TROY
HISTORY
About Troy
Troy is a city which existed over 4000
years and known as the center of ancient civilizations. Many years,
people believed that it was the city in tales and never existed
until it was first found. At this time it was known as Ilium or New
Ilium. Today Troy or New Ilium places in Hisarlik at Canakkale. The
remains of the city - the remains from the thieves and destructors -
can be visit in here. Most of what was left is the remains of the
destruction of Schliemann, the famous archaeologist. Today an
international team of scientists brings the Troy of the Bronze Age
back to life under sponsored project by Daimler - Benz and another
team is at law wars - called as Second Trojan Wars today- with
Russia and Germany to get stolen Trojan treasures.And Trojan Golds
are at Pushkin Museum
At first, Troy appared in Greek and Latin literature. Homer first
mentioned story of Troy in Iliad and Odyssey. Later it became most
popular subject in Greek drama and told its story eloborately to
next generations. The book of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best
known account of the sack of Troy. In addition, there are untrue
stories under the names of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius.
In Bronze age, Troy has a great power because of its strategic
position between Europe and Asia. In the 3rd an 2nd millennia BC,
Troy was a cultural centre. After the Trojan War, the site was
apparently abondoned from 1100 to 700 BC. About 700 BC Greek
settlers began to occupy the Troas. Troy was resettled and named
Ilion. Alexander the Great ruled over the area successively from the
late 6th century BC. After Roman captured Troy in 85 BC. , it was
restored partially by Roman general Sulla. After the occupation of
Constantinople ( Istanbul ), Troy lost its importance.
'Ilium was for a considerable period to the Heathen world, what
Jerusalem is now to the Christian, a 'sacred' city which attracted
pilgrims by the fame of its wars and its woes, and by the shadow of
ancient sanctity resposing upon it. Without abusing language, we may
say that a voice speaking from this hill, three thousand years ago
sent its utterances over the whole ancient world, as its echoes
still reverberate over the modern', says Charles Maclaren, The Plain
of Troy Described (1863). [From the book 'In Search of Trojan War',
written by Micheal Wood].
'I would as soon as go in guest of Utopia, or of the Carib Island of
Robinson Crusoe, and his Cabin; and I should return with equal
emolument,' said the redoubtable Jacob Bryant of the search for Troy,
which he thought never existed (1799) [From the book 'In Search of
Trojan War', written by Micheal Wood].
Troy (Truva) located on Hisarlik at Canakale , one of the Turkish
city in west of Turkey, the city of Dardanels, the heart of history
at the World War I - Galliboli where Turks wrote the history at the
World War I, Gallipoli Champaign. Canakkale has been a crossing
point for armies, traders, migrating people since before history.
Charles Mclaren in 1822 found the ruins of Troy left from Helenistic
and Roman Ilion at Hisarlik, Canakkale in Turkey. The German
archiolog Heinrich Schlieman excavated Troy third times from 1870 to
1890. His theft of treasure from Troy and his demage (destruction)
to Troy will be always rembered in Turkish archological history.
Today the remains of Troy what left from Schiemann. A new German
excavator team is still working to rebuild Troy ruins by using new
advanced technologies since 1988. I believe after their study, Troy
has a new apperance and visitors will enjoy it very much. You can
find detail information about Troy excavating and high technology
using in here. Also thanks to Daimler - Benz because of sponsoring
troy excavating. In some writings, Schileman's credibility was began
questioning. Troy, treasure and the truth is one of them.
Wihelm Dorpfeld followed to excavate after Schliemann. They found
nine levels at Troy. Troy I to V relates roughly with early Bronze
Age ( 3000 to 1900 BC ). Its inhabitants were known as Trojan in
this period. Troy VI and VII were built in the Middle and Late
Bronze Age. Troy VIII to IX belongs to Helenistic and Roman Ilion
(Latin Ilium).
In the history, Troy was destroyed many times and rebuilt. Until now
archeologists have founded 9 level of Troy lebeled fron I to IX.
Perhaps many other levels are still hidden in it. Troy is one of the
most famous city in the old history, including Hector, Rchiles and
Archaian Greeks, the sake of Helen. Its story is written in ever
language, Trojan horses, Archilles' heels and Odysseys have become
figures in poems. From Alexander the Great to Lord Byron, they stood
and gawed on the site of the great deeds of the heroes. In the
history people always wondered whether the Trojan War happened or
not. There Troy was. Did Helen of Troy exist? Was there a real
wooden horse? Here is the famous tale of Trojan War and city of Troy.
The tale of Troy is told by Homer with the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Homer was drawing on a vast cycle of stories about Trojan War. The
Iliad includes a few weeks in the tenth year of the war.
According to Greek sources, Troy stood near the Dardanelles. There
was no dispute about its location in the story were al familiar: the
Dardanelles, the islands of Imbros, Samothrace and little Tenedos,
Mount Ida to the south east, the plain and the river Scamander. It
was an ancient city an its inhabitants were known as Teucrians or
Dardanians but also as Trojans or Ilians which got this name from
eponymous hereos, Tros and his uncle Ilus, the inventors of the city.
In other source mentioned that Troy and Ilius were two seperate
places but Homer insists on using these two names for Troy. there
was no explanation about that.
