What is the second name for Troy?

The history of the fall of Troy, who fell victim to the treacherous Odyssey, is known to us from the school curriculum - not in history, but in literature. Homer's poem, one of the oldest examples of classics, tells of a war in which a powerful city was destroyed and its inhabitants killed or enslaved. Another name for Troy in Greek mythology is Ilium (hence, in fact, the name of the famous work: "Iliad").

Legend of the origin of the city

According to legend, this city was founded by Il - the first Trojan king with an interesting pedigree: his mother was a nymph. Once he went to the competitions and won them, having received instead of a cup and a medal of fifty slaves of both sexes and (quite unexpectedly) one cow. The oracle told him to build a city where the animal would settle down - Il did so.

According to legend, in the form of the blessing of the gods at the entrance to the royal tent, a wooden statue of Athena fell directly from the sky. Later, Il built a temple in honor of the goddess, and this temple existed (albeit with interruptions) for many centuries.

Legends and scientific hypotheses

I must say that the statement that the second name of Troy is Ilium, in the scientific context does not seem indisputable. Obviously, this city was. This testimony and myths, and chronicles of neighbors, and then respectful attitude, which fed him different ancient peoples (Persians, for example). Apparently, this city was very powerful and prosperous, but historians still share Ilion from the Iliad (referring this information to the field of myths and legends), and directly the city that really existed in antiquity.

Comparing different sources, it can be assumed that the settlement appeared almost in the 3rd millennium BC. Clearly, reliable information about its exact location, way of life, etc., is now difficult to obtain (if at all possible). Moreover, witnesses "get confused in the testimony" and only give additional food for the emergence of new hypotheses.

Adventurous ideas

There is, for example, a version according to which Ilium is not another name for the city of Troy, but its capital (in fact, because Troy is a state). Some sources say that in fact an impregnable stronghold, sung by Homer, is nothing but Constantinople: the Emperor Constantine decided to build his "new Rome" "in place of the ancient Ilium", which was considered the birthplace of the founders of the Eternal City (remember the "Aeneid" Virgil). So, does it turn out that the modern name of Troy is Istanbul? Also no. The authors of the hypothesis are backward: in all likelihood, later, Constantine changed his mind and moved his capital further, to the ancient Byzantine Empire.

Other sources suggest that since the second name of Troy is Ilion and Jerusalem is Elia (Ilia, Ilion) Capitolina, it is quite possible that this is the same city, it was simply called a little differently because of the characteristics of local adverbs . The version is somewhat adventurous, but it also has followers.

They also have a no less fantastic idea, according to which the other name of Troy is Atlantis. This conclusion was voiced in the early 90s of the last century and is based on a certain similarity of cultures sung by folklore of different peoples. However, over this theory the scientific world does not really laugh.

Scientific facts

If you look at the facts, then two names of Troy are mentioned in the ancient archives of the Hittite kings. These sources are quite historical and scientific. But if you believe these documents, it was not the same, but two different cities. However, again: there was no unity of opinions as there was, and no. In the end, it is not a fact that the ancient Hittites meant exactly what modern historians wanted to read.

Despite the "confusion and vacillation" in academic circles, the most widespread was the version that says:

• The events described in the ancient work took place;

• Another name for the city of Troy is Ilium;

• It was located exactly where Homer pointed out ("Iliad" in general is quite a detailed work - only one list of Greek ships is worth).

Enthusiast of Archeology

There are reasons (and considerable) to believe that the impregnable fortress that appears in the ancient poem was discovered in 1970 by archeologist-enthusiast Heinrich Schliemann. A certain part of the public is inclined to extol him: he did not fear authorities that the events and terrain described in the Iliad were nothing more than a myth, but he got permission to excavate and found traces of an ancient settlement near the Gissarlyk Hill, on the territory of the Ottoman Empire (now - Turkey).

Special education Schliemann did not, but he was a passionate admirer of the blind poet. Thanks to the evening readings of the Iliad in the heart of the boy, the name Troy was written in early childhood: in another it is impossible to explain the fact that a businessman, a father of three children, was already elderly to look for a city in which few believed the existence.

The biography of this amateur archaeologist is a ready-made script for a Hollywood film: born in a poor priest's family in a provincial village on the Polish-German border, Schliemann made several fortunes, experienced many adventures, ended up in Russia, was married to an unloved woman, left her To seek his dream, and met a new passion: a young Greek woman named Sophia. It was her pretty head, fingers and neck that he adorned with precious diadems, necklaces and rings, found in the excavations. More than 10 thousand gold items! It was a real treasure.

