The territory of Troy on a modern map. Ancient Troy or the legendary Ilion Türkiye photo history how to get where the city of Troy is located

It took the ancient Greek hero Odysseus 10 years to sail from Troy to Greece. She, this Troy, must be damn far away! At least that's what I always thought. And I was surprised once! My husband and I were traveling along the coast of Turkey, and suddenly we discovered that Troy - very close to Istanbul! That is, the homeland of Odysseus - the Greek island of Ithaca - is just a stone's throw away. Across the sea. And it took him 10 years. Miracles.

The Many Faces of Troy

First, let's define the concepts. Troy is an ancient city. It was once destroyed by the Greeks. The very first poem that has come down to us, “The Iliad,” was written about this. Homer wrote it. Even then it - this Troy - was destroyed. AND Now such a city does not exist. But we can see its ruins. So, in order not to get confused, you need to know that this city was called differently:

• Troy;
• Ilion(hence the name of Homer’s ancient poem “The Iliad”);
• Dardania;
• Scamander;
• Canakkale.

Now we have an idea of ​​where Troy was. We need to be grateful for this Heinrich Schliemann. True, he is not our compatriot (as someone said above), but a German.

About Schliemann is a completely different story. She always inspires me. He was not an archaeological scientist. He was a wealthy businessman and an upstart. In the world of science he was despised. But he was passionate about Ancient Greece and the history of the Trojan War. He poured all his energy into digging into the hills of the Greek and Ottoman coasts. Professional archaeologists laughed at him and looked down on him. And then one day this Schliemann, this passionate amateur... reallyfound the ruins of TroAnd!

Where Troy once stood

So, Troy was located on the territory of modern Turkey. This is the northwestern part of the country, strait coastDardanelles. The ruins are located north of Istanbul. By the way, there is a bus from here. The journey takes 5–6 hours.

Here, on the coast Asia Minor, and once flared up Trojan War. If you are coming from Istanbul, you should follow this route:

• Istanbul - Canakkale(regional center, from where you can move on);
• Canakkale - Tevfikiye(about 30 kilometers, this is a village next to the excavations);
• Tevfikiye - excavations.

So why did Odysseus swim for so long? Well, along the way, he lived for seven years with the beautiful nymph Calypso, then for another year with the sorceress Kirka, got stuck at a party for the wind god Aeolus, and took a walk out of interest into the kingdom of the dead. In general, the guy was in no hurry to go home. Otherwise I would have sailed in a couple of weeks.

In general, if you are going to Troy, do not be distracted from the indicated route. Otherwise you will get lost like Odysseus.

For many centuries, this city and its history have haunted archaeologists and ordinary adventurers. A century and a half ago, Heinrich Schliemann managed to discover the place where Troy is located, and in 1988, the interest of scientists in this legendary city increased again. To date, many studies have been carried out here and several cultural layers have been discovered.

general information

This settlement of the Luwian civilization, also known as Ilion, is an ancient city that was located in the northwest along the coast of the Aegean Sea. This is where Troy was located on the world map. The city became known thanks to the epics of the ancient Greek writer Homer and many legends and myths, and was found by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann.

The main reason why the ancient city managed to gain such popularity is the Trojan War and all the events accompanying it. According to the descriptions of the Iliad, it was a ten-year war that led to the fall of the settlement.

First ditch

There is a hypothesis according to which the area of ​​Troy was much larger than previously thought. In 1992, excavations were carried out, which resulted in the discovery of a moat surrounding the city. This ditch runs quite far from the city walls, surrounding an area of ​​about 200 thousand m2, although the city itself occupied only about 20 thousand m2. The German scientist Manfred Korfmann believes that the Lower City was located on this territory, and until 1700 BC. e. people still lived here.

Second ditch

Two years later, in 1994, during excavations a second artificially created ditch was discovered, which ran five hundred meters from the fortress. Both ditches were a system of fortifications designed to protect the fortress, since they could not be overcome. Archaeologists believe that there were also sharpened stakes or a wooden wall. Similar fastenings are described in the immortal Iliad, although it can hardly be relied upon today as a historical treatise.

