0. RUINS OF TROY AND MYCENAE - Story Preface
1. ACHILLES
2. HELEN AND PARIS
3. THE TROJAN WAR
4. THE PLOT THICKENS
5. DEATH OF HECTOR
6. DEATH OF ACHILLES
7. THE WOODEN HORSE
8. RUINS OF TROY AND MYCENAE
Where, exactly, is Troy? This map, depicting its location in modern-day Turkey, also helps us to understand how it relates to nearby Greece and to Istanbul. Image online via "On the Go Tours." Through the time of the American Civil War, most people throughout the world believed that Troy was a mythological place. There was no city by that name. There were no known primary sources to prove a Trojan War had ever occurred. Yet the possibility existed: What if ruins of Troy were buried deep in the earth?
What if people took Homer at his word?
What if, with Iliad in hand, one were to follow the landscapes Homer described?
Would such a quest lead to a real place called Troy? Charles MacLaren, a Scot, believed that Troy was at (or near) the Turkish town of Hissarlik. He published a book about his ideas in 1822. Frank Calvert, an Englishman living in Turkey, was so sure about Hissarlik that he bought half the mound which, he suspected, hid the ruins of the ancient city. Heinrich Schliemann, a German who had lived in various parts of the world, was so obsessed with his belief that Troy existed—and that it was to be found under the Hissarlik mound—that he made a deal with Culvert. He would search for Troy under Culvert’s hill. At the time—in 1870—archaeology was not the science it is today. And Schliemann was no trained archaeologist. But through his efforts (bungled and deceitful though they were) the ancient city of Troy, hidden for thousands of years, once again came to light. The mound itself has nine levels (where nine successive cities had been built). Scholars believe the Troy of Homer’s Iliad was at the 7a level. Guessing he was right, working in secret, but digging too deeply, Schliemann destroyed much of the actual site that he was seeking. The amateur archaeologist found more than the ancient town. He also found artifacts (including jewelry, pottery, gold bracelets and pins, stone ax heads, and a golden diadem) which he called “Priam’s Treasures.” Sophie, Schliemann’s Greek wife, shocked the academic community when she was photographed wearing the recovered diadem. Without permission, Schliemann took many of those priceless objects out of the country. He brought them to Berlin, but they ended-up in Moscow (after the Soviet Army took them from Berlin at the end of World War II). Today much of “Priam’s Treasure” is housed in Moscow’s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. When he finished his work at Troy, Schliemann set out to find Mycenae, the home of Agamemnon. Once again he was fortunate to unearth amazing ruins, including a grave circle and Lion Gate (from about 1300 B.C.) Although Schliemann believed he had located the beehive-shaped tomb of Agamemnon—and the ruler’s golden death mask—scholars later discredited those conclusions. Ownership battles over Schliemann’s discoveries continue to this day. Not only are Russia and Turkey arguing about Priam’s Treasure, recently Frank Culvert’s descendants have joined the fray. After all, they say, their ancestor owned the mound from which the objects were removed. So...shouldn’t the treasure of Culvert’s hill belong to them? If only Homer could return! One wonders how he’d end his story of Troy today.
