Until the end of the last century, the legendary Troy and the incredible events around it were considered a brilliant invention of the great Greek poet Homer. They have captured the imagination of many people for centuries. Find Troy Homer and present to the public "Treasures of King Priam" managed Heinrich Schliemann(01/06/1822 - 12/26/1890) - a talented businessman and polyglot, who at the end of his life became an archaeologist in order to fulfill his childhood dream - to find ancient Troy, Homer's Troy.
1868 was a turning point in Schliemann's life: this year he, Arriving in the Ionian Islands, married a second time - to a beauty Greek Sofia Engastromenos. Marriage to a Greek woman Ottoman Empire, allowed him to receive a firman from the Turkish sultan with permission to conduct excavations on the territory of Asia Minor in search of Homeric Troy, described by the legendary ancient Greek rhapsodist in his poem "Iliad".
Heinrich Schliemann crossed the Hellespont(Dardanelles), to where, according to the Iliad, ancient Troy was supposed to be, I found at Hissarlik hill two sources (hot and cold) described in the work of Homer. Here it should be noted that Schliemann found Troy, literally, with the text of the Iliad on his hands!
After three years of work, satisfied with the results of the excavations of the much coveted Troy, Heinrich Schliemann announced June 15, 1873 the completion of work and went home. As it turned out, a day before, during the excavations, something sparkled in a hole in the wall near the western gate. Schliemann, seeing this, sent away all the workers under a justified pretext. Left alone with his wife, he personally climbed into a hole in the wall and soon extracted a lot of things from there - kilograms of magnificent gold items, dishes made of silver, electra (an alloy of gold and silver), copper, as well as various items made of ivory and semiprecious stones.
According to Schliemann, “on the last day, someone from the family of Priam put treasures in a chest and tried to escape, but died, struck down by an enemy hand or overtaken by a fire ...”.
Treasures of the Trojan King Priam were transported to Schliemann's home in Athens in vegetable baskets. It was from that time that these baskets of Mrs. Sophia Schliemann became as famous in the history of archeology as her apron and scarf, in which Priam's treasure was originally hidden, which was later transported to Germany (Schliemann donated most of the treasures Museum of Ethnography in Berlin).
In 1890, Schliemann again returned to the excavations of Troy, in collaboration with the archaeologist and architect Wilhelm Dörpfeld. However, a troubling pain in his ear caused him to stop searching and undergo surgery at the city's university hospital. Halle in Germany.
In mid-December, in a hurry to celebrate Christmas with his family in Athens, Schliemann, not cured, left Halle and through Leipzig, Berlin and Paris made it to Naples. Due to the deterioration of his health, he had to cancel swimming and again consult a doctor, but already in Naples.
On Christmas Day, December 25, while walking, Heinrich Schliemann fainted. Passers-by took him to the nearest hospital, however, not finding any documents on him, he was denied medical care. When a receipt was found in one of Schliemann's pockets with the designation of his last name, he was immediately transported to a hotel, inviting leading doctors. But the very next day Heinrich Schliemann dies in Neap ole, never having met with relatives.
On April 4, 1891, the body of the great amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann was transported to Greece and buried in the 1st cemetery of the city of Athens.
As for the "treasure of Priam", then in 1945 it was taken out from Germany to Soviet Union and only in April 1996 in Moscow in the Pushkin Museum A completely unusual exhibition was opened, among the exhibits of which were two gold diadems with 2271 gold rings, 4066 heart-shaped plates and 16 images of gods.
Heinrich Schliemann died with the firm conviction that he discovered Homer's Troy and presented the world with the "treasure of Priam." However, further research showed that Schlimann's Troy ahead of Homer's Troy by a whole millennium and therefore the treasure found could not belong to Priam. Nevertheless, the treasure, named by Schliemann after the king of Homer's Troy, remained with him forever.
And in the scientific world, according to the expression German scientist Erich Zohren, is still going "Trojan War" - between Greece, Turkey and Germany - for the right to own the treasures of Priam.
According to legend, powerful and majestic Troy was founded by Il, the great-grandson of Zeus Dardanus and the goddess Electra.