Luwians or Creto-Mycenaeans?

Archaeologist Korfman believes that Troy is a direct heir to the Anatolian civilization, and not, as is commonly believed, the Cretan-Mycenaean one. The modern territory of Troy contains many finds confirming this. But in 1995, a special discovery was made: a seal with hieroglyphs in the Luwian language, which was previously widespread in Asia Minor, was found here. But so far, unfortunately, no new finds have been made that could clearly indicate that this language was spoken in Troy.

However, Corfman was absolutely sure that the ancient Trojans were direct descendants of Indo-European peoples and were Luwians by origin. These are the people who around the 2nd millennium BC. e. moved to Anatolia. Many objects that were found during excavations in Troy most likely belonged to this civilization, and not the Greek one. There are several other factors that support the possibility of this assumption. In the territory where Troy was located, the fortress walls resemble Mycenaean ones, and the appearance of the dwellings is quite typical for Anatolian architecture.

Religion

During many excavations, Hittite-Luvian cult objects were also found here. Near the southern gate there were four steles, which in Hittite culture symbolized deity. In addition, the cemetery, which was located near the city walls, retained signs of cremation. Considering that this method of burial is uncharacteristic for Western peoples, but the Hittites resorted to it, this is another plus in favor of Korfman’s theory. However, today it is very difficult to determine how it really was.

Troy on the world map

Since Troy was between two fires - between the Greeks and the Hittites - it often had to become a participant in reprisals. Wars broke out here regularly, and the settlement was attacked by more and more enemies. This has been scientifically proven, since traces of fires were found in the place where Troy is located, that is, in the territory of modern Turkey. But around 1180 BC. e. a catastrophe occurred here, which marked the beginning of a difficult period in the history of not only Troy, but the whole world.

Trojan War

If something concrete can be said from specific artifacts found during excavations, then the events that took place in the political arena, as well as their true background, remain a big question. The lack of information and many theories, often illogical, are taken by some at face value, which has given rise to many myths and legends. The same applies to the epic of the great ancient Greek singer Homer, which some scientists, due to a lack of evidence, are ready to consider as an eyewitness account, although this war took place long before the birth of the author of the poem, and he knew about its progress only from the lips of others.

Elena and Paris

According to the legend described in the Iliad, the cause of the war was a woman, the wife of King Menelaus - Helen. Troy, whose history knew many troubles, was attacked more than once by the Greeks even before the start of the war, since the Trojans managed to control trade relations in the Dardanelles region. According to myths, the war began because one of the sons of the Trojan king Priam, Paris, kidnapped the wife of the Greek ruler, and the Greeks, in turn, decided to return her.

Most likely, such an event actually took place in history, but it was not the only reason for the war. This incident became the climax, after which the war began.

Trojan horse

Another legend concerning the death of Ilion tells how the Greeks managed to win the battle. If you believe literary sources, this became possible thanks to the so-called Trojan Horse, but this version has many contradictions. In his first poem, The Iliad, which is entirely dedicated to Troy, Homer does not mention this episode of the war, but in the Odyssey he describes it in detail. From this we can conclude that, most likely, it is a work of fiction, especially since no archaeological evidence has been found at the site where Troy is located.

There is also an assumption that by the Trojan horse Homer meant a ram, or in this way he demonstrated the symbol of sea vessels that were going to deal with the city.

Why was Troy destroyed?

The history of the city, written by Homer, claims that the death of the city was caused by the Trojan horse - this non-trivial gift from the Greeks. According to legend, the Greeks claimed that if the horse was within the city walls, it would be able to defend itself from raids.

Most of the city's residents agreed with this, even though the priest Laocoon threw a spear at the horse, after which it became clear that it was hollow. But, apparently, the logic of the Trojans suffered, and they decided to bring an enemy present into the city, for which they paid dearly. However, this is just Homer's assumption; it is unlikely that this actually happened.

Multilayer Troy

On a modern map, this city-state is located on the territory of Hisarlik Hill in Turkey. During numerous excavations in this area, several settlements were discovered that were located here in ancient times. Archaeologists were able to find nine different layers that belong to different years, and the entire set of these periods is called Troy.

