photo, where it is on the map, how to get there

Troy- an ancient settlement in Turkey off the coast of the Aegean Sea. This landmark was sung by Homer in his Iliad. The Trojan War brought Troy its greatest fame. This ancient Greek city is one of the 1000 best places world according to our website.

Many tourists are interested in this archaeological site of modern Turkey. In order to get to Troy, you must first get to Canakalle. From there, buses leave hourly for Troy. The journey will take about half an hour. In turn, you can come to Canakalle by bus from Izmir or Istanbul. In both cases, the distance is about 320 km.

The German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was the first to become interested in the excavations of Troy in the second half of the 19th century. It was under his leadership that the ruins of nine cities around the Hissarlik hill were found. Moreover, many ancient artifacts and one very ancient fortress were found. Schliemann's many years of work were continued by one of his colleagues, who excavated a vast area dating back to the Mycenaean era.

Excavations are still ongoing at this site.

Today there is little to attract the traveler's eye in Troy. However, the atmosphere of the world's greatest fairy tale invariably hovers in this city. At the moment, the restoration of the famous Trojan Horse has been completely completed. This attraction is located on a panoramic platform.

Photo attraction: Troy

Troy on the map:

Where is Troy? - monument on the map

Troy is located in modern Turkey, on east coast Aegean Sea, southwest of Istanbul. In ancient times, Troy was apparently a powerful fortified city, whose inhabitants were most famous for allowing into their city a wooden horse left behind by the Greeks. According to legend, Greek soldiers were hiding inside the souvenir, who killed the Trojan guards and opened the city gates for the Greek army.

Coordinates:
39.9573326 northern latitude
26.2387447 east longitude

Troy on interactive map , which can be controlled:

Troy is in the lists: cities, monuments

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Troy

Troy is an ancient Greek city on the western tip of Asia Minor. In the 8th century BC, Homer spoke about it in his poems. It was a blind wandering singer. He sang about the Trojan War, which took place in the 13th century BC. e. That is, this event occurred 500 years before Homer.

For a long time it was believed that both Troy and the Trojan War were invented by the singer. It is still not even known whether the ancient poet actually existed or whether he was a collective image. Therefore, many historians were skeptical about the events sung in the Iliad.

Troy on the map of Turkey, indicated by a blue circle

In 1865, the English archaeologist Frank Calvert began excavations on the Hisarlik hill, located 7 km from the Dardanelles Strait. In 1868, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann also began excavations at the other end of the same hill, after a chance meeting with Calvert in Canakkale.

The German was lucky. He excavated several fortified cities that were built in different eras. To date, 9 main settlements have been excavated, located one above the other. They were built in a time period that spans 3.5 thousand years.

Model of the city of Troy on the eve of the Trojan War

The excavations are located in northwestern Anatolia at the southwestern end of the Dardanelles Strait (in ancient times the Hellespont) northwest of Mount Ida. It is about 30 km southwest of the city of Canakkale (the capital of the province of the same name).

Not far from the ruins is a small village that supports the tourism industry. This site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.. It should be noted that during the Roman Empire Troy was called Ilion. The city flourished until it was eclipsed by Constantinople. During the Byzantine era it fell into decay.

The famous Trojan horse. Hiding in such a horse,
the treacherous Achaeans entered the city

Main archaeological layers of Troy

1 layer- a settlement dating back to the Neolithic period. This is the 7th-5th centuries BC. e.

2 layer- covers the period 3-2.6 thousand years BC. e. It is from this settlement that Troy begins. It had a diameter of no more than 150 meters. The houses were built from clay bricks. All houses were destroyed by fire.

3 layer- covers the period 2.6-2.25 thousand years BC. e. More developed settlement. Precious jewelry, gold vessels, weapons, and gravestones were found on its territory. All this pointed to a highly developed culture. The settlement was destroyed as a result of a natural disaster.

