Where was the city of Troy on a modern map. History of ancient Greece. Excavations of ancient Troy

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, ruler of the Greek city of Sparta, but she ran away with Paris, prince of Troy. Since Paris refused to return Helen, a war broke out that lasted 10 years. In another poem by Homer, 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 with the help of military cunning. The Greeks built a huge wooden horse and left it in front of the gates of Troy, while they themselves sailed away. Warriors were hidden in the horse, and on the side of the horse 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 came out and captured the city. Troy is also mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid. The expression "Trojan horse" now means a gift that brings harm. It is from here that the name of malicious computer programs appeared - “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 to the strait Dardanelles(Hellespont). Today the village of Troy lies about 30 km south of the city. Canakkale. And the distance from to Troy is 430 km (5 hours by bus). In the course of many millennia through the lands where it was Troy, passing roads from west to east and from north to south, today, among the fields planted with pepper, corn and tomatoes, Troy looks more than modest.

Excavations of Troy

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 for the ancient world this city had great importance. 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 is the famous Trojan horse, the model of which is located at the entrance of the complex. The only thing that actually reminds me of legendary city- the symbol of Troy - a wooden horse, located at the entrance to the territory national park. Anyone can go inside and look at unusual way the conquest of the city that Odysseus once invented. Was there really a horse? This can be found in the excavation museum. At the entrance, not far from the horse, there is an excavation museum, which shows the stages of finding the city, the first artifacts found and the model of the city as it was during its “life”. In addition to the model, there is a whole album with sketches of a functioning city. In local stalls, copies of it are sold as souvenirs.

What to see in Troy

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

by the most interesting buildings towers and wall fortifications near the altar of the temple of Athena are considered. Why? Because then it turns out that everything Homer wrote about in the Iliad is true. Not far from the city there are new excavations, presumably of the city of Alexandria, which is located near the residential village of Gulpinar. In the city of Alexandria, the remains of the temple of Apollo have already been found. Soon they plan to attach 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, she appeared at the feast uninvited and threw it on the table Golden Apple, on which it was written: "To the most beautiful." Three goddesses - Aphrodite, Hera and Athena - immediately started a dispute over who should get it, and the Trojan prince Paris was invited to 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 King Menelaus of Sparta. 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 went on a campaign to Troy. The king of Mycenae Agamemnon became the commander-in-chief. 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 have 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-in-arms, who were actually behind the nearest cape. Troy was destroyed and burned. Menelaus returned Helen and took her to her homeland.

In the Dark Ages (XI-IX centuries BC), which came, wandering singers wandered along the roads of Greece. They were invited to houses and palaces, treated at the table next to the hosts, and after the meal, the guests gathered to listen to stories about gods and heroes. The singers recited hexameter verses and played along on the lyre. The most famous of them was Homer. He is considered to be the author of two epic poems - the Iliad (about the siege of Troy) and the Odyssey (about the return from the campaign of the king of the Greek island Ithaca Odysseus), while many literary scholars agree that the poems themselves were created for more than one century and are traces of different eras. Even in ancient times, almost nothing was known about Homer. It was said that he came from the island of Chios and was blind. argue for the right to be called his homeland. Scientists believe that Homer lived around 850-750. BC e. By this time, the poems had already taken shape as integral literary works.

Homer told how the city of Troy was destroyed by the Achaeans after many years of siege. The reason for the war was the abduction of the wife of the Spartan king Minelaus Helena by the Trojan prince Paris. It so happened that three goddesses - Hera, Athena and Aphrodite - turned to the young man with the question of which of them was the most beautiful. Aphrodite promised the prince the love of the most beautiful woman in the world if he named her. Paris recognized Aphrodite as the most beautiful, and Hera and Athena held a grudge against him.

The most beautiful woman lived in Sparta. She was so beautiful that all the Greek kings wanted to take her as their wife. Helen chose Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. On the advice of Odysseus, all the former suitors of Helen swore to help Menelaus if anyone tried to take his wife from him. After some time, Paris went to Sparta on business. There he met Elena and caught fire with passion, and Aphrodite helped him capture the heart of the queen. The lovers fled to Troy under the protection of Paris's father, King Priam. Remembering the oath, the Mycenaean kings, led by Agamemnon, gathered on a campaign. Among them was the bravest Achilles and the most cunning Odysseus. Troy was a powerful fortress, and it was not easy to storm it. For ten years, the Achaean army stood under the walls of the city, without achieving victory. The defense was led by Priam's eldest son Hector, a brave warrior who enjoyed the love of fellow citizens.