From the first settlement, only two towers remained intact. It was Heinrich Schliemann who studied the second layer, believing that this was the Troy in which the glorified king Priam lived. Judging by the finds, the inhabitants of the sixth settlement in this territory achieved considerable development. Based on the results of excavations, it was possible to establish that during this period there was active trade with the Greeks. The city itself was destroyed by earthquakes.

Modern archaeologists believe that the seventh of the layers found is Homeric Ilion. Historians claim that the city died from a fire initiated by Greek troops. The eighth layer is the settlement of Greek colonists who lived here after Troy was destroyed. They, according to archaeologists, built the temple of Athena here. The last of the layers, the ninth, dates back to the era of the Roman Empire.

Modern Troy is a vast area where excavations are still ongoing. Their goal is to find any evidence of the story described in Homer's great epic. For several centuries now, many legends and myths have encouraged scientists, archaeologists and adventurous adventurers to make their own - albeit small - contribution to discovering the mysteries of this majestic city, which was once one of the main trade arteries of the ancient world.

At the site of Troy, many discoveries were made that were extremely important for modern science. But the excavations carried out by a huge number of professional archaeologists gave no less mysteries. Today, all that remains is to wait until new, more compelling evidence of the events described in the Odyssey and the Iliad is found. In the meantime, we will only have to guess about the true events that took place in the great ancient city of Troy.

It seems to me that there is no such person who would not know and have not heard about him..

• Let's start with the fact that this city was glorified by the famous Homer in his work “The Iliad”.

• He described the events of the famous Trojan War. The wife of the Mycenaean king, the beautiful Helen, fell in love with Paris. The lovers fled to Troy, to the groom's father. The angry husband gathered an army and rushed to return his unfaithful wife. As a result, the siege of the city lasted 10 years.

He was taken thanks to a trick invented by.

• The besiegers built a huge horse out of wood, hid a number of soldiers in it, and allegedly retreated. The Trojans dragged the horse into the city, mistaking it for a gift from the gods, and held festivities on this occasion. At night, the warriors got out of their horses, opened the gates and let their comrades into the city. Thus, the famous Trojan Horse entered history, and the city fell.

• He described real historical events. Although Troy was considered a fictional city for a long time, it supposedly did not exist in real life in ancient times. And then such a lover of archeology appeared, Heinrich Schliemann. He set himself the goal of finding Troy. He succeeded only on the fourth attempt.

I would like to note that life is structured in such a way that cities are destroyed, covered with a layer of earth, new settlements can be built on this earth, etc. So, Schliemann carried out excavations very roughly, he swept away those layers that were not interesting to him. This is what he did in the case of Troy. He's her found in May 1873, destroying later cultural layers.

• Schliemann showed the world the famous gold of Troy - this is the so-called “Priam’s treasure”. He even took a photo of his wife Sofia wearing jewelry from these finds.

For a very long time they did not believe that it was the same Troy that had been found, that the “treasure” was genuine, etc. But passions subsided and the majority came to the conclusion that this was the same legendary Troy.

• The city of Troy is also associated with the name of the famous Alexander the Great. He made a pilgrimage to this city. The altar of the temple of Athena, which he visited, was found.

The fact is that the city of Troy is so geographically located that it is constantly beset by disasters (earthquakes, wars, etc.). Therefore, he is like a phoenix bird - he dies in order to be reborn again.

Well, since Schliemann did not excavate the entire territory of Troy and did not sweep away all the cultural layers, I am sure that archaeologists will surprise the world more than once with their finds glorifying Troy.

