For the historian and archaeologist, Troy is a Bronze Age settlement, first discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in the 19th century.
The area described by Homer and other ancient authors who mentioned Troy is located near the Aegean Sea not far from the entrance to the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles). Ranges of low hills adjoin the coast here, and behind them stretches a plain along which two small rivers flow, Menderes and Dumrek. About 5 km from the coast the plain turns into a steep slope with a height of approx. 25 m, and further to the east and south the plain stretches again, beyond which rise more significant hills and mountains in the distance.
The German businessman Heinrich Schliemann, an amateur archaeologist, was fascinated by the story of Troy from childhood and became passionately convinced of its truth. In 1870, he began excavating a hill located on the edge of a escarpment near the village of Hisarlik, a few kilometers from the entrance to the Dardanelles. In the overlapping layers, Schliemann discovered architectural details and many objects made of stone, bone and ivory, copper and precious metals, which forced the scientific world to reconsider ideas about the heroic age. Schliemann did not immediately recognize the layers of the Mycenaean era and the late Bronze Age, but in the depths of the hill he came across a much more ancient fortress, chronologically second, and with full confidence called it the city of Priam. After Schliemann's death in 1890, his colleague Wilhelm Dörpfeld continued the work and in 1893 and 1894 discovered the much larger perimeter of Troy VI. This settlement corresponds to the Mycenaean era and therefore it was recognized as the Troy of the Homeric legend. Now most scientists believe that the hill near Hisarlik is the real historical Troy, glorified by Homer.
In the ancient world, Troy occupied a key position from both a military and economic point of view. A large fortress and a small fort on the seashore allowed her to easily control both the movement of ships through the Hellespont and the routes connecting Europe and Asia by land. The leader who ruled here could impose duties on transported goods or not let them pass at all, and therefore conflicts in this region, which we know about in relation to a later time, could begin in the Bronze Age. For three and a half millennia, this place was inhabited almost constantly, and throughout this period, cultural and economic ties connected Troy not with the East, but with the West, with the Aegean civilization, of which the culture of Troy was to a certain extent a part.
Most of Troy's buildings had mud brick walls built on low stone foundations. When they collapsed, the rubble was not cleared, but only leveled out so that new buildings could be erected. There are 9 main layers in the ruins, each with its own subdivisions. The features of settlements from different eras can be briefly described as follows.
Troy I.
The first settlement was a small fortress with a diameter of no more than 90 m. It had a massive defensive wall with gates and square towers. In this settlement, ten successive layers are distinguished, which proves the duration of its existence. Pottery from this period is sculpted without a potter's wheel, and is gray or black in color and has a polished surface. There are tools made of copper.
Troy II.
On the ruins of the first fortress, a larger citadel with a diameter of approx. 125 m. It also has high thick walls, protruding towers and gates. A ramp paved with well-fitted pieces of flagstone led into the fortress from the southeast. The defensive wall was rebuilt twice and expanded as the power and wealth of the rulers grew. In the center of the fortress, a palace (megaron) with a deep portico and a large main hall has been partially preserved. Around the palace there is a courtyard, smaller living quarters and warehouses. The seven stages of Troy II are represented by layers of overlapping architectural remains. At the last stage, the city was destroyed in such a powerful flame that the heat caused the brick and stone to crumble and turn to dust. The disaster was so sudden that the inhabitants fled, leaving behind all their valuables and household items.
Troy III–V.
After the destruction of Troy II, her place was immediately taken. Settlements III, IV and V, each larger than the previous one, bear traces of a continuous cultural tradition. These settlements consist of groups of small houses separated from each other by narrow alleys. Vessels with molded images of a human face are common. Along with local products, imported goods characteristic of mainland Greece of the Early Bronze Age are found, as in earlier layers.
Troy VI.