Finally, Odysseus came up with a trick. built a huge wooden horse, in the belly of which the warriors hid. The horse was left at the walls of the city, while they themselves defiantly sailed home on ships. The Trojans believed that the enemy had left, and dragged the horse into the city, rejoicing at such an unusual trophy. At night, the soldiers hiding inside the horse got out, opened the city gates and let their comrades into Troy, who, as it turned out, quietly returned to the walls of the city. Troy fell. The Achaeans destroyed almost all the men, and took the women and children into slavery.

Modern scholars believe that the Trojan War took place between 1240 and 1230. BC e. Its real reason could be the trade rivalry between Troy and the alliance of the Mycenaean kings. In ancient times, the Greeks believed in the veracity of the myths about the Trojan War. Indeed, if the deeds of the gods are removed from the Iliad and the Odyssey, then the poems look like detailed historical chronicles.

Homer even conveys long list ships that went on a campaign against Troy. The historians of the 18th-19th centuries looked at the matter differently; for them, the Iliad and the Odyssey were literary works, the plot of which is fictional from beginning to end.

Only the excavations of the amateur German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann were able to turn this preconceived opinion over. He was convinced that Homer's characters were real historical figures. From childhood, Schliemann deeply experienced the tragedy of Troy and dreamed of finding this mysterious city. The son of a pastor, he ran a business for many years until one day he saved enough money to start excavations. In 1871, Schliemann went to the north-west of the peninsula of Asia Minor, to the area, which in ancient times was called Troad, where, according to Homer's instructions, Troy was located. The Greeks also called it Ilion, hence the name of the poem - "Iliad". In the 19th century these lands belonged Ottoman Empire. Having agreed with the Turkish government, Schliemann began excavations on the Hissarlik hill, geographical position which matched the description of Homer. Luck smiled on him. The hill hid the ruins of not one, but nine cities that succeeded each other for twenty centuries.

Schliemann led several expeditions to Hissarlik. The fourth was decisive. Homeric Troy, the archaeologist considered the settlement located in the second layer from the bottom. In order to get to it, Schliemann had to "demolish" the remains of at least seven more cities that kept many valuable finds. In the second layer, Schliemann discovered the Skeian Gate, a tower, sitting on which Helen showed Priam the Greek generals,.

Schliemann's discoveries shocked scientific world. There was no doubt that Homer was talking about a real war. However, the continuation of excavations by professional researchers gave an unexpected result: the city, which Schliemann took for Troy, is a thousand years older than the Trojan War. Troy itself, if, of course, it was she, Schliemann "dropped" along with his family upper layers. The amateur archaeologist's claim that he "looked in the face of Agamemnon" also turned out to be erroneous. The graves contained people who lived several centuries before the Trojan War.

But most importantly, the finds showed that, far from the Greek archaic, well known from the Iliad and Odyssey. It is older, much higher in development and much richer. Homer wrote his poems five or six centuries after the death of the Mycenaean world. He could not even imagine palaces with plumbing and frescoes, in which thousands of slaves worked. He shows the life of people as it became in his time, after the invasion of the barbarian Dorians.

Homer's kings live little better than simple people. Their wooden houses, surrounded by a palisade, have an earthen floor, the ceiling is covered with soot. At the threshold of the palace of Odysseus, a dunghill smells fragrant, on which his beloved dog Argus lies. The suitors of Penelope during the feasts themselves slaughter and skin the animals. The king of the fabulously rich people of the feacs Alkina has "fifty involuntary needlewomen" who grind flour, and fifty weavers. His daughter Navsekaya and her friends do laundry by the sea. Penelope spins and weaves with the maids. The life of Homeric heroes is patriarchal and simple. Odysseus' father Laertes cultivated the land himself with a hoe, and Prince Paris grazed herds in the mountains, where he met three arguing goddesses...

