– more than just a myth
‘Khayman sat in the downstairs study talking with Daniel now, Daniel who liked to let the hunger build, Daniel who wanted to know all about what it had been like in ancient Miletus, and Athens, and Troy. Oh, don’t forget Troy. I myself was vaguely intrigued by the idea of Troy.’
(…world without end, amen, The Queen of the Damned)
Troy was an ancient city located in the west of modern day Turkey. It is also known as Ilion and Ilium.
Troy was for many years believed to be a mythical place, which only existed in legends and stories. However the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was determined to prove that Troy had existed and carried out a number of excavations in an area of modern day Turkey called Hissarlik at Canakkale. These excavations took place from 1870 to 1890 and although the results were conclusive proof that indeed Troy had existed, Schliemann has been heavily criticised for his rather heavy handed approach to these excavations. To be fair, his approach to archaeology was common at the time. His work uncovered that Troy had been occupied at ten distinct periods of history. The city had been destroyed and rebuilt many times.
The first five periods of history in Troy belong to the early Bronze Age, ending shortly after 2000 BC. Excavation shows that the second period of history was particularly impressive containing impressive fortifications and domestic buildings. Troy was a great power because of its strategic location between Europe and Asia. The fifth and sixth periods showed a large increase of new settlers but an earthquake shattered the city in 1300 BC.
Archaeologists have that noted that it was around 1250 BC that the Greeks due to a huge flourishing of Mycenaean power and influeanc in mainland Greece conquered Troy.
This event is likely to be the basis for Homer’s world famous account of the Trojan wars, immortalised in his epic poem, the Iliad.
Legends
Troy appears in both Greek and Roman literature. It is mentioned in Homer’s great works the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Iliad’s main story tells us of the Greek siege of Troy which was caused according to Homer when a Trojan prince abducted the beautiful Helen of Troy who was the wife of the King of Sparta. The Greeks conquered Troy after the Trojans opened their gates to receive a wooden horse without realising it was full of Greek soldiers. At the ruins of Troy, a reminder of this event stands today.
The Odyssey tells us the story of Odysseus who was one of the Greek leaders at Troy and his long and adventurous journey back to his kingdom of Ithaca. Troy also features in Virgil’s most famous work the Aeneid, which tells us of the wanderings of the Trojan hero Aeneas after the fall of Troy. All of these works are considered as outstanding classics.
After this Troy remained unoccupied for 400 years until the eighth and ninth periods of occupation where the Hellenistic city known as Ilion lasted well into Roman times. However Troy gradually lost its importance after the siege of Constantinople.
There is still a lot of work to be done in the excavation of Troy and obviously there is a lot more to be learned about this ancient city. Hopefully one day Khayman will get the chance to tell us more about his experiences in this fascinating city. Obviously Lestat is not the only one who is intrigued by this idea!