The first stages of settlement VI are marked by the appearance of the so-called. gray Minya pottery, as well as the first evidence of horses. After going through a long period of growth, the city entered its next stage of exceptional wealth and power. The diameter of the citadel exceeded 180 m; it was surrounded by a 5 m thick wall, skillfully built of cut stone. There were at least three towers and four gates along the perimeter. Inside, large buildings and palaces were located in concentric circles, rising along terraces to the center of the hill (the upper layers of the top no longer exist, see Troy IX below). The buildings of Troy VI were built on a larger scale than the earlier ones, with pillars and column bases found in some. The era ended with a strong earthquake, which covered the walls with cracks and collapsed the buildings themselves. Throughout the successive stages of Troy VI, gray Minyan pottery remained the main form of local pottery production, supplemented by a few vessels imported from Greece during the Middle Bronze Age and many vessels imported during the Mycenaean era.
Troy VII.
After the earthquake, this area was repopulated. The large perimeter wall was reused, as were the surviving parts of the walls and many of the building blocks. The houses became smaller, they were crowded closer to each other, as if many more people were seeking shelter in the fortress. Large jars for supplies were built into the floors of houses, most likely for hard times. The first phase of Troy VII, designated VIIa, was destroyed by fire, but part of the population returned and re-settled on the hill, at first in the same composition, but later these people were joined (or temporarily conquered) by another tribe, bringing with them crude manufactured (without pottery) circle) pottery, which became a characteristic feature of Troy VIIb and, apparently, indicates connections with Europe.
Troy VIII.
Now Troy has become a Greek city. It was well-maintained in the first periods, but by the 6th century. BC, when part of the population left it, it fell into decay. Be that as it may, Troy had no political weight. In the sanctuary on the southwestern slope of the acropolis, sacrifices were made - most likely to Cybele; there may also have been a temple to Athena at the summit.
Troy IX.
In the Hellenistic era, the place called Ilion played no role, except for the memories of the heroic past associated with it. Alexander the Great made a pilgrimage here in 334 BC, and his successors also revered this city. They and the Roman emperors from the Julio-Claudian dynasty carried out a program of large-scale reconstruction of the city. The top of the hill was cut off and leveled (so that layers VI, VII and VIII were mixed). A temple to Athena with a sacred site was erected here, public buildings, also surrounded by a wall, were built on the hill and on a flat area to the south, and a large theater was built on the northeastern slope. During the time of Constantine the Great, who at one point intended to make the city his capital, Ilion flourished, but lost its importance again with the rise of Constantinople.
An archaeological reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Turkey, on the Asia Minor peninsula (its ancient Greek name is Anatolia), recognized as the very Troy that Homer described in his poems “The Iliad” and partly “The Odyssey”. Troy was discovered in 1873 by amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. But in the scientific archaeological community, Schliemann’s conclusion that this is the same Troy is not considered indisputable.
Ruins of an ancient city on Tissarlik hill. Regardless of whether it is genuine Troy, the city was undoubtedly the center of civilization on the Asia Minor peninsula.
FROM MYTHS TO REALITIES
Today Troy is an archaeological complex in Turkey, a historical monument included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is what we will proceed from.
Until the 1870s Troy remained in the status of a myth, saturated with a mass of events that cannot be verified, which is an organic property of all legends that have gone through numerous oral interpretations. The main source of knowledge about Troy was the poem “Iliad” and partly “Odyssey” by the great Greek poet of antiquity Homer, who supposedly lived in the 8th century. BC e., although there are other hypotheses regarding his life path, up to such an extravagant assumption that he could well be contemporary with the Trojan War between 1220 and 1180. BC e. (these dates are also controversial for many historians). One thing is certain - Homer, with talent and with the passion of a Greek patriot, poeticized the events of that war in which the Achaean Greeks, under the leadership of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, besieged Troy for nine years and won. Homer adhered to the information known at his time about the Trojan battles, both recorded on papyri and retold in myths and legends, not only Greek ones. And there was a man who unconditionally believed in the outline of events that Homer presented in the Iliad, and proved that his confidence was not unfounded.