See Alignments to State and Common Core standards for this story online at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/AcademicAlignment/RUINS-OF-TROY-AND-MYCENAE-Troy See Learning Tasks for this story online at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/AcademicActivities/RUINS-OF-TROY-AND-MYCENAE-Troy
Media Stream
Charles MacLaren - Determined Location of Troy Image, courtesy National Library of Scotland. Quoted passage, from The Plain of Troy Described, by Charles MacLaren - online, courtesy Google Books. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Charles-MacLaren-Determined-Location-of-Troy
Troy - Ruins of an Ancient City Image online, courtesy National Chiao Tung University. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Troy-Ruins-of-an-Ancient-City
Schliemann - Excavating Troy, 1872 Photo of Schliemann's team, at work in Troy during 1872, from "Beilage 13" in Dorpfeld, W. 1902: "Troja und Ilion." Athens: Beck & Barth. Placed online, courtesy Archaeography.com. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Schliemann-Excavating-Troy-1872
Troy - Excavations in Modern-Day Turkey Image online via Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Troy-Excavations-in-Modern-Day-Turkey
Mound of Troy - Scene of Excavations Image, described above, copyright G. Kenneth Sams and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, all rights reserved. Image provided here as fair use for educational purposes. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Mound-of-Troy-Scene-of-Excavations Life of Troy - Levels at Hisarlik Image online via Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Life-of-Troy-Levels-at-Hisarlik
Troy - Remains of an Ancient City Image online, courtesy the darrellpeck.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Troy-Remains-of-an-Ancient-City
Ancient Troy - Remains of the Homeric Story Image online via Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Ancient-Troy-Remains-of-the-Homeric-Story
Artifacts from Ancient Troy Image online via Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Artifacts-from-Ancient-Troy Priam's Treasure - Jewelry from Ancient Troy Image online via Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Priam-s-Treasure-Jewelry-from-Ancient-Troy
Pottery of Ancient Troy Image online via University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Pottery-of-Ancient-Troy
Bracelet from Ancient Troy Image online, courtesy the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Bracelet-from-Ancient-Troy
Priam's Treasure - Pins from Ancient Troy Image online, courtesy the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Priam-s-Treasure-Pins-from-Ancient-Troy
Ancient Troy - Ax Heads Found at Site Image online, courtesy the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Ancient-Troy-Ax-Heads-Found-at-Site
Artifacts from Priam's Treasure Image online, courtesy Charlotte's Library blog site. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Artifacts-from-Priam-s-Treasure Sophie Schliemann - Wearing a Trojan Diadem Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Sophie-Schliemann-Wearing-a-Trojan-Diadem
Golden Pin from Priam's Treasure Image online, courtesy the Realms of Gold blog site. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Golden-Pin-from-Priam-s-Treasure
Trojan Necklace from Priam's Treasure Image online, courtesy the International Institute of Anthropology. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Trojan-Necklace-from-Priam-s-Treasure
Mycenae - Home of Agamemnon Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Mycenae-Home-of-Agamemnon Mycenaean Ruins - An Aerial View Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Mycenaean-Ruins-An-Aerial-View
Grave Circle at Mycenae Image online, courtesy The Biblical Archaeology Society. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Grave-Circle-at-Mycenae
Lion Gate at Mycenae - Close-up View Image online, courtesy the quizlet.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Lion-Gate-at-Mycenae-Close-up-View
Mycenae - Beehive Tomb Image online, courtesy the quizlet.com website. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Mycenae-Beehive-Tomb
Mycenae - Beehive Tomb, Exterior View Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Mycenae-Beehive-Tomb-Exterior-View Death Mask of Agamemnon Image online, courtesy Wikimedia Commons. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Death-Mask-of-Agamemnon
RUINS OF TROY AND MYCENAE View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/RUINS-OF-TROY-AND-MYCENAE
Troy - Evidence of an Ancient City Clip from a 2004 BBC documentary Truth of Troy Copyright BBC, all rights reserved. Online via BBC Worldwide (a YouTube channel). Clip provided here as fair use for educational purposes and to acquaint new viewers with the program. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Troy-Evidence-of-an-Ancient-City-
Troy - Proof of the Trojan War Clip from a 2004 BBC documentary Truth of Troy Copyright BBC, all rights reserved. Online via BBC Worldwide (a YouTube channel). Clip provided here as fair use for educational purposes and to acquaint new viewers with the program. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Troy-Proof-of-the-Trojan-War
Troy - Using Uranium and Homer to Find Truth Clip from a 2004 BBC documentary Truth of Troy Copyright BBC, all rights reserved. Online via BBC Worldwide (a YouTube channel). Clip provided here as fair use for educational purposes and to acquaint new viewers with the program. View this asset at: http://www.awesomestories.com/asset/view/Troy-Using-Uranium-and-Homer-to-Find-Truth-