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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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