His name was Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), he was a merchant by occupation, an amateur archaeologist by hobby, and an adventurer by nature. In 1846-1864. Schliemann lived in Russia, took Russian citizenship, married a Russian woman and made a considerable fortune, including from supplies during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, but mainly from the gold mines of California. He planned to spend almost all of this money on proving that the Iliad was a historically accurate document. In 1870, Schliemann received permission from the Ottoman Empire to conduct excavations on the Gis-sarlyk hill on the Asia Minor peninsula: there was already indirect evidence that there, under a multi-meter layer of earth, there was a fortress of ancient times. Schliemann began by digging a 15 m deep ditch through the entire hill, without stopping at the upper layers of the excavation. Having reached the ruins of buildings, he suggested that one of them was the palace of the king of Troy, Priam. And finally, on May 31, 1873, Schliemann discovered treasures that he called “Priam’s treasure.” Among his finds (more than 10,000 in total), in addition to magnificent jewelry, there were many gold beads of various shapes. According to Schliemann himself, he found the entire “treasure of Priam” in one place, but whether this is true or whether he collected them in different layers is unknown. A photograph of Schliemann’s second wife, a Greek woman, wearing a golden headdress from the “Priam’s treasure” is widely known. It appeared after Schliemann secretly took his finds to Germany, and here he showed himself to be a merchant; a real scientist would hardly have acted like that. Even during Schliemann’s lifetime, it was established that the “Priam’s treasure” could not belong to this king; it dates back to approximately 2400-2300. BC e.
The archaeological site of Troy today represents 46 cultural layers, divided into 9 conventional eras (also called layers and dated in different sources with some differences). Kumtepe, or Troy 0, is a Neolithic settlement; Troy I (3000-2600 BC) - a city of pre-Greek culture, had a fortress wall with bastions; Troy II (2600-2450 BC) - a major city of Minoan culture; Troy III-IV-V (2450-1700 BC) - small cities; Troy VI (1700-1250 BC) was destroyed by an earthquake; Troy VII-A (1250-1200 BC): period of the Trojan War; Troy VII-B (1200-900 BC): capture of the dilapidated city by the Phrygians; Troy VIII (900-350 BC): the city is owned by the Alean Greeks; Troy IX (350 BC - 400 AD): a significant center of the Hellenistic era.
According to the description of Homer and ancient historians, the area called Troy (Ilion, etc.) was located in Anatolia, more precisely in the west of the Asia Minor peninsula, near the coast of the Aegean Sea and the entrance to the Hellespont, this is the ancient name of the Dardanelles Strait connecting Marmara sea with the Aegean Sea. It is believed that the ships of the Achaeans who besieged Troy were located between the mouths of the Scalamander and Simoent rivers. Judging by the historical map, there was a small bay there, but no more than a kilometer long, and it is unlikely that 1185 ships would fit there (according to Homer). The diagram shows the main layers of the Troy archaeological reserve.
TROY: “YES”, “NO” AND “YES” AGAIN
From the very first news of Schliemann's discovery, the debate about whether this is Troy or not Troy has not subsided. Hundreds of scientific works, books, and articles have been written on this topic, and every new archaeological discovery related to Troy immediately becomes a resonant event in the scientific world.
“I am not illustrating Homer” - this is what the head of the largest excavations of our time on Hisarlik, professor at the University of Tübingen (Germany) Manfred Korfmann (1942-2005), head of the German archaeological school, often stated. The findings of his expedition made it possible to prove that during the Trojan War it was not the Greeks who lived on the hill, but the Hittites. His colleague, opponent and compatriot Eberhard Zanger wrote a book in 1992 in which he tried to prove that the concentric ditches of Troy are similar to the fortifications of ... Atlantis (according to Plato). Korfman just laughed about this. But in the main, the conclusions of both scientists coincided: Troy did not arise on the sites of Greek settlements, although Korfman only dug “the old fashioned way,” but Zanger did. a young man, he also used satellite images of the terrain and radar scans taken from a height of 3000 m above the ground. Until 1995, not a single artifact with Greek linear writing had been found in Troy, and now, finally, a find has been found, and on it are Luwian pictographs. The Luwians are a people related to the Hittites, who, along with the Hurrians and Urartians, played an important role in the ethnogenesis of the Armenians. Even such an expression arose - “Armenian Troy”. It has also been suggested that the pottery found in Troy by Korfman is not Mycenaean, but Luwian replicas. Privatdozent at the University of Tübingen Frank Starke, as a result of his own research, came to the conclusion that Troy is the Hittite city of Wilusa. In 1997, another important discovery was made on the outskirts of Troy. It was a grotto hewn out of the rock and identified by scientists as the sanctuary of the god Ka-skala Kur mentioned in the Luwian texts. Many researchers, however, believe that the Greek Cretan-Mycenaean and Luwian cultures in Troy penetrated each other, and it is wrong to separate them, much less oppose them.
