Troy gained fame because of the Greek author Homer. in the epic poem Iliad, probably written in the 8th century BC, Homer narrated a great war between Greeks and Trojans. In the work, Troy is described as a powerful city-state on the coast of present-day Turkey, a strategic point that separates the Mediterranean from the Black Sea.
At Iliad, the reason for the war is the abduction by the Trojans of the wife of the king of Sparta, a Greek city. The Greeks would then have gathered 70,000 men for war, but they only managed to invade and burn Troy after ten years of battles. According to mythology, the Greeks only won after tricking their enemies with the famous Trojan horse. Supposedly a gift to the Trojans, the huge wooden horse carried several hidden soldiers, who opened the gates of the rival city to the invasion of the Greek army.
Until the mid-19th century, almost all historians thought that Troy was a fiction. Still, a few archaeologists maintained excavations in search of the city. It was then that Heinrich Schliemann, a rich German fascinated by the work of Homer, decided to invest in an excavation on the coast of Turkey, where the British archaeologist Frank Calvert had been working for 20 years.
The group discovered there not just one, but several superimposed cities, as if it had been rebuilt many times, always on top of the ruins of the previous city. This is exactly what the infographic below shows.
Most experts were convinced that the ruins were indeed from Troy. Still questions remain about the conflict it would have waged against the Greeks. Most likely, there was not one great epic war, but several battles over centuries of disputes between two commercial rivals at the time.
THE VARIOUS TIMES OF TROY
Of the ruins of the nine overlapping Troys, the 7 is the one that most resembles the mythological city
Troys 1 to 5
When: 2900 BC – 1870 BC
– (Sattu, Luiz Iria, Luciano Veronezi and Rodrigo Cunha/)
For more than 3000 years, Troy was destroyed and rebuilt, adding nine cities from different times in the same place. Between Tróia 1 and Tróia 5, the region seems to have harbored only prosperous merchants, who took advantage of the excellent geographic location.
troy 6
When: 1870 BC – 1600 BC
– (Sattu, Luiz Iria, Luciano Veronezi and Rodrigo Cunha/)
It was the first, more imposing version of the city, with solid walls. No arrowheads or other military artifacts were found in the ruins. Therefore, historians believe that Troy 6 was destroyed by something natural, such as an earthquake.
troy 7
When: 1250 BC – 1020 BC
– (Sattu, Luiz Iria, Luciano Veronezi and Rodrigo Cunha/)
Archaeologists estimate that the city at that time was a metropolis that housed 10,000 inhabitants! As signs of military confrontations and provoked destruction were also found here, it is believed that this was the Troy described in the Iliad
1) On top of the wall
In Tróia 7, ruins of walls 9 m high and another 18 m of foundations below ground were discovered! That is, Troy 7 would have walls as firm and grand as those that stopped the Greek attacks on the city in the mythological version.
2) No Apollo
According to the mythological version, Troy would have a great temple to Apollo, the god who supported the city. Therefore, archaeologists are looking for traces of it. But the most that have been found so far in the region’s archaeological sites are mentions of temples of Apollo.
3) Trails of hate
In the excavations, traces of arrows and human bones with signs of violent death emerged. In addition, several buildings had marks of fire. These are clues that match the supposed war with the Greeks, who would have burned Troy after invading it.
Troys 8 and 9
When: 700 BC – 400 AD
– (Sattu, Luiz Iria, Luciano Veronezi and Rodrigo Cunha/)
The region was abandoned for centuries until it was reoccupied, around 700 BC, by Greek colonists – Tróia 8. The last extract of ruins (85 BC – 400 AD) is from a Roman city – Tróia 9 –, whose inhabitants already sold souvenirs … from the Trojan horse!