Troy, otherwise called Ilion, Dardania and Scamander - an ancient fortified settlement in Asia Minor, off the coast of the Aegean Sea, near the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait. This is the city glorified in the poem “Iliad”, the author of which is considered to be Homer. The events described by Homer, in the current understanding of historians, belong to the Cretan-Mycenaean era. The people who inhabited Troy are called Teucrians in ancient Greek sources.
History of the city of Troy
Türkiye is a country with many attractions. Among the world famous is the Ancient City Troy. This mythical city was located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, on the Hissarlik hill near the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait. The second name of the city of Troy is Ilion. There is a legend about the origin of the ancient city of Troy. The Phrygian king gave Ilu a cow and ordered to found a city in the place where the cow would lie down to rest. It happened on Ata Hill. Zeus himself approved of Il's action and threw down the statue of Triton's daughter to the ground.
The city has a centuries-old history, but its exact location was discovered just over a hundred years ago. Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann Conducted excavations in the mountain village of Gisrlyk, and discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Troy, this was in 1870. His surprise was even greater when he discovered not just the ruins of one city, but nine, located in layers one under one. All of them date back to different centuries and were conventionally numbered from one to nine.
The bottommost layer was named Troy I and dates back to 3000 - 2600 AD. BC e. It was a small settlement with a diameter of no more than 100 meters. It was a fortress with massive walls and gates, as well as defensive towers. Two of which were discovered during excavations. This settlement existed for quite a long time and, most likely, was destroyed by fire.
Troy II(2600-2300 BC) was erected on the ruins of a former fortress and occupied an area of ​​125 meters. In the center there was a palace surrounded by a courtyard with warehouses and residential buildings. It was in this layer that Schliemann found a treasure containing jewelry, weapons and various trinkets.
Troy III- IV -V - these are larger settlements that existed from 2300-1900. BC e. In these settlements there are already groups of houses separated by small streets.
Troy VI. Settlements 1900-1300 BC uh, testified to wealth, prosperity and power. It was about 200 meters in diameter, the wall thickness was 5 meters, and there were four gates and three towers along the perimeter. Large buildings, palaces, terraces. There is evidence of the presence of horses. A strong earthquake destroyed everything.
Troy VII. (1300-900 BC) After the earthquake, life began to emerge again at the site of the destroyed settlement; the remaining blocks and columns were used. Houses were built on a smaller scale than before, and stood closely together. It is this Troy that refers to the events mentioned by Homer in the Iliad and the Trojan War. After the war, the city of Troy was sacked and destroyed by the Greeks, and then captured by the Phrygians.
Troy VIII.(900-350 BC) The city already belonged to the Greeks and was considered quite comfortable. There was a temple to Athena on the premises, as well as a sanctuary for sacrifices. However, it had no political significance, and after part of the population left the city, it fell into decay.
Troy IX(350 BC - 400 AD). It was during this era that the city of Troy was called Illion. The Roman emperors from the Julio-Claudian dynasty did everything for the large-scale reconstruction of the city. The top of the hill was leveled, a sacred site was made near the temple of Athena, a theater was erected on the slope, and public buildings were erected on the level ground. Constantine the Great even wanted to make the city a capital, but this idea lost its significance with the rise of Constantinople. The city of Troy was captured by the Turks and destroyed. Now the ancient city of Troy is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Archeology of Troy
Among historians contemporary with Heinrich Schliemann, there was a widespread hypothesis that Troy was located on the site of the village of Bunarbashi. The identity of Hisarlik Hill with Homer's Troy was suggested in 1822 by Charles MacLaren. A supporter of his ideas was Frank Calvert, who began excavations in Hisarlik 7 years before Schliemann. The site of Hisarlik Hill, which belonged to Calvert, turned out to be away from Homer’s Troy. Heinrich Schliemann, who knew Calvert, began a focused study of the second half of the Hissarlik Hill at the end of the 19th century. Most of Schliemann's finds are now kept in the Pushkin Museum (Moscow), as well as in the State Hermitage. To date, archaeologists have discovered traces of nine fortress settlements that existed in different eras on the excavation site in Hisarlik. The first settlement found in Hisarlik (the so-called Troy IX) was a fortress less than 100 m in diameter and apparently existed for a long period. The seventh layer belongs to the Homeric era, which represents Troy in the form of a vast settlement, surrounded by strong walls with nine-meter towers. Major excavations in 1988 showed that the population of the city in the Homeric era was between six and ten thousand inhabitants - a very impressive number for those times. According to the Korfman expedition, the area of ​​the lower city was approximately 170 thousand m², the citadel - 23 thousand m².
Language and writing
The question of the language of Hector and Priam has long occupied scientists. Some ancient Greek historians suggested that their speech could be close to Phrygian. Then it was suggested that the inhabitants of Homer's Troy were the ancestors of the Etruscans. In the mid-1980s. N. N. Kazansky published several fragments of clay vessels from Troy with incomprehensible signs that resembled Cretan writing - he called these signs Trojan writing. However, according to other experts, these could not be inscriptions, but only an imitation of writing. In 1995, a seal with Luwian hieroglyphs was discovered in the layers of Troy VII. Combined with recent evidence that the names of Priam and other Trojan heroes are most likely of Luwian origin, the scientific world is increasingly convinced that the ancients
The Trojans spoke the Luwian dialect. In a 2004 Oxford University monograph, Joachim Latach concludes that Luwian was the official language of Homeric Troy. The question of the everyday language of the Trojans remains open. Troy was under strong Hellenic influence; many noble Trojans simultaneously bore local and Greek names. The fact that the Greek names of the Trojans are not an invention of Homer is confirmed by Hittite inscriptions mentioning the names of the rulers of Taruisa. Currently, most orientalists agree that the Trojan state was multinational. This is supported by the rather motley composition of the “sea peoples” who migrated, supposedly, as a result of the Trojan War.
Trojan War
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. According to some historians, this is only the peak of the conflict, that is, the last straw that gave rise to the war. Before this, there were many trade wars between the Greeks and the Trojans, who controlled trade along the entire coast in the Dardanelles area. 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.
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 Greek sea vessels this way. 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 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.
Excavations 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 the high point of the city's development, its inhabitants trading profitably with the Greeks, but the city appears to have been badly 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.
The search for the legendary Troy