In 1993, the Turkish archaeological expedition of Professor Hayat Erkanal found, 300 km south of Troy, under a five-meter layer of sediment, an ancient city similar to Troy, Liman Tepe (“harbor on a hill” in Turkish). But there was also a difference - the walls of Liman Tepe are more powerful, and the city itself is larger. It had an artificial harbor protected by a high wall. From the harbor, Greek and other traders moved into Anatolia along the river. And the Luwians built the city and the harbor. Erkanal found the remains of 12 more ancient settlements. In his opinion, many more ruins are hidden at the bottom of the sea, near the shores of Asia Minor and in river deltas. But it is difficult to excavate there due to the thickness of the sediment. On the Greek islands of Lemnos, Lesvos, Melos, Samos, and Chios, fortresses were excavated that were structurally reminiscent of both Troy and Limantepe. German archaeologists even called the ruins of the fortress on Samos “new Troy”.
At one time, Troy was called Dardani, after Dardan, the king of Upper Moesia (modern Serbia), who married the daughter of Teucer, the first king of Troy. But there was also Dardania in Upper Moesia, and there is a hypothesis that the real Troy was located there. Etruscan myths about Aeneas, the hero of the Trojan War (according to Homer), have been preserved. According to Titus Livy, Aeneas and his companions landed on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, and the landing place was called Troy. But, according to Greek myths, Aeneas did not sail anywhere after the Trojan War, but remained in Troy and ruled it. Place names associated with Troy exist in France, Spain, as well as Sardinia and Sicily. Some of them definitely predate the Trojan War. Although, most likely, these are some kind of linguistic parallels, the analysis of all “Trojan” toponyms, coupled with excavations and historical research, is still waiting in the wings.
FUN FACTS
■ In his diary, Schliemann described how his wife Sophia carried the most valuable items from “Priam’s treasure” in a basket of vegetables. But many scientists consider Schliemann a falsifier. What arouses their greatest suspicion is the fact that Schliemann found the most valuable gold objects... on the last day of his stay in Turkey, however, he changed the dates of this discovery several times. It has been suggested that these are generally products of Parisian jewelers, because they bear traces of modern tools. However, later examinations proved that no one in Schliemann’s time could have had examples of such things to create copies.
■ “Trojans” - malicious computer programs that launch viruses, have a common meaning with the concept of “Trojan horse”, meaning “cunning trap”. According to Homer’s “Odyssey” and Virgil’s “Aeneid,” after an unsuccessful siege, the Achaeans (Danaans), on the advice of the cunning Odysseus, built a huge wooden horse, on the side of which they wrote: “This gift is brought to Athena the Warrior by the departing Danaans.” At night, the warriors hiding inside the horse got out of it, killed the Trojan guards, opened the city gates, and Achaean troops poured into the city. This is where the catchphrase “Fear the Danaans who bring gifts” comes from.
■ Emperor Constantine the Great (272-337) had the intention of making Troy the new capital of the Roman Empire, but, having visited there and seen that the sea had receded quite far from the city, he made the Byzantine city (Constantinople, Istanbul) standing on the shores of the Bosphorus the capital.
■ According to one of the legends about Troy, its founder was called Il (hence Ilion). Under his son Laomedon, Troy took possession of all of Asia Minor and the Hellespont, built irrigation canals, and the gods Apollo and Poseidon took part in the construction - under the guise of ordinary people. Laomedont promised Hercules a good horse for something, but deceived him, and the hero in anger destroyed the city (obviously, this is how the earthquake is described), killed the king, and gave his daughter Hesione to his comrade-in-arms Telamon, king of the island of Salamis. Hesione paid a ransom for her little brother Podarcus, who after that became known as Priam (“Redeemed”). When Priam grew up, he rebuilt the city. Hesion gave birth to Teucr, the future king, from whom the Teucrian people descended. Aeschylus and Virgil called the Trojans Teucrians in their works, and Troy was called Troas.
