Ancient Troy: Cities and Legends

The name Troy refers to both legendary places and archaeological sites in reality. According to legend, Troy was besieged 10, and was finally conquered by the Greek army led by King Agamemnon. According to Homer's Iliad, the Trojan War was caused by the kidnapping of Queen Helen from Sparta. The kidnapping was carried out by Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy. Throughout the Iliad, the gods constantly intervened to support the roles of both sides in the conflict.

Troy also refers to a real ancient city located on the northwest coast of Turkey. Since ancient times, it has been regarded as the legendary Troy by many people. Whether the Trojan War really happened, and whether the websites in the northwest of Turkey are the same Trojan, is a controversial issue. The modern Turkish name of the site is Hisarlik.

The idea that the city was occupied by Troy can be traced back to at least 2700 years ago, when the ancient Greeks were colonizing the west coast of Turkey. In the19th century, when heinrich schliemann, a German businessman and early archaeologist, made a series of excavations in Salik and found the treasure that he claimed came from the king of Pliem, this idea once again attracted people's general attention.

Trojan legend The Trojan War is believed to have happened at the end of the Bronze Age. That was around 1200 BC. It happened during the period when what we call Mycenae civilization flourished in Greece. They built huge palaces and developed a writing system.

The earliest record of this war comes from Homer, who lived around the 8th century BC, that is, several centuries after the incident. It seems that they were not recorded until later, probably in the 6th century BC, when a tyrant named Poerxiusi ruled Athens.

Homer's Iliad tells a series of events in the year of the siege of Troy 10, which seems to have happened for several weeks. This story clearly shows that the siege caused losses to the Greek army, and they sent troops to rescue Helen. The poem reads: "The firewood on our ship has rotted, the cable is broken, and our wife and children are far away." In essence, the war became a deadlock, the Greeks could not capture the cities, and the Trojans could not drive them back to the sea. We "achaean (Greeks) have more sons than Trojans-those who live in the city; But they have a large number of companions from other cities, waving spears to help them, "Iliad wrote.

Some key events happened in the poem, including the duel between Menelaus, king of Sparta, and Menelaus, Helen's husband, and Paris. The winner should get Helen as a prize to end the war. However, the gods intervened and interrupted the duel before it ended, and the war continued.

Another important duel happened at the end of the poem, with Achilles (or Achilles) and Hector (or Hector), the great Trojan warrior. The Trojans knew that he was no match for the Greek soldiers. At first, he ran three times around Troy, and Accili Zeus ran after him. Finally, the gods forced him to face the Greek warriors, and he was killed.

Contrary to popular belief, the Iliad did not end in the destruction of Troy, but ended in a temporary truce, after which the fighting may continue. Another Homer epic, The Odyssey, was written after the city was destroyed, describing the story of the Greek hero Odyssey trying to go home. That poem simply mentioned how the Greeks used the famous "Trojan Horse" to seize Troy, which was a gift from a hidden soldier.

"What a great thing! Soldiers forged on carved horses and endured all this. All our Arghe chiefs are sitting there, bearing the death and fate of the Trojans! " Read part of this poem (translated by A T Murray through Poerxiusi Digital Library).

The origin of this city is located at the Ruins of Hisar Rick in the northwest of Turkey, which has been regarded as Troy since ancient times. Archaeological research shows that it has survived for nearly 4000 years since around 3000 BC. After a city is destroyed, a new city will be built on it, forming an artificial mound called "Tyre".

"There is not a Trojan; At least 65,438+00, layered. Gert Jan Van Weijingard, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, wrote Troy: City, Homer and Turkey (University of Amsterdam, 2065,438+03).

Van Wayne Garden pointed out that archaeologists must dig deep to find the remains of the first settlement, from which it can be seen that this is a "small city surrounded by defensive walls, surrounded by unprocessed stones." Outside the largest city gate, there is a stone with an image of a face on it, which may be a god who welcomes tourists to this new city.

Troy left after 2550 BC. Van Wiengard wrote that the city "has been greatly expanded and equipped with a huge defensive wall made of stones and rectangular clay bricks". He noticed that there was a "Megaron" house on the fortress of the settlement, including "an extended room with a fireplace and an open front yard."

When Heinrich schliemann excavated this level of Troy in 1873, he found a treasure that he thought belonged to the king of Paulian. "Weapons, gold, silver, silver, copper and bronze vessels, gold jewelry (including thousands of gold rings) and a series of other items made of precious materials are obviously exposed outside the walls of the building designated as Sheriman Palace. Trevor Bryce, a researcher at the University of Queensland, wrote in his book Troy and its Neighbors (Routledge, 2006):

Some researchers speculate that these treasures were not found in the same repository, but precious items from the whole site, which Sheriman collected in a few weeks. Although Sheriman believes that he has found Priam's treasure, it is obvious that these treasures will last for thousands of years for Priam in the next few decades.

A Greek stone tablet is located on the ruins of Troy, Turkey. (Alex Kripnov Shutstock) Homer's Troy? The Trojan mentioned by Homer may belong to the other two stages, from about 1700 BC to 1 190 BC. Bryce pointed out that its defense is very strong.

