Heinrech Schliemann And The Trojan War

In 1871, German archaeologist Heinrech Schliemann excavated a site in North-western Turkey, understood to have been the ancient city of Troy. Schliemann’s archaeological discoveries provided substantial evidence in that the city of Troy existed, and that Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were factual accounts of the Trojan War. Through critical examination and investigation of prominent theories regarding the legend, it is evident that the Trojan War occurred, though not as described by Homer, however the Trojan horse is an aspect of the myth, which remains debatable.
In order to develop definite conclusions concerning the Trojan War, it is necessary to understand the legend surrounding the war and horse itself. The Trojan War details an epic battle,
in which Troy was under siege for ten-years by a coalition of Greek nations [Hauser, 2014]. The city was eventually destroyed by a colossal wooden horse, which served as the Greeks’ entry into the city [Rose, 2004]. After extensive research conducted on this elaborate plan, the relevance and authenticity of the Trojan horse becomes a topic of debate. Homer addresses the horse in his Odyssey when he states:
‘What a thing was this, too, which that mighty man wrought and endured in the carven horse, wherein all we chiefs of the Argives were sitting, bearing to the Trojans death and fate!
4.271 ff’ (Homers Odyssey).

Although Homer depicted the epic battle to have ended with the infamous horse, modern archaeologists believe otherwise. Excavators have discovered that the city was damaged from earthquake(s), before being burnt to ashes [Lovgren, 2014]. Thus, it has been proposed that the horse represented an earthquake which occurred during the war, that may have weakened Troy’s defensive wall, and left them vulnerable. Josh Bernstein, an American explorer, author, survival expert, anthropologist, and host for the hit TV show ‘Digging for the Truth’ states

“Many people know that Poseidon was the Greek god of the Sea… he was also the Greek god of Earthquakes. And...He was the Greek god of Horses. So perhaps Homer was using a well-recognized cultural reference when he sang that the city's fall came from the Trojan
Horse...”

Many historians agree with this remark, and suggest that Homer knew the war ended with an earthquake, however wanted to create a grander ending, and as such added the horse to the poem as an extended metaphor [Lovgren, 2014; Wikipedia, 2014].
Eric. H. Cline, highly respected professor of ancient history and archaeology currently employed at George Washington University states, “There is no archaeological evidence for the Trojan horse, but it may be a metaphor for the earthquake that destroyed Troy VI.”[Cline, 2014]. Currently, Troy is understood to have ‘fallen’ in approximately 1184 BC however the most credible accounts for the war: The Iliad and Odyssey, by Homer, were not written down until circa 700-800 BC. Thus, although the poems are based on vague historical events, they are events that occurred hundreds of years before Homer was born [Webpages, 2014]. Furthermore, it is evident that the Iliad and Odyssey are not entirely accurate, and the Trojan horse was only a creative metaphor for a destructive
earthquake.

After Schliemann’s extensive excavations at the city of Troy, countless discoveries as to the origin of the war were found. The excavations revealed that there were nine layers of cities beneath a hill called Hisarlick; this shows that Troy may have been burnt down and rebuilt several times [History Answers, 2014]. Troy VI and VII are understood to historians as the city that harboured the Trojan War, as excavations revealed huge walls fortifying the area, and a citadel in the centre as described in Homer’s epic, see appendix for figure 1 [Lovgren, 2014]. The excavations unearthed Bronze Age arrowheads, and weapons such as sling bullets, there is also evidence of conflagration and skeletons indicating a great battle to have occurred, see appendix figure 2, [Korfmann, 2004]. Throughout the past, Troy’s strategic location has consistently made it a target of attack, beginning with the Trojan War documented in the 11th or 12th century BC, and the last known war in the surrounding area being the battle of Gallipoli in 1915 AD, which occurred on the opposite sides of the straits from Troy. Historians suggest that this area is a prime target of attack, because it occupied the easiest crossing point between Europe and Asia, and thus the area holds immense wealth and power, see appendix figure 3 [Rose, 2004]. Brian Rose, highly credible professor of classical archaeology at the University of Cincinnati states:

“Whoever controlled Troy, or Gallipoli for that matter, could control all maritime traffic… The war in other words, was fought for money and power, not for a woman named Helen”.

Troy’s location held significant geographical importance and ultimately this led to the demise of the city.

According to the archaeological and historical discoveries of the past, it is evident that the legend of the Trojan War, although not based from entirely accurate sources, originated from realistic historical events. However the Trojan horse remains a disputed aspect of the legend.