■ The first to suggest that Troy could be on the Hissarlik hill was the British archaeologist Charles MacLaren (1782-1866), he was supported by Frank Calvert (1828-1908) - the British and American consul in the Ottoman lands of the eastern Mediterranean, an amateur archaeologist, who began excavations on the hill seven years before Schliemann. He did not have enough funds for large-scale work. From him, in fact, Schliemann learned about Hisarlik.
ATTRACTIONS
■ Ruins of Troy, an altar in the temple of Athena and wall fortifications with towers. Museum of Excavations.
■ “Trojan Horse” (you can visit inside this modern wooden sculpture).
■ Pithos Garden with irrigation system and ceramic vessels from the ancient era.
■ Nearby: ruins of the Temple of Apollo (5th century BC), archaeological reserve of Alexandria of Troy (3rd century BC), Ottoman castle of the 18th century. near the port of Babalekoy, the town of Ayvacik (handicraft market).
Atlas. The whole world is in your hands #238
More is known about this city of the ancient civilization of the Greeks from the legends of Homer. He mentions this polis in his Illiad. However, archaeological excavations confirm the existence of a once powerful city-state on the territory of 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 Troas Peninsula. It was just a stone's throw from the Dardanelles Strait. Nowadays it is the Turkish province of Canakkale.
How did Troy begin?
Historians have thoroughly studied the descriptions and life of this city by Homer, and have concluded that Troy existed in the Creto-Mycenaean era. The people who inhabited the polis were called “Tevkrs”. Comparing the data given by Homer with other sources, scientists came to the conclusion that the Trojans bravely fought against any conquerors and went on campaigns themselves. Troy is mentioned in Egyptian chronicles. Allegedly, certain tereshes came to the country of the pyramids to enslave the most prosperous territories. But some historians are not sure that they were Trojans.
Historians also argue about the name. It is believed that the state was called Troy, and its capital was Ilion. 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 about Troy could have been lost, and people who knew something about Troy had passed on to another world. Therefore, the data given by Homer has been disputed for a long time. Since the same plot is described differently in the Illiad and other sources.
Historians also find connections between the Trojans and mythical stories and heroes. Featured here:
- Aphrodite.
- Hera.
- 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, or whether there was a war. According to legend, it was to Troy that Paris and Helen came with significant 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 continued for a decade, and Troy was never taken during this period. The Greeks brought the best ships under its walls, using advanced weapons. Many great commanders died during a series of brutal battles. But the walls of the city remained impregnable.
It is known that Odysseus took part 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 withdrew the ships from Troy, which could indicate a retreat. This is exactly what the Trojans thought when they saw the ships sailing far out to sea.
The Trojans rode their horses beyond the once impregnable gates and went to celebrate their victory. The Greeks waited until night fell, got out of their shelter and opened the gates to the rest of Odysseus’s army. The soldiers who entered the city killed most of the Trojans and began to celebrate the victory. The deceived husband Menelaus was going to put Helen to death, but again fell under her spell and had mercy.
Romans and Greeks - about Troy
Not only Homer spoke in his works about the legendary city and its inhabitants. The Romans spoke in no less detail about Troy. Virgil and Ovid especially succeeded in this.
Scientists of Ancient Greece were fully confident that the Trojan War was not a myth, it took place. Herodotus and Thucydides said that there is historical evidence of the war with Troy. They said that Troy was quite majestic. She stood on a small hill. Below is the Dardanelle Strait. Troy was known not only as a militant city, but also as an important strategic site in terms of trade and crafts. After all, the most important trade routes passed past it along the strait connecting the Aegean and Black Seas. Ships arrived here from different countries, including very rich ones. 
The area where Troy was located was called “Troada”. 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 Henry studied the Illiad very thoroughly, which allowed him to claim a place located near the Dardanelles Strait. In ancient times the hill was called Hisarlik. It was on it that Troy rose.