Around the excavations of Troy, disputes still do not subside. Did Schliemann find the right city? Thanks to the discovery and reading of documents from the archives of the Hittite kings, it is known that these people traded with Troy and Ilion. they were known as two different cities in Asia Minor and were called Truis and Wilus. Be that as it may, as a result of the excavations of a hasty and not too attentive amateur, the world first became acquainted with the Mycenaean culture. This civilization eclipsed with its brilliance and wealth everything that was previously known about the early history of Greece.

Troy (tur. Truva), the second name is Ilion, an ancient city in the north-west of Asia Minor, off the coast of the Aegean Sea. It was known thanks to the ancient Greek epics, discovered in 1870. during the excavations by G. Schliemann of the Hisarlyk hill. The city gained particular fame thanks to the myths about the Trojan War and the events described in Homer's poem "The Iliad", according to which 10 summer war The coalition of the Achaean kings led by Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, against Troy ended with the fall of the city-fortress. The people who inhabited Troy are called Tevkras in ancient Greek sources.

Troy is a mythical city. For many centuries, the reality of the existence of Troy was questioned - it existed like a city from a legend. But there have always been people looking for reflection in the events of the Iliad. real history. However, serious attempts to search for the ancient city were made only in the 19th century. In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann, during excavations of the mountain village of Gissrlyk on the Turkish coast, stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient city. Continuing to excavate to a depth of 15 meters, he unearthed treasures belonging to an ancient and highly developed civilization. These were the ruins of the famous Homeric Troy. It is worth noting that Schliemann unearthed a city that was built earlier (1000 years before the Trojan War), further research showed that he simply went through Troy, since it was erected on the ruins of the ancient city he found.

Troy and Atlantis are one and the same. In 1992, Eberhard Zangger suggested that Troy and Atlantis are the same city. He built a theory on the similarity of the description of cities in ancient legends. However, there was no distribution and scientific basis for this assumption. This hypothesis has not received wide support.

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. However, according to some historians, this is most likely only the pinnacle of the conflict, that is, the last straw that gave rise to the war. Prior to this, presumably, there were many trade wars between the Greeks and the Trojans, who controlled trade along the entire coast in the area of the Dardanelles.

Troy held out for 10 years thanks to outside help. According to available sources, the army of Agamemnon encamped in front of the city on the seashore, without besieging the fortress from all sides. The king of Troy, Priam, took advantage of this, establishing close ties with Caria, Lydia and other regions of Asia Minor, which during the war provided him with assistance. As a result, the war turned out to be very protracted.

The Trojan horse really existed. This is one of the few episodes of that war that has not 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. BC, i.e. almost 1200 years later. Some historians suggest that the Trojan horse meant some kind of weapon, such as a battering ram. Others claim that this is how Homer called the Greek sea vessels. It is possible that there was no horse at all, and Homer used it in his poem as a symbol of the death of gullible Trojans.

The Trojan horse got into the city thanks to a cunning trick of the Greeks. According to legend, the Greeks spread a rumor that there was a prophecy that if a wooden horse would stand within the walls of Troy, he would be able to protect the city from Greek raids forever. Most of the inhabitants of the city were inclined to believe that the horse should be brought into the city. However, there were also opponents. The priest Laocoön offered to burn the horse or throw 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, telling Priam that the Greeks built a horse in honor of the goddess Athena in order to atone for many years of bloodshed. This was followed by tragic events: during the sacrifice to the god of the sea Poseidon, two huge snakes swam out of the water, which strangled the priest and his sons. Seeing this as an omen from above, the Trojans decided to roll the horse into the city. It was so huge that it did not fit through the gate and had to dismantle part of the wall.

The Trojan horse caused the fall of Troy. According to legend, on the night after the horse entered the city, Sinon released from its womb the warriors hiding inside, who quickly killed the guards and flung open the city gates. The city, which fell asleep after violent festivities, did not even put up strong resistance. Several Trojan warriors, led by Aeneas, tried to save the palace and the king. By ancient Greek myths, the palace fell thanks to the giant Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, who broke the front door with his ax and killed King Priam.