4 and 5 layers- covers the period 2.25-1.95 thousand years BC. e. Characterized by the decline of culture and material wealth.

6 layer- 1.95-1.3 thousand years BC e. The city grew in size and wealth. It was destroyed around 1250 BC. e. strong earthquake. However, it was quickly restored.

7 layer- 1.3-1.2 thousand years BC e. This particular archaeological layer dates back to the period of the Trojan War. The area of ​​the city at that time occupied 200 thousand square meters. meters. At the same time, the area of ​​the fortress was 23 thousand square meters. meters. The urban population reached 10 thousand people. The city fortress was a powerful wall with towers. Their height reached 9 meters. The siege and destruction of the city occurs approximately in 1184 BC. e.

8 layer- 1.2-0.9 thousand years BC e. The settlement was captured by wild tribes. No cultural development was observed during this period.

9 layer- 900-350 BC e. Troy turned into the ancient Greek city-state - polis. This had a beneficial effect on the culture and well-being of citizens. The period is characterized good relations with the Achaemenid Empire. Persian king Xerxes in 480 BC. e. visited the city and sacrificed 1000 bulls to the sanctuary of Athena.

10 layer- 350 BC e. - 400 AD e. characterized by the era of Hellenistic states and Roman rule. In 85 BC. e. Ilium was destroyed by the Roman general Fimbria.

Sulla then helped rebuild the settlement.

In 20 AD e. Emperor Augustus visited Troy and allocated money for the restoration of the sanctuary of Athena. The city flourished for a long time, but then, as already mentioned, fell into decline, thanks to the heyday of Constantinople.

Archaeological excavations

After Schliemann, excavations were carried out in 1893-1894 by Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and then in 1932-1938 by Karl Blegen. These excavations showed that there were 9 cities, built one on top of the other. At the same time, 9 levels were divided into 46 sublevels.

Archaeological excavations resumed in 1988 under the leadership of professors Manfred Korfmann and Brian Rose. During this period, the ruins of late Greek and Roman cities were discovered. In 2006, Ernst Pernik led the excavations.

In March 2014, it was announced that further research would be sponsored by a private Turkish company, and the work would be led by Associate Professor Rustem Aslan. It was stated that Troy would boost tourism in Canakkale and perhaps become one of Turkey's most visited historical sites.

About this city ancient civilization The Greeks are known more from the legends of Homer. He mentions this polis in his Illiad. However, archaeological excavations confirm the existence of a once powerful city-state on the territory of Greece. However, some sources refute these claims. It is officially known that Troy (Ilion) was a small settlement on the territory of Asia Minor. It is located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, on the Troas Peninsula. It was a stone's throw from the Dardanelles Strait. Nowadays it is the Turkish province of Canakkale.

How did Troy begin?

Historians have thoroughly studied the descriptions and life of this city by Homer, and have concluded that Troy existed in the Creto-Mycenaean era. The people who inhabited the polis were called “Tevkrs”. Comparing the data given by Homer with other sources, scientists came to the conclusion that the Trojans bravely fought against any conquerors and went on campaigns themselves. Troy is mentioned in Egyptian chronicles. Allegedly, certain tereshes came to the country of the pyramids to enslave the most prosperous territories. But some historians are not sure that they were Trojans.
Historians also argue about the name. It is believed that the state was called Troy, and its capital was Ilion. But there are opinions of scientists that everything was the other way around. It is known that Homer wrote the Illiad; decades later, many sources testifying about Troy could have been lost, and people who knew something about Troy had passed on to another world. Therefore, the data given by Homer is already for a long time are disputed. Since the same plot is described differently in the Illiad and other sources.
Historians also find connections between the Trojans and mythical stories and heroes. Featured here:

1. Aphrodite.
2. Hera.
3. Athena.
4. Zeus.
5. Odysseus.
6. Paris.

Everyone knows the myths about Troy and its fall. But the reasons for this decline are not known for certain, whether there was a Trojan horse, or whether there was a war. According to legend, it was to Troy that Paris and Helen came with significant wealth. Her husband organized the chase, gathering a significant army. It is believed that this conflict was the start of the Trojan War.