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 once populated areas. All of them existed before 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 gold objects fell into Schliemann's hands. He called them the "Treasures of Priam." At the same time, he told everyone that it was here that Troy was located in Antiquity. Not the entire scientific world took this at face value. Researchers claimed that the place on Mount Hisarlik was first found not by Schliemann, but by the British 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. Now Calvert’s descendants, living in America and England, are fighting for part of the treasures found by Schliemann. And some researchers claim that Schliemann himself brought gold jewelry and utensils to Mount Hisarlik to pass them off as treasures of Troy.
Modern scientists hastened to reassure Schliemann in his guesses, 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 back at times to 2000 BC. 
It is worth believing that Schliemann brought very useful discoveries to the world. Despite the fact that he did not open Troy, and completely destroyed priceless sources of cultural heritage, he attracted the world's attention to Hisarlik Hill. After Schliemann lost interest in the excavations, other researchers came to Mount Hisarlik. Among them: Karl Blegen, Wilhelm Derpfeld, scientists from different universities around the world. Excavations continued into the 20th century.
The result of these studies was the statement that at least 9 settlements existed in this place 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 was designated by archaeologists as “Troy-8.” It existed in 1100. BC. Finds dating back to this period indicate the violence of the fire element in the settlement. This means there was a war here, the scientists concluded.
In Troy, not only military affairs developed, but also crafts. Pottery handicrafts have been found. But perhaps they were not produced here, but were imported and purchased from traders. The bronze arrowheads seemed to have been forged right in the fortress.
“Troy-8” is considered the most developed and largest city, in comparison with other settlements that were located on the hill. There is a lot of evidence that there was a troop on Hisarlik and it remained in the ground. The hypothesis about the destruction of the city during the war was confirmed.
And how do contemporaries imagine that same Trojan Horse? This is not at all a sculpture of an animal carved from wood, as they depict in books about the legends of Ancient Greece for children. This horse looked more like a battering ram, similar to a horse. British archaeologists testify to this.
The Trojan horse is a prototype of an earthquake in mythology, says another legend. But during excavations, scientists did not find any traces of the violence of the forces of nature, so they are inclined to believe in the version of military operations in Troy. Turkish sources also speak about this. Now Troy is the territory of Turkey. Scientists of this country have found written sources about the proto-Greek tribes living in the areas of the Dardanelles Strait. It is said about the people and state of Ahiyava, which also happened in Homer.
Troy is undoubtedly a once-real state or city in which the tribes that once inhabited Greece lived. A huge number of scientists have 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 Illiad. So the modern world is almost 100% sure that Troy was located on the territory of Hisarlik Hill, near the Dardanelles Strait.
Thessaloniki in Greece. History, sights (part six)
Ottoman control of the city during the last decades of Turkish rule was the mainstay of its development, especially in infrastructure. A large number of new public buildings were built in an eclectic style to give Thessaloniki a European face. Between 1869 and 1889 the city walls were destroyed as a result of the planned expansion of the city. In 1888, the first service of the tram line began, and already in 1908 the city streets were illuminated with electric lamps and posts. From the same year, the railway connected Thessaloniki with Central Europe through Belgrade, Monastir and Constantinople. The city again began to acquire its national “Greek face” only after the departure of the Turkish conquerors and the state gaining freedom. However, the turbulent events of the last century left their mark on the modern image of the city. Currently, Thessaloniki plays the role of a metropolis with a fairly mixed population - representatives of more than 80 nations live here, not counting minor ethnic groups.
Kalambaka and Meteora - attractions and historical past
Kalambaka is located 20 km. from the town of Trikala, and 6 km. from the Meteor monasteries, was built on the left bank of the Pineus River, at the southern foot of the Meteor Mountains, and at an altitude of 240 meters above sea level. Not far from Kalambaka, according to researchers, there was the ancient city of Aeginium, which is mentioned by the historian Strabo. He also points out that it was the city of Timpheev, bordering Trikka and Efikia and was built at the confluence of the rivers Iona and Peneus.