Heinrich Schliemann, who found Troy and accumulated a huge fortune during his life, was born into a poor family. He was born in 1822 in the family of a country pastor. His homeland is a small German village near the Polish border. His mother died when he was 9 years old. The father was a harsh, unpredictable and self-centered man who loved women very much (for which he lost his position). At the age of 14, Heinrich was separated from his first love, the girl Minna. When Heinrich was 25 years old and already becoming a famous businessman, he finally asked in a letter for Minna's hand in marriage with her father. The answer was that Minna had married a farmer. This message completely broke his heart. Passion for Ancient Greece appeared in the boy’s soul thanks to his father, who read the Iliad to children in the evenings, and then presented his son with a book on world history with illustrations. In 1840, after a long and exhausting job in a grocery store that nearly cost him his life, Heinrich boards a ship bound for Venezuela. On December 12, 1841, the ship fell into a storm and Schliemann was thrown into the icy sea, a barrel saved him from death, by which he held on until he was rescued. During his life, he learned 17 languages and made a large fortune. However, the peak of his career was the excavation of the great Troy.

Heinrich Schliemann undertook the excavations of Troy because of the disorder in personal life. This is not out of the question. In 1852, Heinrich Schliemann, who had a lot of business in St. Petersburg, married Ekaterina Lyzhina. This marriage lasted 17 years and turned out to be absolutely empty for him. Being a passionate man by nature, he married a sensible woman who was cold to him. As a result, he was almost on the verge of insanity. The unhappy couple had three children, but this did not bring happiness to Schliemann. Out of desperation, he made another fortune selling indigo paint. In addition, he came to grips with the Greek language. He had an inexorable desire for travel. In 1668 he decided to go to Ithaca and organize his first expedition. Then he went towards Constantinople, to those places where Troy was located according to the Iliad and began excavations on the hill of Gissarlik. This was his first step on the way to the great Troy.

Schliemann tried on the jewelry of Helen of Troy for his second wife. Heinrich was introduced to his second wife by his old friend, it was the 17-year-old Greek Sophia Engastromenos. According to some sources, when in 1873 Schliemann found the famous treasures of Troy (10,000 gold items), he brought them upstairs with the help of his second wife, whom he loved immensely. Among them were two luxurious diadems. Putting one of them on Sophia's head, Heinrich said: "The jewel worn by Helen of Troy now adorns my wife." In one of the photographs, she is indeed depicted in magnificent ancient jewelry.

Trojan treasures were lost. There is a deal of truth in it. The Schliemanns donated 12,000 items to the Berlin Museum. During World War II, this priceless treasure was moved to a bunker from which it disappeared in 1945. Part of the treasury unexpectedly showed up in 1993 in Moscow. There is still no answer to the question: "Was it really the gold of Troy?".

During excavations at Hissarlik, several layers-cities of different times were discovered. Archaeologists have identified 9 layers that refer to different years. They are all called Troy.

Only two towers remain from Troy I. Troy II was explored by Schliemann, considering it to be the true Troy of King Priam. Troy VI was highest point development of the city, its inhabitants traded profitably with the Greeks, but this city seems 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 the Greek colonists, who also erected the Temple of Athena here. Troy IX belongs to the Roman Empire. I would like to note that the excavations have shown that Homeric descriptions very accurately describe the city.

Popular myths.

Popular facts.

Troy, Turkey: description, photo, where it is on the map, how to get

Troy — ancient settlement in Turkey off the Aegean coast. This landmark was sung in his "Iliad" by Homer. Troy was most famous for the Trojan War. This ancient greek city included in the 1000 best places in the world according to our website.

Many tourists are interested in this archaeological site of modern Turkey. In order to get to Troy, you must first get to Chanakalle. Buses to Troy leave every hour from there. The journey will take about half an hour. In turn, you can come to Canakalle by bus from Izmir or Istanbul. In both cases, the distance is about 320 km.

The German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was the first to become interested in the excavations of Troy in the second half of the 19th century. It was under his leadership that the ruins of nine cities around the Hissarlik hill were found. Moreover, many ancient artifacts and one very ancient fortress were found. Schliemann's many years of work was continued by one of his colleagues, who excavated a vast area dating back to the Mycenaean era.

Excavations are still ongoing at this site.