The walls covered with mud brick walls were once as high as 9 meters (30 feet). There are several watchtowers on these walls, the most magnificent of which is the northeast fortress, which is used to strengthen the defense ability of the castle and overlook the Troy Plain, "he wrote.

The exact size of the city is controversial. Archaeologist Manfred kolff led the excavation of the site. In his book Troy: From Homer's Iliad to Hollywood Epic (Blackwell Press, 2007), he wrote that the work of the site showed that there was a "lower town" outside the castle, making its total area about 30 hectares (74 acres).

"This Troy has a large residential area under a strong fortress. As far as we know today, this castle is unparalleled in its region and even in Southeast Europe, "he wrote in the chapters of the book. The scope of residential areas is a controversial topic among scholars. Some people think that kolff Mann overestimated its scope.

A key question is how to determine that this city is Homer's Troy. The cracks in its wall show that it suffered an earthquake around 1300 BC, and then an uprising or attack may have taken place. "There are also some signs that fire and slingshots are in the destruction layer, and there may be some fighting," Van Wiengard wrote. However, the earthquake seems to have caused the biggest loss. "In addition, he also pointed out that the city was rebuilt after being destroyed, and the reconstructor was not a foreign Greek army as before."

The statement that he was executed by the Greek army during the siege in BC 1 190 was once again questioned. At this time, the Greek Mycenae civilization had collapsed and its huge palace was in ruins. In addition, archaeologists found ceramic and bronze axes from southeast Europe in Troy, which indicates that people may have moved into the city from there.

Later, Troy was abandoned around 1000 BC and reoccupied in the 8th century BC when Homer lived. The Greeks called this reoccupied city "Hillan",

Bryce wrote: There is no doubt that the place that the new immigrants will occupy is the background of the legendary Trojan War. Later, its residents used it to attract political support and ancient tourists.

In the first few centuries, Elaine was a gentle settlement. Although many scholars believe that people who resettled in Troy after 1000 BC are Greek colonists, this view has been challenged recently. In 20 14, a research report published by a group of scholars in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology showed that the binaural chairs found in Troy were thought to have been imported from Greece, but were actually made locally. Other pottery found in Troy after 1000 BC was also made locally, not imported from Greece. This led the research team to believe that many people who reoccupied Troy may not be Greek colonists, but people who have already lived in the area.

In Xue Xisi, the place of sacrifice, the king of Persia stopped to pay tribute to Troy on his way to conquer Greece. Especially in the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great would do the same, giving it a special position in the empire. Strappo who lived about 2,000 years ago wrote:

"It is said that the city of Iliad was once just a village with the temple of Athena, a small and cheap temple." . "When Alexander went there after the victory of Granix River, he decorated the temple with vows, awarded the title of village city, and ordered the person in charge to improve it with buildings. He declared freedom and exempted tribute; Later, after the Persian was overthrown, he wrote a friendly letter to this place, promising to build it into a great city ... (translated by H.L. Jones through Poerxiusi Digital Library)

Troy's special position will last until Roman rule. The Romans believed that Aeneas was one of the heroes of Troy and the ancestor of legendary Roman founders romulus and Ramses. Bryce wrote that the residents of this city took advantage of this myth and became "a popular destination for pilgrims and tourists". He pointed out that at this stage of Troy's existence, when it became a popular tourist destination, the city became bigger than ever, including the Trojan War. However, with the arrival of the Middle Ages, Troy declined. In the13rd century, the city became an ordinary agricultural community. Recent DNA research revealed the story of a woman who died of infection during pregnancy 800 years ago. Today, Troy is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist destination for Turkish tourists.

Troy is building a new museum, and Turkey wants to repatriate the cultural relics illegally transported from Troy in the 20th century and return them to Turkey. C.Brian Rose, a professor of archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, said that research showed that a batch of gold jewelry from Payne Museum was stolen from Troy in the 20th century. After a long negotiation, these jewels were sent back to Turkey and published on 20 17. In an article in the Eastern Mediterranean Journal of Archaeology and Heritage Studies,

Is there a Trojan War? A big question for researchers is, is there a Trojan War? If so, is this really Troy?

Unfortunately, the only written remains found in Troy occupied by Greece in the 8th century BC are seals written in a language called Luwei, which may have been brought to Troy from other parts of Turkey.

Scholars have noticed that the terrain of the legendary Troy seems to be roughly consistent with the real-life urban terrain, and as mentioned above, people as far away as Homer's time also think that this is Troy.

But archaeological remains remain a problem. During the Trojan War, the city of Troy was obviously destroyed by the earthquake. Later, people from southeast Europe may be received instead of Greeks.

These questions left a mystery for researchers. Among these viewpoints, there is a view that there is indeed a war, just as the poet described it as "seeing Bryce off". Since then, we have experienced different degrees of doubt and agnosticism, and went to the other extreme, and tradition was completely placed in the field of fantasy.

Kolff Mann, a modern digger, thinks that the story of the Trojan War contains some truth. He wrote: "According to our current knowledge, the story told in the Iliad probably contains a core of historical truth, or in other words, it is a historical background." Only when they ask us what is the core or foundation will any discussion about the historical future of the Trojan War be meaningful.