Icons from Athos.
Kastoria
Kastoria is one of the most beautiful resort towns in Greece, located in a picturesque location. On one side, the city is adjacent to the beautiful Vigla Mountain, and on the other, to the pearl lake Orestiada. In the evening, on the shore of the lake you can see a huge number of people, including romantic couples, artists, poets, musicians and simply those who are able to enjoy and appreciate the bohemian beauty of Orestiada.
The famous palm forest in Greece
The famous palm forest of Vai is located on the island of Crete and is one of its main attractions. Thanks to its uniqueness, Vai has become an original holiday destination for tourists from Europe and around the world. Tens of thousands of tourists flock here every year. They are attracted not only by the forest itself, but also by the large sandy beach along the coast.
We have all heard about the Trojan War thanks to Homer's Iliad. Who were the inhabitants of Troy and what peoples could be their descendants?
Turks and Greeks
It is assumed that ancient Troy (in Homer - Ilion) was located in the north of modern Turkey, on the shores of the Aegean Sea, near the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait.
The inhabitants of Troy were not actually called Trojans, but Teucrians. Mention of the tjkr people is found in sources from the time of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses III. Aeschylus and Virgil also spoke about them.
According to the historian Strabo, the Teucrian tribe originally lived in Crete, from where they moved to Troas (Troy). After the fall of Troy, the Teucrians moved to Cyprus and Palestine.
Today, the region where Troy was once located is inhabited by both Turks and Greeks. Therefore, most likely, it is among them that one can find the descendants of the Trojans.
Etruscans
A number of researchers believe that the pre-Greek inscriptions found in Cyprus (the so-called Eteocypriot inscriptions) and revealing grammatical and
lexical similarity with the Etruscan language belongs specifically to the Teucrians. Almost all ancient authors talk about the Asia Minor origin of the Etruscans, which is quite consistent with the “Trojan” version.
True, the famous expert on the Etruscans R. Bekes believed that they were not descendants of the Trojans, but only their closest neighbors.
Romans
Legends say that the Romans descended from Aeneas, who fled from the burning of Troy. This is stated both in the “History from the Founding of the City” by Titus Livy and in the “Aeneid” by Virgil. Tacitus also mentions the Trojan origin of the Romans. Julius Caesar himself announced that he descended from Ascanius, the son of Aeneas.
True, there is confusion with the dates. It is believed that Rome was founded in 753 BC, and the Trojan War took place in the 13th-12th centuries BC, that is, about 400 years before the founding of Rome.
Franks
The first Frankish kings were representatives of the Merovingian dynasty. It was necessary to create some kind of legend confirming their right to power, and then they came up with an ancestor named Francus or Francion, who was allegedly the son of Hector, the leader of the Trojan warriors.
Francus was first mentioned in 660 with reference to the Chronicle of the Roman historian Eusebius of Caesarea. From there, the information was transferred to the “History of the Franks” by Gregory of Tours, the events in which date back to the 4th century.
As legend has it, Francus and his comrades fled from Troy during the fire and, after long wanderings, built the city of Sycambria on the Danube. Later he built another city on the Rhine - Dispargum. Subsequently, the descendants of Frankus moved to the lands of Gaul and began to call themselves Franks in honor of the first leader.
The city of Paris supposedly got its name in honor of Prince Paris, who provoked the Trojan War, and was a distant relative of Frankus. It was he who became the founder of the city on the Seine. Also, according to this version, many European cities were founded by Trojan heroes: among them Toulouse, London, Barcelona, Bern, Cologne.
Germans and Britons
The Germanic tribes considered Troana, the daughter of the Trojan king Priam, as their ancestor. As the Scandinavian sagas say, one of her descendants was the ruler of Thrace, a country located on the European shore of the Hellespont. He and his people managed to conquer the lands of Scandinavia and Jutland (Denmark), and then populate the entire northern part of Western Europe. One of the tribes that lived there, the Britons, gave the name to Britain, the territory of which was settled in the 7th century BC. The people from Troy were distinguished from the indigenous population by their white skin, tall stature, light eyes and blond or red hair.