Today in Troy, there is little that can attract the traveler's eye. However, the atmosphere of the greatest fairy tale in the world invariably hovers in this city. At the moment, the restoration of the famous Trojan horse is fully completed. This attraction is located on a panoramic platform.

Photo attraction: Troy

Troy on the map:

Where is Troy located? - monument on the map

Troy is located in present-day Turkey, on the east coast of the Aegean Sea, southwest of Istanbul. In ancient times, Troy, apparently, was a powerful fortified city, the inhabitants of which became most famous for letting into their city a wooden horse left by the Greeks. Inside the souvenir, according to legend, Greek soldiers were hiding, who killed the guards of the Trojans and opened the gates of the city for the Greek army.

Coordinates:
39.9573326 northern latitude
26.2387447 east longitude

Troy on interactive map which can be controlled:

Troy is in the lists: cities, monuments

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Troy

Troy is an ancient Greek city on the western tip of Asia Minor. In the 8th century BC, Homer spoke about him in his poems. It was a blind wandering singer. He sang the Trojan War, which took place in the XIII century BC. e. That is, this event happened 500 years before Homer.

For a long time it was believed that both Troy and the Trojan War were invented by the singer. Until now, it is not even known whether the ancient poet actually existed or whether it was a collective image. Therefore, many historians were skeptical about the events sung in the Iliad.

Troy on the map of Turkey, marked with a blue circle

In 1865, the English archaeologist Frank Calvert began excavations on the Hissarlik hill, located 7 km from the Dardanelles. In 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann also began excavations at the other end of the same hill, after a chance meeting with Calvert at Canakkale.

Lucky for the German. He unearthed several fortified cities that were built in different eras. To date, 9 main settlements located one above the other have been excavated. They were built in a time period that covers 3.5 thousand years.

Model of the city of Troy on the eve of the Trojan War

The excavations are located in northwestern Anatolia at the southwestern tip of the Dardanelles (in ancient times the Hellespont) northwest of Mount Ida. It is about 30 km southwest of the city of Canakkale (the capital of the province of the same name).

Not far from the ruins is a small village that supports the tourism business. This object was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.. It should be noted that during the Roman Empire, Troy was called Ilion. The city prospered until it was eclipsed by Constantinople. During the Byzantine era, it fell into disrepair.

The famous Trojan horse. Hiding in such a horse,
treacherous Achaeans got into the city

The main archaeological layers of Troy

1 layer- a settlement dating back to the Neolithic period. This is the 7th-5th century BC. e.

2 layer- covers the period 3-2.6 thousand years BC. e. It is from this settlement that Troy begins. It had a diameter of no more than 150 meters. The houses were built with mud bricks. All houses were destroyed by fire.

3 layer- covers the period 2.6-2.25 thousand years BC. e. More developed settlement. Precious jewelry, golden vessels, weapons, gravestones were found on its territory. All this indicated a highly developed culture. The settlement was destroyed as a result of a natural disaster.

4 and 5 layers- covers the period 2.25-1.95 thousand years BC. e. Characterized by the decline of culture and material wealth.

6 layer- 1.95-1.3 thousand years BC e. The city grew in size and grew rich. It was destroyed around 1250 BC. e. strong earthquake. However, it was quickly restored.

7 layer- 1.3-1.2 thousand years BC e. It is this archaeological layer that belongs to the period of the Trojan War. The area of the city at that time occupied 200 thousand square meters. meters. At the same time, the area of \u200b\u200bthe fortress was 23 thousand square meters. meters. The urban population reached 10 thousand people. The city fortress was a powerful wall with towers. Their height reached 9 meters. The siege and destruction of the city falls approximately in 1184 BC. e.

8 layer- 1.2-0.9 thousand years BC e. The settlement was taken over by wild tribes. No cultural development was observed during this period.

9 layer- 900-350 years BC. e. Troy became an ancient Greek city-state - a polis. This had a beneficial effect on the culture and well-being of citizens. The period is characterized good relations with the Achaemenid Empire. Persian king Xerxes in 480 B.C. e. visited the city and sacrificed 1000 bulls in the sanctuary of Athena.