Among archaeologists there are people who are ambitious and dedicated to their plans. And, perhaps, a wealthy German businessman who abandoned his prosperous business in adulthood to search for unfound stones - Heinrich Schliemann- belongs to the category of the most famous masters of the ancient profession. The whole life of this man, who was born in a poor village in 1822 and became one of the very rich scientists of his time, consists of secrets and contradictions. He visited many countries of the world, studied in Paris, at the age of 45 he unexpectedly began to study the Greek language and archeology, and a year later he began searching for the most mysterious city, the most famous from the stories of ancient authors - the legendary Troy. The Trojan War became one of the central events of Greek mythology. Ancient sources see its reason in the fact that the supreme god of the pantheon, Zeus, wanted to give numerous heroes the opportunity to become famous and leave a mark on themselves in history. A serious reason for the start of the war was the beauty of Zeus’s daughter, Helen. And the impetus for battles, cunning, betrayal and conquest was a purely female dispute between three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite about who is the most beautiful of them. The apple of discord was presented by the young shepherd Paris to the goddess of love Aphrodite because she promised him the possession of the most beautiful woman. The beautiful Helen was the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, and Paris, using the help of Aphrodite, sailed to Sparta by ship and took the beauty to Troy, which brought the wrath and strength of the Greek army onto the city-state. The war became famous not so much because of fair retribution for the desecrated honor of the royal family, but because of the participation in it on the side of the Achaeans by Odysseus, Ajax, Philocletus, Agamemnon, and Achilles. Only 10 years after the abduction, as a result of many trials and adventures, a fleet of comrades arrived near Troy to demand justice from the old Trojan king Priam. Hector, at the head of the Trojan army, approached the Spartan ships, killed one of the brilliant warriors - Patroclus, but the latter's brother, Achilles, rushes into battle and kills Hector himself. The battles were merciless, filled with cruelty and heartlessness, and the gods watching from Olympus helped one side or the other. Achilles destroys many of the Trojans' assistants - the leader of the Amazons Penthesilia, the king of the Ethiopians Memnon and many defenders of the fortress city, surrounded by mighty walls that remained impregnable.