Russians
Theoretically, the Trojans could migrate not only to the West or East, but also to the North. Most likely, to the area of the mouth of Itil (that was the name of the Volga River at that time) and on the coast of the Dnieper. In particular, they could become residents of the Khazar Kaganate, and after its fall, settle further throughout the Slavic lands, mixing with the local population, and then with the Balts. It is possible that the legendary Varangians Rurik, Sineus and Truvor, called to reign in Rus', were descended from the Trojans. And in “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” the adjective “Troyan” (“Troyan”) is mentioned several times, formed, perhaps, from the name of the proper Troyan.
By the way, Ivan the Terrible, as you know, claimed that the Rurikovichs descended from the first Roman emperors. Maybe there were reasons for this?
Let only indirect facts speak in favor of this version, but why not fantasize about the fact that we, Russians, can also be descendants of the ancient Trojans?
Despite the fact that Schliemann was looking for the Troy described by Homer, the real city turned out to be older than the one mentioned in the chronicles of the Greek author. In 1988, excavations were continued by Manred Kaufman. Then it turned out that the city occupied a larger territory than originally thought.
In total, nine different levels were discovered at the excavation site, that is, the city was rebuilt 9 times. When Schliemann discovered the ruins of Troy, he noticed that the settlement had been destroyed by fire. But whether this was the same city that, according to legend, was destroyed by the ancient Greeks during the Trojan War in 1200 BC remained unclear. After some disagreement, archaeologists came to the conclusion that two levels of excavations fit Homer's description, which they called "Troy 6" and "Troy 7".
In the end, the remains of the legendary city began to be considered an archaeological excavation called “Troy 7”. It was this city that was destroyed by fire around 1250–1200 BC.
The Legend of Troy and the Trojan Horse
According to the literary source of that time, Homer's Iliad, the ruler of the city of Troy, King Priam, waged a war with the Greeks because of the kidnapped Helen.
The woman was the wife of Agamemnon, the ruler of the Greek city of Sparta, but she ran away with Paris, the prince of Troy. Since Paris refused to return Helen to her homeland, a war broke out that lasted 10 years.
In another poem called The Odyssey, Homer talks about how Troy was destroyed. The Greeks won the war thanks to cunning. They are a wooden horse, which they allegedly wanted to present as a gift. The inhabitants of the city allowed the huge statue to be brought inside the walls, and the Greek soldiers sitting in it went out and captured the city.
Troy is also mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid.
There is still a lot of debate as to whether the city discovered by Schliemann is the same Troy that is mentioned in the works of ancient authors. It is known that about 2,700 years ago the Greeks colonized the northwestern coast of modern Turkey.
How old is Troy?
In his study Troy: City, Homer and Turkey, Dutch archaeologist Geert Jean Van Wijngaarden notes that at least 10 cities existed at the Hisarlik hill excavation site. Presumably the first settlers appeared in 3000 BC. When one city was destroyed for one reason or another, a new city arose in its place. The ruins were manually covered with earth, and another settlement was built on the hill.
The heyday of the ancient city came in 2550 BC, when the settlement grew and a high wall was built around it. When Heinrich Schliemann excavated this settlement, he discovered hidden treasures that he assumed belonged to King Priam: a collection of weapons, silver, copper and bronze vessels, and gold jewelry. Schliemann believed that the treasures were in the royal palace.
It later became known that jewelry existed a thousand years before the reign of King Priam.
Which Troy is Homer?
Modern archaeologists believe that Troy, according to Homer, is the ruins of a city from the era of 1700–1190. BC. According to researcher Manfred Korfmann, the city covered an area of about 30 hectares.
Unlike the poems of Homer, archaeologists claim that the city of this era died not from an attack by the Greeks, but from an earthquake. Moreover, at that time the Mycenaean civilization of the Greeks was already in decline. They simply could not attack Priam's city.
The settlement was abandoned by its inhabitants in 1000 BC, and in the 8th century BC, that is, during the time of Homer, it was inhabited by the Greeks. They were sure that they lived on the site of ancient Troy, described in the Iliad and Odyssey, and named the city Ilion.