10 layer- 350 BC e. - 400 AD e. characterized by the era of the Hellenistic states and Roman rule. In 85 BC. e. Ilion was destroyed by the Roman general Fimbria.

Sulla then helped rebuild the settlement.

In 20 a.d. e. Emperor Augustus visited Troy and allocated money for the restoration of the sanctuary of Athena. The city prospered for a long time, but then, as already mentioned, fell into decay, thanks to the flourishing of Constantinople.

Archaeological excavations

After Schliemann, excavations were carried out in 1893-1894 by Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and then in 1932-1938 by Karl Blegen. These excavations showed that there were 9 cities built one on top of the other. At the same time, 9 levels were divided into 46 sublevels.

resumed archaeological excavations in 1988 under the guidance of professors Manfred Korfmann and Brian Rose. During this period, the ruins of late Greek and Roman cities were discovered. In 2006, the excavations were led by Ernst Pernik.

In March 2014, it was announced that further research would be sponsored by a private Turkish company, with Associate Professor Rustem Aslan in charge of the work. It was stated that Troy will boost tourism in Çanakkale and maybe become one of the most visited historical places in Turkey.

About this city ancient civilization Greeks are known more from the legends of Homer. He mentions this policy in his Iliad. However, archaeological excavations confirm the existence of a once powerful city-state in Greece. However, some sources refute these claims. It is officially known that Troy (Ilion) was a small settlement on the territory of Asia Minor. It is located on the coast of the Aegean Sea, on the Troad peninsula. It was within easy reach of the Dardanelles. Now it is the Turkish province of Canakkale.

How did Troy begin?

Historians have studied the descriptions and life of this city by Homer well, and have concluded that Troy existed in the era of Crete-Mycenae. The people who inhabited the polis were called "Tevkry". Comparing the data given by Homer with other sources, scientists came to the conclusion that the Trojans bravely fought against any conquerors and made campaigns themselves. Troy is mentioned in Egyptian chronicles. Allegedly, some Teresh came to the country of the pyramids in order to enslave the most prosperous territories. But some historians are not sure that they were Trojans.
Historians argue about the name. It is believed that the state was called Troy, and Ilion was its capital. But there are opinions of scientists that everything was the other way around. It is known that Homer wrote the Iliad, decades later, many sources testifying to Troy could be lost, and people who knew something about Troy departed to another world. Therefore, the data cited by Homer have been disputed for a long time. Since the same plot is described differently in the Iliad and other sources.
Historians also find a connection between the Trojans and mythical subjects and heroes. Appear here:

Aphrodite.
Gera.
Athena.
Zeus.
Odysseus.
Paris.

Everyone knows the myths about Troy and its fall. But the reasons for this decline are not known for certain, whether there was a Trojan horse, whether there was a war. According to legend, it was in Troy that Paris and Helen came, taking considerable wealth. Her husband organized the chase, gathering a significant army. It is believed that this conflict was the start of the Trojan War.

Significant battles

Skirmishes lasted for a decade, and not once during this period was Troy taken. The Greeks brought under its walls the best ships, using advanced weapons. Many great commanders perished during the period of a series of fierce battles. But the walls of the city were still impregnable.
It is known that Odysseus participated in the skirmishes. The idea to build a huge wooden horse belonged to him. The warriors, along with their leader Odysseus, hid inside the horse. At this time, the naval commanders took the ships away from Troy, which could indicate a retreat. This is exactly what the Trojans thought when they saw how the ships go far into the sea.
The Trojans rolled their horse behind the once impregnable gates and set off to celebrate the victory. At the same time, the Greeks waited until night fell, got out of their shelter and opened the gates to the rest of the representatives of Odysseus's army. The warriors who entered the city killed most of the Trojans to death and began to celebrate the victory. The deceived husband Menelaus was going to put Elena to death, but again fell under her spell and pardoned.

Romans and Greeks - about Troy

Not only Homer told in his works about the legendary city and its inhabitants. The Romans talked about Troy in no less detail. Virgil and Ovid especially succeeded in this.
The scientists of ancient Greece were in full confidence that the Trojan War was not a myth, it took place. Herodotus and Thucydides said that there is historical evidence of a war with Troy. They said that Troy was quite majestic. She stood on a small hill. Below is the Dardanelles. Troy was known not only as a militant city, but also as an important strategic object in terms of trade and crafts. After all, past it along the strait connecting the Aegean and Black Sea passed through the most important trade routes. The ships arrived from different countries some of which were very wealthy.

