ASB Lecture 4 - Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann Unearths the Homeric World at Troy and Mycenae Homer Greek author Unknown when he lived, if he lived at all Wrote Iliad and Odyssey Wrote about the Trojan War Causes for the war Eris, goddess of discord, marked a golden apple with words ?to the fairest? Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera quarrel over it Zeus sends them to Paris, prince of Troy, to judge Judges Aphrodite to be the fairest Reward Aphrodite rewards Paris by making Helen, Queen of Sparta, fall in love with him Helen was already married to Menelaus, King of Sparta Helen willingly leaves Menelaus with Paris, going to Troy War! Menelaus vows to liberate Helen from Troy Gets the help of his brother, Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, who assembles a massive army of Greeks to sail against Troy Arrival at Troy Greeks arrive at Troy, set up camp on the beach Repeatedly attack city of Troy, to no avail War rages on for 10 years Trojan Horse Odysseus comes up with idea of Trojan horse to fool the Trojans Trojans fall for the trick, Greeks pour out of the horse at nightfall and burn the city to the ground Legacy Iliad and Odyssey passed down by the writings of Medieval monks Location of the city of Troy was forgotten Many scholars, by the 19th Century, came to believe the Homeric epics to be mere myths, in no way based on historical fact Thus, they believed that Troy never existed Heinrich Schliemann Born January 6, 1822 in Neubukow, Germany Father was a poor rural Protestant minister Father interested in Classics, taught Schliemann about Iliad and Odyssey At age of 8, declared he would discover Troy Education and early life Schliemann only had a high school education, was unable to attend university due to his family?s state of poverty Worked at various jobs throughout Europe, in order to sustain himself Taught himself 13 languages Fortune Schliemann learns his brother died in California Moves there in 1851, and started a bank in Sacramento, which bought and resold over $1,000,000 in gold dust in six months Schliemann made huge profit, also as a speculator in the stock market Further business and retirement Schliemann moved to Russia in 1852 Married Russian woman, Ekaterina Went into the indigo business, where he cornered the market and increased his wealth Also became a military contractor during the Crimean War Retired in 1863 at age 41 World Travels Schliemann decided to travel the world, and then search for the city of Troy Ekaterina was not interested Schliemann went to Indiana, where the state?s liberal divorce laws allowed him to divorce her Eventually, went to western coast of Turkey to try and find Troy Arrival in Turkey Schliemann arrived in Turkey 1868 Landed in the Troad, near the Dardanelles Surveyed the mound of Bunarbashi, using Homer as his guide Didn?t fit the description, so Schliemann disqualified it Hissarlik Schliemann decided to investigate the mound of Hissarlik, which seemed to better suit the description in Homer Frank Calvert U.S. vice-consul at the Dardanelles Half of the mound of Hissarlik was on his family property Had begun excavating the mound, and identified it as Troy Schliemann heard of this, befriended Calvert, and also became convinced this was Troy Second Marriage Schliemann left Turkey for Greece, and didn?t return for two years Advertised for a wife, eventually settled on Sophia Engastromenos Sent her to study Classics and several languages Return to Troy In 1870, Schliemann returns to Troy with his wife and digs a trial trench in the Northwest corner of Hissarlik Finds a huge stone wall 16 feet below the surface Now forced to apply for an excavation permit to the government in Istanbul Tell Artificial mound produced by continuous human occupation in one site Common throughout the Near East Formed by the buildup of debris over many years Beginning of Excavations September 1871-permit granted Excavation begins October 11 Schliemann hires laborers from neighboring villages Dug huge trench across the mound Homeric Troy? Schliemann identified 7 successive cities Identified Troy II to be the city of the Trojan War Contained in a layer of burnt masonry and ash, which Schliemann believed to be the results of the sack of Troy Priam?s Treasure One day, in June 1877, while excavating, the workmen found gold artifacts Schliemann ordered the workmen home Collected the treasure in Sophia?s shawl No witnesses Smuggled out of Turkey, hidden in a garden shed in Greece Controversy No witnesses, therefore questionable whether the treasure genuinely came from that part of the mound Violation of excavation permit Excavation praised by the British, condemned by the Germans Greece In order to convince his detractors, as well as to fulfill his own ambitions , he decides to excavate Mycenae, the city where Agamemnon ruled Mycenae Location already known, large stone walls and some structures were visible Main goal of Schliemann- to find the tomb of Agamemnon and his family Pausanias Lived in the Second Century AD Greek geographer Wrote Description of Greece Described firsthand many of the sights of Greece Described the site of Agamemnon?s tomb Schliemann?s Excavations Schliemann begins digging at Mycenae in 1874, and discovers a number of finds that were in Pausanias? account Lion Gate Grave Circle A Finds At Grave Circle A, 5 graves were found with 15 skeletons All of the graves very rich in gold Richest archaeological find until the discovery of Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 Reaction Discoveries at Mycenae redeemed Schliemann in the eyes of many Some remained suspicious Resulted in a settlement with the Turkish government, allowed to return to excavate at Troy Schliemann?s death 1890, received treatment for a chronic ear infection Infection returned, died in Naples on December 26, 1890 Buried in Athens Schliemann?s Legacy Controversial figure Brazen excavation style Further Excavation at Troy Troy has undergone excavation sporadically since Schliemann stopped digging in 1879 Subsequent excavations identified 2 more cities, bringing the total to 9 Troy VII now identified as Homeric Troy