This semi-detective story took place in late XIX c., when a merchant and amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, whose birthday is 195 years old on January 6, discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Troy during excavations in Turkey. At that time, the events described by Homer were considered mythical, and Troy- the fruit of the poet's imagination. Therefore, evidence of the reality of artifacts of ancient Greek history discovered by Schliemann created a real sensation in the scientific world. However, most pundits called Schliemann a liar, an adventurer and a charlatan, and the "Priam's treasure" he found was a forgery.
Many facts of the biography of Heinrich Schliemann look implausible, many episodes were clearly embellished by him. So, Schliemann claimed that he swore to find Troy at the age of eight, when his father gave him a book with myths about Troy. From the age of 14, the teenager was forced to work in a grocery store. Then he worked in Amsterdam, studied languages, opened his own business. At the age of 24, he became a representative of a trading company in Russia. He did business so successfully that by the age of 30 he was already a millionaire. Schliemann founded his own company, began to invest in paper production. During the Crimean War, when blue uniforms were in high demand, Schliemann became a monopoly in the production of indigo dye, a natural dye. of blue color. In addition, he supplied saltpeter, sulfur and lead to Russia, which also brought considerable income during the war.
His first wife was the niece of a wealthy Russian merchant, the daughter of a lawyer, Ekaterina Lyzhina. The wife did not share her husband's passion for travel, was not interested in his hobbies. In the end, the marriage broke up, while Lyzhina did not give him a divorce, and Schliemann divorced her in absentia, in the United States, where local laws allowed it. Since then, the path to Russia was closed to him, since here he was considered a bigamist.
With his second wife, Schliemann saw only a Greek woman, so he sent letters to all his Greek friends asking them to find him a bride "typically Greek in appearance, black-haired and, if possible, beautiful." And there was one - it was 17-year-old Sofia Engastromenos.
The archaeologist identified the excavation site according to the text of Homer's Iliad. However, the hill of Hissarlyk as the alleged site of the ancient city was discussed even before Schliemann, but it was his search that was crowned with success. The story of how the “treasure of Priam” was found in 1873 was invented by Schliemann himself. According to his version, he and his wife were at the excavations, and when they discovered the treasures, the wife wrapped them in her scarf (there were only 8700 gold items there!) And took them out secretly from the workers so that they would not plunder the treasure. At the same time, the exact date and exact location of the find were not reported. And later, Schliemann took the jewels out of Turkey, hiding them in vegetable baskets. As it turned out, the archaeologist's wife was not in Turkey at all at that time, and the famous photograph of Sophia with gold jewelry from the treasure found was taken later, already in Athens. There were no other witnesses to the discovery.
The jewels that Schliemann called the "treasure of Priam" actually belonged to a different era - a thousand years before Priam. The hoard turned out to be much older than the Mycenaean culture. However, this fact does not detract from the value of the find. There were rumors that the treasure was not complete and was collected over the years of excavations from different layers, or even bought in parts from antiquarians.
Schliemann really found Troy or some other ancient city, which existed a thousand years before Priam. On Hisarlik, 9 strata belonging to different eras were found. In a hurry, Schliemann demolished the cultural layers lying above the city of Priam, without studying them in detail, and severely damaged the lower layers, which the scientific world could not forgive him for.
The archaeologist said that he would give the "treasures of Troy" to any country that agrees to establish a museum in his name. The Greeks, Americans, Italians and French rejected his proposal, in Russia no one wanted to hear about bigamy, but in Germany they accepted the Trojan treasure as a gift, but placed it not in the Schliemann Museum of Troy, which was never created, but at the Berlin Museum of Prehistoric and ancient history.
In the modern world, the “Trojan War” is still going on for the right to possess the “treasure of Priam”. In 1945, the treasures were secretly taken from Germany to the USSR, and only in 1993 this fact was officially recognized. According to the law on restitution, the "treasures of Troy" were declared Russian property. At the same time, skeptics still express the opinion that there was no Troy on the Hissarlik hill, and the discovered medieval Ottoman settlement does not give grounds to call it Troy.
Caused no less controversy and
Heinrich Schliemann, who unearthed ancient Troy, is another lie. Having started his fraudulent activities in Russian Empire, he moved to Europe and pulled off a scam with a fake discovery of Homer's Troy. After that, he even wanted to return to Russia, but Alexander II replied: "Let him come, we'll hang him!".