The area where Troy was located was called "Troad". Historians have studied these territories for many years. Now they belong to Turkey. Heinrich Schliemann, a popular businessman from Germany, was the first to show the world the place where Troy was located a long time ago. It is known that Heinrich studied the Iliad very thoroughly, which allowed him to assert that the place was located near the Dardanelles. The hill was called Hisarlyk in ancient times. It was on it that Troy towered.
Excavations began at the end of the 19th century. They lasted for 20 years. During this period, the researcher discovered the remains of not one, but several at once settlements. All of them existed until the late Roman period. Believing that Troy existed much earlier than these times and even before the 3rd millennium BC, Schliemann dug deeper. At the same time, he destroyed a lot of important historical monuments without even knowing it.
Many objects made of gold fell into Schliemann's hands. He called them "Priam Treasures". At the same time, he told everyone that Troy was located here in Antiquity. Not all academia took it at face value. The researchers claimed that the place on Mount Hisarlik was first found not by Schliemann, but by Briton Frank Calvert. This archaeologist allegedly carried out excavations before Schliemann and even helped the German at the initial stage. Calvert was also sure that Troy was located near the Dardanelles.
However, Schliemann, having gained worldwide fame thanks to 20 years of excavations, claimed that Calvert never helped him. Today, the descendants of Calvert, living in America and England, are fighting for part of the treasure found by Schliemann. And some researchers claim that Schliemann himself brought gold jewelry and utensils to Mount Hisarlik in order to pass them off as the treasures of Troy.
Modern scholars hastened to reassure Schliemann of his conjectures, saying that the city he found existed about 1000 years before Troy and the events associated with the war. Schliemann's excavations can be dated at times to 2000 BC.

It is worth believing that Schliemann brought to the world very useful discoveries. Despite the fact that he did not discover Troy, and completely destroyed priceless sources cultural heritage, he drew the attention of the world to the hill of Hissarlik. After Schliemann lost interest in excavations, other researchers came to Mount Hisarlik. Among them: Karl Blegen, Wilhelm Dörpfeld, scientists from different universities around the world. Excavations continued into the 20th century.
The result of these studies was the assertion that at least 9 settlements existed on this site in different years and centuries. The first of them were here in the Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). Life in Troy dates back to the 3rd century. BC. The one that was described by Homer, archaeologists designated "Troy-8". It existed in 1100. BC. This period includes finds that testify to the rampage of the fire element in the settlement. So, there was a war, the scientists concluded.
In Troy, not only military affairs developed, but also handicrafts. Pottery handicrafts have been found. But, perhaps, they were not produced here, but were imported and bought from merchants. Bronze arrowheads, it seems, were forged right in the fortress.
"Troy-8" is considered the most developed and major city, in comparison with the rest of the settlements that were on the hill. There is a lot of evidence that there was a Troy on Hissarlik and remained in the ground. The hypothesis about the destruction of the city during the war was confirmed.
And how do contemporaries represent that same Trojan horse? This is not at all a sculpture of an animal carved from wood, as they draw in books about the legends of Ancient Greece for children. This horse was more like a ram, like a horse. This is evidenced by British archaeologists.
The Trojan horse is the prototype of an earthquake in mythology, another legend says. But during excavations, scientists did not find traces of a riot of forces of nature, therefore they tend to believe in the version of military operations in Troy. Turkish sources also speak about this. Troy is now Turkish territory. The scientists of this country found written sources about the pra-Greek tribes living in the regions of the Dardanelles. It is said about the people and the state of Ahiyava, which also took place in Homer.
Troy, of course, a real once existing state or city in which the tribes that once inhabited Greece lived. Great amount scientists spent years of their work trying to find out exactly where Troy was located, whether there was a Trojan War, and what the Trojan horse looked like. Historians compared archaeological evidence with the stories of Homer, who embodied them in the Iliad. So modern world I am almost 100% sure that Troy was located on the territory of the Hissarlik hill, near the Dardanelles.

