Troy long time remained the city legend – until ruins of the ancient settlement were not found by the German archeologist Heinrich Sßhliemann in 1870. Troy sung by Homer and Virgil was discovered in a northwest part of modern Turkey. Being guided by "Illiad" by Homer, Sßhliemann carried out excavation of Hill Hisarlik on the coast of the Aegean Sea on the Anatoliysky peninsula.
In spite of the fact that Schliemann looked for Troy described by Homer, the real city turned out ancient, than the fact that will mention in chronicles of the Greek author. In 1988 the excavation was continued by Manred Kauffman. Then it appeared, the city occupied the large territory, than assumed in the beginning. In total on the place of excavation nine various levels were found, that is the city reconstructed 9 times. When Schliemann found ruins of Troy, he noticed that the settlement was destroyed by the fire. But whether there was it that city which, according to a legend, was destroyed by ancient Greeks during the Trojan war in 1200 BC, remained unclear. After some disagreements the archeologists came to a conclusion that under Homer's description two levels of excavation which they called "Troy 6" and "Troy 7 approach".
After all, remains of the legendary city began to consider archeological excavation under the name "Troy 7". This city was destroyed by the fire approximately in 1250-1200 BC.
Legend of Troy and Trojan Horse
According to the reference of that time, "Illiad" by Homer, the governor of the city of Troy tsar Priam waged war with Greeks because of the kidnapped Elena. The woman was a wife of Agamemnon, the governor of the Greek city of Sparta, but she ran away with Paris, the tsarevitch of Troy. As Paris refused to return Elena home, war which lasted 10 years was started. In other poem under the name "Odyssey" Homer tells about how Troy was destroyed. War was won by Greeks thanks to cunning. They constructed a wooden horse which was allegedly wanted to be presented as a gift to Trojans. Residents allowed to import a huge statue in walls, and the Greek soldiers sitting in it came to light and occupied the city. Also Troy is mentioned in "Eneida" of Virgil. The set of disputes on is still conducted whether the city found by Schliemann is that Troy about which it is told in works by antique authors. It is known that about 2700 years ago Greeks colonized the northwest coast of modern Turkey.
How many years to Troy
In the research "Troy: the city, Homer and Turkey" the Dutch archeologist Geert Jean Van Ouizhngaarden notes that on the place of excavation on Hill Hisarlik there were at least 10 cities. Presumably the first settlers appeared in the 3000th year BC. When one city for any of several reasons collapsed, on its place there was a new city. Ruins were covered manually with earth, and on the hill built one more settlement. Blossoming of the ancient city fell on 2550 BC when the settlement expanded, and the high wall was put up around. When Heinrich Sßhliemann dug out this settlement, he found the hidden treasures which, under its assumption, belonged to the tsar Priam: weapon collection, gold, silver, copper and bronze vessels, golden jewelry. Sßhliemann believed that treasures were in the royal palace. It became known is later that jewelry existed for one thousand years to government of the tsar Priam.
What Troy – Homer?
Modern archeologists consider that they Troy described by Homer are ruins of the city of an era of 1700-1190 BC. According to the researcher Manfred Korfmann the city occupied the space about 30 hectares. Unlike poems by Homer, archeologists claim that the city of this era died not from attack of Greeks, and from an earthquake. Besides in those days the Mycenaean civilization of Greeks already was in decline. They just could not attack the city of Priama. The settlement was left by inhabitants in 1000 BC, and in the 8th century BC, that is at the time of Homer, he was occupied by Greeks. They were sure that they live on the place of ancient Troy described in "Illiad" and "Odyssey" and called the city of Ilium.