Troy
The recent movie Troy is based on the legendary tale
told by Homer in the Iliad. The real Troy is in Turkey on the Dardanelles
Straits, the meeting point of continents.
Why is Troy so famous?
Troy is one of 20,000 tumuli in Turkey; indeed, it is a rather small
one. So why is it so famous? One: Its strategic importance since
3,000BC. Two: Homer's priceless PR. Three: Helen of Troy and the
Trojan Horse. Four: The magnificent treasure found by German archaeologist
Heinrich Schiliemann in 1873 that he thought was the Treasure of
King Priam. In fact, Priam lived in the 13th century BC. Schiliemann's
treasure predates Priam by 1300 years. The treasure included four
ceremonial axes, two of which were made from materials imported
from as far away as Afghanistan and China--proof of the Trojan's
far-reaching trade relations.
The Trojan Horse and the Trojan War as seen through the eyes of
Hollywood.
So, the real Trojan War probably had a lot more to do with wealth
and power than with love. Yet, according to Homer, the Trojan War
had its roots in a beauty contest held on Mount Ida near the city.
Paris, a Trojan prince, chose Aphrodite as the fairest of three
goddesses when she promised him the hand of Helen, the beautiful
wife of Menelaus. This story is completely overlooked in the film.
Not in the heel but through the heart
The term 'Achilles Heel' meaning fatal weakness comes from the story
of Achilles whose mother bathed in him in the River Styx to make
him immortal. The waters made him invulnerable except for the heel
by which his mother held him. Achilles is fatally wounded in the
heel by Paris.
In the Hollywood version, Achilles is killed by two arrows to his
heart. In the film, Paris hands the Sword of Troy to a random soldier:
in fact, this soldier was none other than Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite
and a Trojan nobleman, who later founded Rome. The film has many
other errors: the sun rises in the west, we see Mexican llamas,
a plane flies over Achilles, Helen's tear-streaked makeup is fixed
when she turns her head and Achilles has blonde hair (it should
be red). Still, it is worth seeing.
The real causes behind the war
Troy's awesome wealth was derived from taxes levied on the caravanserais
that passed through the city and the merchant shipped that anchored
in its harbour. The real aim of the war was to acquire this wealth.
3,000 years later, the Dardanelles were to see another major naval
battle: the Battle of Gallipoli (Gelibolu). Winston Churchill, the
First Lord of the Admiralty, sent soldiers from Europe, Australia
and New Zealand to attack the Dardanelles. Ironically, the Allied
flagship was called the HMS Agamemnon. After the Turkish victory,
Ataturk is said to have cried, "Hector, we have avenged you."
History of Troy
Ancient Troy is famous for the legendary Trojan Horse from the times
of an equally legendary couple: Helen and Paris. The remains of
the city were excavated by Heinrich Schliemann, a German archeologist
who used Homer’s Iliad to locate the site, and who also took
all of the invaluable treasures he found there back to Germany with
him. Homer had immortalized Troy with his immortal narration of
the stories of King Priam, Hector, Paris and the beautiful Helen.
Excavations revealed nine separate periods (layers) of settlement.
The ruins include a temple, a theater and foundations. Today, a
recent wooden copy of the famous Trojan Horse symbolically stands
on the site to recall its legendary original since long vanished.
The earliest - known inhabitants of the region lived in the Chalcolithic
sites of Besiktepe and Kumtepe. They were followed by Trojans who
lived in this land dating back from 3000 B.C. to 1200 B.C. without
being influenced. After Troy had been sacked, Achaeans settled.
During the migrations across the Aegean Sea, some others came and
settles. Finally, after the death of the Commander Roger De Flor,
the Catalonians controlled the region but they handed it over to
Turkish Beys after reaching an agreement with them.
TROY: It is located on a mound called "Hisarlik"
on the south - east side of the plain of the River Scamander, where
the Straits join with the Aegean and are tat-her narrow, within
the boundaries of the Province of Canakkale. Troy is famous for
different reasons. First, it is associated with the sagas of the
Trojan War told by Homer in the "Iliad" and the “Odyses".
Second, it is linked with the German excavator Schliemann who dug
the ground the first time. At the end of the excavations nine cities
have been unearthed. Later on they have been subdivided into 46
strata.
TROY 1 (3000-2500 B.C.): This layer, which consists
of ten strata, is the initial settlement of the Early Bronze Age.
It occupies a small area. Judging from the walls, it may be considered
that the city's civilization at the time surpassed the neighboring
civilizations. One story - houses have been found during the excavations.
As a construction material sun dried the people of Troy have used
bricks.
TROY II (2500-2200 B.C.): It is the first settlement
where we see town planning first. The area covered by second city
is larger than the first one. This settlement composed of seven
layers. Stones were used as a construction material at the bases.
The upper parts of walls were sun - dried clay bricks. The most
interesting building from this period is the megaron house with
the pillars. Troy 11 has been the center of contemporary civilization
at the time. It ended in a raging fire.
TROY III (2200-MO B.C.): The city, which covers
a larger area than the previous one, is again surrounded by the
walls. The settlement is not well planned, there are irregular blocks
of ho- uses scattered on the site. The most striking feature of
the period is that the stones were used in the construction of the
city walls. The buildings became larger and developed. The base
was earth. They were constructed on the ground.
TROY IV (2052-1900 B.C.): This settlement, which
has be- en founded on the second city, is about 17.000 square meters.
This settlement was subdivided into five layers. Main future of
the settlement is that the blocks of the houses were attached to
each other. The most striking feature of the period is that by building
birch houses based on stones, they have returned to the technique
of the second city.
TROY V (1900-1800 B.C.): We see a development both
in the building technique and the workmanship in the construction
of the walls and the houses. The walls are neat and well - designed.
The houses consisted of a big hall, a courtyard, and a few rooms.
TROY VI (1800-1300 B.C.): It was a very prominent
Acropolis of the period with its strong walls, and very well - planned,
beautiful houses. It consisted of 8 strata and was founded in the
Middle Bronze Age; the layer is very different from the other layers.
Both in the construction technique and the fortifications a big
advance occurred. It can be sa- id that a kind of architectural
technique was realized. Houses were not attached to each other.
They advanced both in size and com- fort. Ten houses are still in
a good condition surviving till our time on the site.
TROY VII / A (1300-1260 B.C.): The most striking
feature of the period is the pithoi in situ under the floors of
the houses. It is believed that they were used to store food and
liquid supplies for an emergency. The houses huddling together were
roughly built. They raise one above the other in concentric circles.
According to Carl W. Blegen this was Priam's city.
TROY VII B 1 (1260-1190 B.C.): It was founded on
Troy VII A. The debris of the devayed city varies from 0.50 meters
to 1.00 meters. The style of the construction continued in this
city.
TROY VII B 2 (1190-110 B.C.): In this period we
see that the new people settled in Troy changed the building technique.
They combined the single roomed ho- uses. So they were enlarged
to get more room. The most prominent feature of the buildings is
the use of orthostats. They were used to strengthen the lower courses
of the walls. Fire and left again destroyed it.
TROY IX (350-400 A.D.): In this period the city
spread and covered the whole monud. It was the biggest city ever
known. -During the reign of Augustus the city was repaired. The
temple of Athena was the most important building. It was erected
on the mound in Doric order supported by a podium with three steps.
Ro- man ruins are on the south - western section between the temple
of Athena and the town walls. The Bouleuterion, theatre, and the
auditorium all date from the Roman period.
|