Troy (tur. Truva), the second name is Ilion, an ancient city in the north-west of Asia Minor, off the coast of the Aegean Sea. It was known thanks to the ancient Greek epics, discovered in 1870. during the excavations by G. Schliemann of the Hisarlyk hill. The city gained particular fame thanks to the myths about the Trojan War and the events described in Homer's poem "The Iliad", according to which the 10-year war of the coalition of Achaean kings led by Agamemnon - the king of Mycenae against Troy ended with the fall of the city - fortress. The people who inhabited Troy are called Tevkras in ancient Greek sources.

Troy is a mythical city. For many centuries, the reality of the existence of Troy was questioned - it existed like a city from a legend. But there have always been people looking for a reflection of real history in the events of the Iliad. However, serious attempts to search for the ancient city were made only in the 19th century. In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann, during excavations of the mountain village of Gissrlyk on the Turkish coast, stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient city. Continuing to excavate to a depth of 15 meters, he unearthed treasures belonging to an ancient and highly developed civilization. These were the ruins of the famous Homeric Troy. It is worth noting that Schliemann unearthed a city that was built earlier (1000 years before the Trojan War), further research showed that he simply went through Troy, since it was erected on the ruins of the ancient city he found.

The Trojan horse caused the fall of Troy. According to legend, on the night after the horse entered the city, Sinon released from its womb the warriors hiding inside, who quickly killed the guards and flung open the city gates. The city, which fell asleep after violent festivities, did not even put up strong resistance. Several Trojan warriors, led by Aeneas, tried to save the palace and the king. According to ancient Greek myths, the palace fell thanks to the giant Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, who broke the front door with his ax and killed King Priam.

Heinrich Schliemann, who found Troy and accumulated a huge fortune during his life, was born into a poor family. He was born in 1822 in the family of a country pastor. His homeland is a small German village near the Polish border. His mother died when he was 9 years old. The father was a harsh, unpredictable and self-centered man who loved women very much (for which he lost his position). At the age of 14, Heinrich was separated from his first love, the girl Minna. When Heinrich was 25 years old and already becoming a famous businessman, he finally asked in a letter for Minna's hand in marriage with her father. The answer was that Minna had married a farmer. This message completely broke his heart. Passion for Ancient Greece appeared in the soul of the boy thanks to his father, who read the Iliad to children in the evenings, and then presented his son with a book on world history with illustrations. In 1840, after a long and exhausting job in a grocery store that nearly cost him his life, Heinrich boards a ship bound for Venezuela. On December 12, 1841, the ship fell into a storm and Schliemann was thrown into the icy sea, a barrel saved him from death, by which he held on until he was rescued. During his life, he learned 17 languages and made a large fortune. However, the peak of his career was the excavation of the great Troy.

Heinrich Schliemann undertook the excavations of Troy because of the disorder in his personal life. This is not out of the question. In 1852, Heinrich Schliemann, who had a lot of business in St. Petersburg, married Ekaterina Lyzhina. This marriage lasted 17 years and turned out to be absolutely empty for him. Being a passionate man by nature, he married a sensible woman who was cold to him. As a result, he was almost on the verge of insanity. The unhappy couple had three children, but this did not bring happiness to Schliemann. Out of desperation, he made another fortune selling indigo paint. In addition, he came to grips with the Greek language. He had an inexorable desire for travel. In 1868 he decided to go to Ithaca and organize his first expedition. Then he went towards Constantinople, to those places where, according to the Iliad, Troy was located and began excavations on the hill of Gissarlik. This was his first step on the way to the great Troy.

During excavations at Hissarlik, several layers-cities of different times were discovered. Archaeologists have identified 9 layers that refer to different years. They are all called Troy. Only two towers remain from Troy I. Troy II was explored by Schliemann, considering it to be the true Troy of King Priam. Troy VI was the highest point of the development of the city, its inhabitants traded profitably with the Greeks, but this city seems to have been badly damaged 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 the Greek colonists, who also erected the Temple of Athena here. Troy IX belongs to the Roman Empire. I would like to note that the excavations have shown that Homeric descriptions very accurately describe the city.