Significant battles

Skirmishes continued for a decade, and Troy was never taken during this period. The Greeks brought the most best ships using advanced weapons. Many great commanders died during a series of brutal battles. But the walls of the city remained impregnable.
It is known that Odysseus took part in the skirmishes. The idea to build a huge wooden horse belonged to him. The warriors, along with their leader Odysseus, hid inside the horse. At this time, the naval commanders withdrew the ships from Troy, which could indicate a retreat. This is exactly what the Trojans thought when they saw the ships sailing far out to sea.
The Trojans rode their horses beyond the once impregnable gates and went to celebrate their victory. The Greeks waited until night fell, got out of their shelter and opened the gates to the rest of Odysseus’s army. The soldiers who entered the city killed most of the Trojans and began to celebrate the victory. The deceived husband Menelaus was going to put Helen to death, but again fell under her spell and had mercy.

Romans and Greeks - about Troy

Not only Homer spoke in his works about the legendary city and its inhabitants. The Romans spoke in no less detail about Troy. Virgil and Ovid especially succeeded in this.
Scientists of Ancient Greece were fully confident that the Trojan War was not a myth, it took place. Herodotus and Thucydides said that there is historical evidence of the war with Troy. They said that Troy was quite majestic. She stood on a small hill. Below is the Dardanelle Strait. Troy was known not only as a militant city, but also as an important strategic site in terms of trade and crafts. After all, past it along the strait connecting the Aegean and Black Sea, passed the most important trade routes. Ships arrived here from different countries, including very rich ones.

The area where Troy was located was called “Troada”. Historians have studied these territories for many years. Now they belong to Turkey. Heinrich Schliemann, a popular businessman from Germany, was the first to show the world the place where Troy was located a long time ago. It is known that Henry studied the Illiad very thoroughly, which allowed him to claim a place located near the Dardanelles Strait. In ancient times the hill was called Hisarlik. It was on it that Troy rose.
Excavations began at the end of the 19th century. They lasted for 20 years. During this period, the researcher discovered the remains of not one, but several once settlements. All of them existed before the late Roman period. Believing that Troy existed much earlier than these times and even before the 3rd millennium BC, Schliemann dug deeper. At the same time, he destroyed a lot of important historical monuments, without even knowing it.
Many gold objects fell into Schliemann's hands. He called them the "Treasures of Priam." At the same time, he told everyone that it was here that Troy was located in Antiquity. Not the entire scientific world took this at face value. Researchers claimed that the place on Mount Hisarlik was first found not by Schliemann, but by the British Frank Calvert. This archaeologist allegedly carried out excavations before Schliemann and even helped the German at the initial stage. Calvert was also sure that Troy was located near the Dardanelles.
However, Schliemann, having gained worldwide fame thanks to 20 years of excavations, claimed that Calvert never helped him. Now Calvert’s descendants, living in America and England, are fighting for part of the treasures found by Schliemann. And some researchers claim that Schliemann himself brought gold jewelry and utensils to Mount Hisarlik to pass them off as treasures of Troy.
Modern scientists hastened to reassure Schliemann in his guesses, saying that the city he found existed about 1000 years before Troy and the events associated with the war. Schliemann's excavations can be dated back at times to 2000 BC.