Gold is a dark object ...

The fate of the treasure is somewhat vague. Schliemann gave the finds (all or part, God knows) to the Berlin Museum, from where they safely disappeared during the Second World War. There are sources claiming that gold was discovered after the collapse of the USSR in Russia, and therefore, in the state museums (in particular, the Hermitage), objects that witnessed the prosperity of the city, praised by the great Homer, are represented.

Schliemann was very lucky: his quest was crowned with success. True, he is now being subjected to harsh criticism: excavations were conducted, let us say, in a somewhat barbaric way. On the way to the discovered valuable finds Schliemann "demolished" seven (!) Cultural layers of the ancient civilization, almost without noticing them, and did not even get to the bottom of the "essence", but stopped at the penultimate level. Nothing to say, "fine" work.

Laborious Researchers

Later, archaeologists (no longer amateurs, but professionals) discovered as many as nine layers: centuries replaced each other, the city then fell into decay, then flourished - and each of the periods left its mark on the Aegean coast.

At the beginning of existence this settlement probably had another name: the city of Troy itself in the 3rd millennium BC. E. Could not exist yet. The first cultural layer, discovered by archaeologists, was a village a hundred meters in diameter. For its time it was a well-fortified, rather powerful structure, destroyed, as it is supposed, by a fire.

The layer excavated by Schliemann was next and dated to the middle of the third millennium BC. Given that the modern historians refer to the Trojan War by the end of the second, artifacts discovered by a homegrown archeologist can not be related to the characters of the Iliad, since they are older than the events described for at least a thousand years. But "Troy at number two" was indeed destroyed in the course of military operations: scientists believe that this is evidenced by the nature of the devastation.

Over the next five centuries, the city most likely did not do well. Scientists did not find any traces of prosperity, but found evidence of degradation. It is unlikely that "Troy number three, four and five" was exactly the magnificent city that fell through the cunning of Odysseus - which means that the events described in the Iliad refer to the period of Troy's existence at number six and seven.

Excavations uncovered the remains of a huge fortified palace built during this period, fortress walls 4-5 meters thick. It is obvious that between 1800-1025 years BC. E. The ancient Ilium (if you still believe that this is the second name of the city of Troy) flourished and was buried in luxury. And let the walls of Troy No. 6 be destroyed not by people, but by an earthquake, modern researchers are inclined to believe that the war, as a result of which the great citadel fell, refers to this (1800-1250) or the next (1250-1025) period .

Romance and harsh reality

In the poetic presentation, the cause of the catastrophe was a beautiful woman (and if we classify the goddess as a weaker sex, then not one, but four at once). According to legend, three powerful inhabitants of Olympus appeared to the Trojan Prince Paris (who, by an incomprehensible coincidence, was also a shepherd): Aphrodite, Hera and Athena with the request to determine the most beautiful of them.

The young man could not make up his mind, and then the goddesses began to offer him all kinds of benefits: corruption, apparently, is older than humanity. Someone promised power, someone - success in military business, and the goddess of love promised the favor of the most beautiful of women.

By fateful coincidence, "the subject of a bribe" was married to a Spartan king, but this did not stop the hero. He kidnapped Menelaus's wife, and the one supported by the allies began a war against Father Paris, besieging the city of Ilium (the second name of Troy).

Modern cynical researchers believe that the love line is nonsense: most likely, the reason for the discord was money and influence in the region (however, as always). The direct participation of the gods is also nothing more than an artistic fiction. But in the descriptions of the terrain, life and planning of the city "Iliad" was extremely accurate.

The Kingdom of Imagination

Perhaps it is explained simply: after Troy No. 7 was destroyed by the war, in 2.5 centuries it was re-inhabited by the Greeks - by this time Homer's work also belongs. Not much time passed, the remains of the ancient city were relatively "fresh". It was easier for the epic writer to tie the fiction to reality, since he had the result of a "clash of civilizations" before his eyes. However, as it was in reality, we will never know.

Such is the story - partly fictional, in some places real - of the city, echoes of greatness have reached our days thanks to the brilliant ancient Greek culture. I must admit that if it were not for a blind writer (whose authorship is also questioned), it is quite probable that both the first and second name of Troy would perish forever (or, at least, would be of interest only for narrow circles of specialists) .

Fortunately, it happened differently. The magnificent city and its sad fate dominate people's minds for more than two millennia. Truly: even if Troy never existed, it certainly should be invented.