Prince Paris, with the help of the god Apollo, kills Achilles with a magic arrow, and the war is suspended. But those who came for the beautiful Helen and the treasures stolen from Sparta cannot retreat and come up with an insidious trap for the Trojans - a wooden horse, in the belly of which several warriors are hiding. Accepted as a conciliatory gift, the horse released spies at night, who opened the gates for the Spartan army. Troy was defeated and burned, and historians and archaeologists for many years searched for either the real or the mythical city of Troy on the land of ancient Turkey. Heinrich Schliemann ignored all local stories and suggestions. For the site of his excavations, he chose a hill an hour's walk from the sea, called Hisarlik. And the choice of the newly minted archaeologist was made on the basis of studying ancient reports about the sources and bed of the Skamandros River, which were designated quite clearly. Mythical events took place in his imagination, ancient warriors performed, famous beauties and, of course, treasures appeared.
In this rich city there were many artistic products for which the Greek world was famous; here, to King Priam, the shepherd prince Paris, together with Helen, brought part of the Spartan treasures that were never found by the victors during the storming and burning of the city of Troy. Schliemann addresses European art patrons with a proposal to invest in future excavations of ancient Troy. No one believed in the newly minted researcher, and Schliemann invested his own capital in the excavations organized in 1870.
Schliemann's workers went deeper into the ground. Schliemann skipped layer after layer, completely disregarding the classical methods of excavation. The shovels reached the rocky ground, and there the remains of a certain city-settlement, conventionally called “Troy I,” were discovered. The researcher was completely disappointed, having discovered poor buildings, a pitiful layout and, most importantly, the almost complete absence of artistic products characteristic of Homer's era. It was then that the aspiring archaeologist remembered that, together with the workers, he had dug several more layers, which means that other time periods of Troy’s existence may be closer to the surface, that is, above the exposed remains of the settlement. And yet Schliemann doubted that “Troy II” was the city of the times of King Priam, Hector and Paris, the prison of the beautiful Helen. And then, among the architectural ruins, traces of a gigantic fire began to appear, which destroyed ancient buildings. The fire apparently burned here for more than one day and destroyed everything that remained undestroyed by the hands and weapons of the attacking Spartans.

Homer left Schliemann accurate descriptions of the disaster, traces of which were preserved by the land of Hisarlik. Three years of grueling searches, resistance to rumors, envy of the capital's archaeologists, refusals of funding - everything was redeemed by the discovery made. The stones did not deceive the scientist, who proved his perseverance and luck to the whole world. It was possible to finish the season by sketching everything found and describing the findings for a future book, but something delayed Schliemann and his young Greek wife. This happened on June 15, 1873, when a cache was discovered among the massive walls and ancient debris of Troy II, which occupied a significant space near the western gate of the fortress city. Schliemann, under an insignificant pretext, sent all the workers from the excavation territory to their homes, and he himself began to open up some empty space. The only witness to the finds in the cache was the Greek woman Sofia, who later helped the archaeologist remove what was found. The discovered antique treasure contained two golden tiaras with 2,271 gold rings, 4,066 heart-shaped plates and 16 images of gods made of pure gold. Next to these unprecedented items were 24 gold necklaces, earrings, buttons, needles, bracelets, a gold bowl weighing 601 grams, and many dishes made of gold and silver, electron and copper.
Schliemann had only a few hours of free time at his disposal before he left the excavations. A delay in the plans would have led to suspicion, and the archaeologist’s only thought at that moment was the idea of ​​​​hiding the discovery from the Turkish authorities. He was sure that in his hands were the treasures of King Priam, hidden in distant times from prying eyes and the hard times of war. The treasure consisted of 8,700 gold items, and the couple simply needed to take it to Germany, avoiding all obstacles. It was decided that the treasures, disguised as cabbage and vegetables, would be transported in large baskets across the Hellespont to Athens, and from there a route would be paved to Germany. Turkish officials were surprised, but did not protest when they saw off the young and rich European capricious Mrs. Schliemann, who was bringing vegetables with her to Athens from Hisarlik... And these same baskets and Mrs. Sophia herself have since entered the history of world discoveries.
Schliemann's book "Trojan Antiquities" was published in 1873., which described the powerful walls of the Troy fortress, towers erected on heavy stone foundations. Stories about palace buildings were interspersed with descriptions of the fire, which played a terrible role in the fate of defeated Troy. The most striking pages were devoted to the gold of King Priam, which, with its materiality, confirmed the authenticity of the find of the “young” successful historian. The book brought Schliemann great fame and divided the entire scientific world into his supporters and opponents. Some accused him of amateurism and barbaric excavations, of outright theft of valuable exhibits. Others recognized the former businessman's luck, his intuition and, most importantly, his desire to implement his plan by any means necessary.