The most famous tale in Homer epic about Trojan War and wodden horse.
On the mainland of Greece in this time , the most powerful king was
Agamemnon. His residance was at Mycenae. At this time, the
inhibitants of Greece called themselves as Arhaians, Danaans, or
Argiues not Greeks or Hellenes. Agamemnon had married Clytemnestra,
dauther of Tyndareus of Sparta and sister to Helen. Helen was the
most beautiful woman in the world. she had married with Agamemnon's
brother Menelaos who became king in Lakonia. Two brothers had a
great power in southern Greece.
On the other hand, in Troy Laomedon was the king of Ilios, the son
of Ilus who ha given his name to Troy. Laemedon tried to cheat the
gods of their rewards. He would not give up the immortal snow -
white horses sent by Herakles (Hercules). But Herakles sailed to the
Troad (Troy), attacked, and captured the city. leomedon and his sons
were killed except the youngest, Podarces, survided. Podarces was
released and took a new name, Priam as a young king of Troy and the
city restored again.
Priam ruled over Troy successfully three generation. he had fifty
sons and twelve dauthers. his eldes son was the great worrior Hector.
And his one of the sons, Paris, was the important instrument in the
Troy History.
The famous myth tells , Eris -strife- had thrown down a golden apple
'for the fairest' at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and Zeus,
king of gods, couldn't bring himself to adjudicate in the nesuing
dispute between his queen, Hera, Athena (goddess of wishdom), and
Aphrodite (goddess of love). The goddesses were led to the Trojan
Mount Ida where Priam's most beautiful son Paris was living. Hera
offered him lordship of all Asia; Athena, victory in war and wisdom
beyond any other man; Aphrodite, the most beatiful woman in the
world, helen of Sparta and as usual men being men, stories being
stories, Paris gave the apple to her (Helen).
The tale is simple and quite realistic. Paris goes to Sparta to give
the apple to Helen. Menelous, husband of Helen gives a feast for him.
Whenever Menelous left from there to see the king of Knossos, Helen
and Paris run away and sailed to Troy. But there is some
controdiction in this part, some source says that Paris carried of
Helen by force and plundered elsewhere in the Aegean sea before
returning to Troy.
When Menelous heard what happened, he begged his brother Agamemnon
to take revange. The king sends envoys to Troy to demand Helen's
restitution but envoys come back with empty hands. Then Menelous
collects an army. In the story, great hereos were Archilles,
Odysseus (Ulysses) and Ajax. At Aulis, the army seers read the signs
that Troy woul fall in the tenth year of the war. Then Menelous army
sailed to Asia Minor and in error attacked Teuthrania in Mysia
opposite of Lesbos, but they had mistaken according to Trojan
territory and the army were beaten at the mouth of the Caicus river
and driven back to their ship by Telephus, king of Mysia and ally of
Troy.
The Greeks assembled again at Aulis but they were windbound and
unable to sail. Wings, hunger, evil harbourage, crzing men, routing
ships and cables stoped the Greek army, because Agamemnon had
offended Artemis and his most beatiful douther had to be sacrificed
to change the fortune.
After sacrification of Iphigenia, the army reached first Lesbos,
then Tenedos which is an island that is visible from Troy. The
islands were plundered. At the end, Greek army was at the bay of
Troy. The Trojans also had allies from several places in Asia Minor
and Thrace. The war took 10 tears. in the tenth year of the war, the
Greeks stoped raiding Asia Minor and attacked Troy. In a part of
Homer's Iliad, hector falls in a single combat with Archilles, the
best Greek warrior, the figth was finished with the death of hector
and Archilles' friend Patroclus. Archilles sacrificed twelve noble
Trojan captives over hector's Funeral pyre. after death of Trojan
ally memnon in battle at the Scaeon gate, Paris strikes Archilles in
his heel (the famous 'Archilles heel' comes from here) ,the only
place where Archilles was vulnerable. And the greatest of all Greek
hereos was burned and his ashes burried on a headland overlooking
the Helespond. Ajax commited suicide with the silver-studded sword
whish had been given to him by Hector as a mark of respect. Somehow
Priam's son Paris killed by Philoktetes, but the Trojans stil
refused to give Helen up.
A wooden horse was built to gain acces to the city as a plan. well
armed men among them Odysseus of Ithaca and Menelous himself hidden
in it. The horse was left as a thank to Athena and the Greeks burned
their camps and sailed as if they had given up. Trojan found the
horse and the ashes of the camp and pulled the horse into the city.
'It was midnight', says a fragment from the epic known as the little
Iliad, 'and full moon was raising'. The soldiers jumped down from
horse and opened the gates by killing the sentries. the Greeks
entered the city and killed all Trojans where ever they found them.
After the Greek massacre, none of the male sex was left in the city.
Neoptolemus killed old Priam on the threshold of his royal house.
the male children of Trojam hereos were slaughtered. hector's little
boy was thrown from the walls. Meneleos determined to kill Helen but
in front of her beuty, he gave up to kill her. After the Greeks,
plundered and burned Troy was left.
But this victory brought only more suffering to the Greeks. They
were split up by storms and lost their ways to return. agamemnon,
the king of Greeks was killed by his wife. Philoktetos was expelled
from Thessaly by rebels.
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