It is worth believing that Schliemann brought very useful discoveries to the world. Despite the fact that he did not open Troy and completely destroyed priceless sources cultural heritage, he attracted the world's attention to Hisarlik Hill. After Schliemann lost interest in the excavations, other researchers came to Mount Hisarlik. Among them: Karl Blegen, Wilhelm Derpfeld, scientists from different universities around the world. Excavations continued into the 20th century.
The result of these studies was the statement that in different years and centuries, at least 9 settlements existed on this site. The first of them were here in Bronze Age(3rd millennium BC). Life in Troy dates back to the 3rd century. BC The one that was described by Homer was designated by archaeologists as “Troy-8.” It existed in 1100. BC Finds dating back to this period indicate the violence of the fire element in the settlement. This means there was a war here, the scientists concluded.
In Troy, not only military affairs developed, but also crafts. Pottery handicrafts have been found. But perhaps they were not produced here, but were imported and purchased from traders. The bronze arrowheads seemed to have been forged right in the fortress.
"Troy-8" is considered the most developed and big city, in comparison with the other settlements that were on the hill. There is a lot of evidence that there was a troop on Hissarlik and it remained in the ground. The hypothesis about the destruction of the city during the war was confirmed.
And how do contemporaries imagine that same Trojan Horse? This is not at all a sculpture of an animal carved from wood, as they depict in books about the legends of Ancient Greece for children. This horse looked more like a battering ram, similar to a horse. British archaeologists testify to this.
The Trojan horse is a prototype of an earthquake in mythology, says another legend. But during excavations, scientists did not find any traces of the violence of the forces of nature, so they are inclined to believe in the version of military operations in Troy. Turkish sources also speak about this. Now Troy is the territory of Turkey. Scientists of this country have found written sources about the proto-Greek tribes living in the areas of the Dardanelles Strait. It is said about the people and state of Ahiyava, which also happened in Homer.
Troy is undoubtedly a once-real state or city in which the tribes that once inhabited Greece lived. A huge number of scientists have spent years of their work trying to find out exactly where Troy was located, whether there was a Trojan War, and what the Trojan Horse looked like. Historians compared archaeological evidence with the stories of Homer, who embodied them in the Illiad. So modern world I am almost 100% sure that Troy was located on the territory of Hisarlik Hill, near the Dardanelles Strait.

Epidaurus - ancient city

is located 8 km northeast of the Sanctuary of Asclepius, on the territory of the modern Municipality of ancient Epidaurus, on the shores of the Saronic Gulf. Traces of habitation on the territory of the port, where the city of Epidaurus later developed, lead us to the 2-3 millennium BC. Shaft tombs from the Mycenaean period have been discovered on Katarahi Hill.

Sithonia Halkidiki

Not only sandy beaches and the sky-blue azure of the Aegean Sea attract tourists here. The peninsula is surrounded by the unique, pristine nature of the subtropics and seems cut off from the outside world by small bays with sparsely populated settlements, each of which is unique in its own way. Among the villages with beautiful beaches and ancient architecture, it is worth mentioning the villages located 20 kilometers from Nea Marmara, namely: Agios Yannis, Tripotamos, Kalogria and Elya.

Aigi is the ancient capital of Macedonia

In the south of the Macedonian valley, on the hills of Pieria, in the middle of the region that Herodotus called “Macedonian land”, the cradle of the Macedonians, was located the oldest city of Macedonia, Aegi. The location of the city was not chosen by chance.

Lake Plastira - Greek Switzerland.

If you are planning a trip to Greece and suddenly want to see natural beauty Switzerland, you don't have to go anywhere. Especially for you, fairy-tale Hellas took care of this and created the most beautiful lake Plastira. It is artificial and officially called Tavropos. The lake supplies water to the local hydroelectric power station and residents of the city of Karditsa, near which it is located at an altitude of 750 meters above sea level.

Thessaloniki in Greece. History, sights (part three).

A unique historical heritage and decoration of the central part of Thessaloniki are the ruins of the Roman Forum. The forum, the heart of social life in antiquity, was built at the end of the 2nd century. BC on the site of the former Macedonian agora. Until the 5th century it was the executive center of Thessaloniki, playing a major economic, political and social role in the life of the city, regularly gathering high-ranking, influential and authoritative personalities who came here to experience the rhythm of social life.