You can call it Troy. The city of Troy (in Turkish - Truva), became known throughout the world thanks to the epics of the ancient Greek writer Homer and many legends and myths. The city of Troy is famous for the fact that the Trojan War took place here around 1200 BC.

Trojan War and Trojan Horse

According to Homer's Iliad, the ruler of Troy, King Priam, waged war with the Greeks because of the kidnapped Helen. Helen was the wife of Menelaus, the ruler of the Greek city of Sparta, but she eloped with Paris, the prince of Troy. Since Paris refused to return Helen, a war ensued that lasted 10 years. In Homer's other poem, The Odyssey, he talks about how Troy was destroyed. The Trojan War took place between a coalition of Achaean tribes and the Trojans and is famous for the fact that the Achaeans (ancient Greeks) took Troy through military stratagem. The Greeks built a huge wooden horse and left it in front of the gates of Troy, while they sailed away. There were warriors hidden in the horse, and on the side of the horse there was the inscription “This gift was left to the goddess Athena.” 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. The expression “Trojan horse” now means a gift that causes harm. This is where the name of malicious computer programs came from – “Trojan horses” or simply “Trojans”.

Where is Troy today?

Sung by Homer and Virgil, Troy was discovered in the northwestern part of modern Turkey, at the entrance from the Aegean Sea to the strait Dardanelles(Hellespont). Today the village of Troya lies approximately 30 km south of the city Canakkale. And the distance from Troy is 430 km (5 hours by bus). Over the course of many millennia, through the lands where there was Troy, there were roads from west to east and from north to south, today, among fields planted with peppers, corn and tomatoes, Troy looks more than modest.

Excavations of Troy

For a long time Troy remained a legendary city until the ruins of an ancient settlement were discovered by a German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. During the excavations, it became clear that this city was of great importance for the ancient world. The main part of the excavations of Troy is located on the Hissarlik hill, where paths and roads were carefully arranged for tourists. The symbol of the city has become the famous Trojan Horse, a model of which is located at the entrance of the complex. The only thing that generally reminds us of the legendary city is the symbol of Troy - a wooden horse, located at the entrance to the territory of the National Park. Anyone can go inside and look at the unusual way of conquering the city, which Odysseus once came up with. Was there really a horse? This can be found in the excavation museum. At the entrance, not far from the horse, there is a museum of excavations, which shows the stages of the discovery of the city, the first artifacts found and a model of the city as it was during “life.” In addition to the model, there is a whole album with sketches of a functioning city. Local stalls sell copies of it as souvenirs.

What to see in Troy

Next to the small museum at the entrance there is a garden containing real clay pots "Pithos" from Troy, as well as water pipes and a picture of the city's water supply system. The most important attraction of the ancient city, of course, are the ruins. Many buildings have reached us in very poor condition, and to understand where everything is, you will need the help of a guide. In the ancient world, Troy was known as Ilion, and it was attacked and destroyed many times throughout the city's life. Now it is difficult to understand whether the cobblestone is in front of you or a piece of a residential building. There are few building fragments, but archaeologists and artists were able to recreate almost all the buildings on paper.

The most interesting buildings are the towers and wall fortifications near the altar of the Temple of Athena. Why? Because then it turns out that everything that Homer wrote about in the Iliad is true. Not far from the city there are new excavations, presumably the city of Alexandria, which is located near the residential village of Gulpinar. The remains of the Temple of Apollo have already been found in the city of Alexandria. Soon they plan to annex the city to the complex of the ruins of Troy and open a museum of Homer’s work. From the excavations of this city it will be clearer what Homer wrote, because many of the events of the Iliad took place here.

Myths and legends about the Trojan War

Judgment of Paris

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

Elena's kidnapping

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 hid. 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.