Sites, Tombs, & Ruins - Ancient Greece, Europe - Archaeology - General & Miscellaneous

Troy

Name: Troy
Author: Nick McCarty
ISBN: 9780760756430

by Nick McCarty

Write a review

Overview

Troy digs deep into the heart of one of the greatest stories ever told. Troy's story begins in the mind of travelling storytellers and comes to its culmination in Homer's epic poem, The Iliad. For many, the city of Troy has long been regarded as myth but others believe Troy existed, the scene of a ten-year siege and the gruesome battles inspired by the abduction of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Whatever is true, Troy conjures up images of golden heroes, enchanting women, duplicitous gods, mighty warriors and a wooden horse.

Troy cleverly intertwines the myth and reality of the legend, with the discovery of what may have been the actual ruins of Troy by archaeologist Henrich Schliemann, in the north-west of Turkey in 1870. The enduring popularity of Troy and its characters has been reflected in plays, poems, books and films — from Homer to Hollywood. The fascination continues in Troy as the door to the epic legend of the city is unlocked.

Synopsis

This is a story of war. It is also the story of one man's dream. It is a story from the deepest past, and yet it is a story as close to us as the wind. The narrative of the epic is set in the period around 1250BC, shortly before the Mycenaean civilization of the Mediterranean began to crumble and city states such as Thebes, Knossus and Tiryns fell victim to a period when settled life broke down. It took centuries to rebuild the glory that had been lost. It was a true dark age, but through travelling storytellers and the oral tradition, the stories of old heroes and gods, among them tales of the siege of Troy, were kept alive. For centuries scholars believed that both the place depicted and the events in the epic were mere fables. It took an unscholarly German indigo salesman to make the connection between the text of The Iliad, as written down by Homer, and the truth. He discovered a site of an ancient city that could have been the real Troy.