Heinrich Schliemann died on December 26, 1890. The legendary swindler and archaeologist who unearthed Troy - he was closely associated with Russia. Cashed in on the abolition of serfdom and Crimean War, was married to a Russian and even changed his name, calling himself Andrei.
Russian expat
Heinrich Schliemann's ability and passion for languages was phenomenal. In three years, for example, he mastered, without any teachers, Dutch, French, English, Italian and Portuguese. When Schliemann got a job in the international trading company of B. G. Schroeder, he began to study Russian. A month and a half later, he wrote business letters to Russia - and they were understood. The company chose Heinrich as its sales representative and sent this promising employee to St. Petersburg. In January 1846, Schliemann was 24 years old and went to Russia. Thus began his entrepreneurial career.
Men's apprentice
Heinrich Schliemann had a creative approach to business, and he used it in the development of the Russian language. Having learned grammar, he had to practice speaking and pronunciation and decided to hire tutors for himself. Of course, native speakers, that is, Russians. But who? Schliemann hired a Russian peasant, a peasant who did not understand why the master was giving him money, if he only sat with him in the carriage and listened to his reading or discussed the text he had heard. Schliemann's commercial affairs were going well, and he often had to travel on long Russian roads. Here in such roads as modern Muscovites in the subway, Schliemann did not waste time, but learned the language.
Russian citizenship
Having learned to speak Russian, in 1847 Schliemann accepted Russian citizenship. And his name "Russified" - he has now become Andrei Aristovich. Work for the company with which he started was not enough for him, and he organized an international business with representative offices in Russia, England, France and Holland. As a businessman Andrei Aristovich Schliemann became famous very quickly, for a while he became a well-known figure in Russian society and even received the title of honorary hereditary citizen. Well, he called Russia "My beloved Russia" - and that's all.
Russian wife
5 years after receiving Russian citizenship, on October 12, 1852, Andrey-Heinrich Schliemann marries an 18-year-old Russian girl Ekaterina, the daughter of an influential St. Petersburg lawyer Lyzhin and the sister of a wealthy merchant. From this marriage they had three children - with Russian names: Natalya, Nadezhda and Sergey. By the age of forty, Schliemann is a Russian merchant of the first guild, a hereditary honorary citizen, a judge of the St. Petersburg Commercial Court, the husband of a young wife and the father of three children. That is, his position is very high, and his fortune is great. And suddenly Schliemann gets excited about the idea of excavating Troy, leaves his wife and children, takes with him 2.7 million rubles (the price of a small state in Africa or South America) and leaves for excavations. This is comparable, according to the apt remark of some journalists, with Potanin or Abramovich, who suddenly decided to become archaeologists and look for the gold of Atlantis.
Russian war
During the military campaign of 1853, Schliemann was the largest manufacturer and supplier of things necessary for the army, from boots to harnesses for horses. He has a monopoly in the production of indigo paint in Russia, and blue at that time is the color of Russian military uniforms. On this, Schliemann builds a successful business, seeking to obtain a contract for supplies to the Russian army and setting a high price for his goods during the hostilities. But his business is frivolous: he sends to the front boots with cardboard soles, uniforms made of low-quality cloth, belts that sag under the weight of ammunition, flasks that let water through, useless harness for horses ... The entrepreneur quickly enriches himself in the Crimean War, but his machinations and deceit do not may go unnoticed.
Sell Russian paper to Russians
It's hard to believe, but Schliemann even took part in the abolition of serfdom in Russia. When in 1861 the tsarist government was preparing to bring to the attention of the population a manifesto on the abolition of serfdom, the authorities were going to publish the document on large paper posters. It would seem, what kind of business can be built on this? But the enterprising Heinrich Schliemann found out about the government's plans in advance and began to quickly buy up the stocks of paper available in the country. He managed to buy a lot. He did this, of course, in order to sell the same paper at twice the price when the time came for the posters to be printed. And the Russian government bought Russian paper from the honorary hereditary Russian citizen Andrey Schliemann.
Non-return to Russia
Naturally, Schliemann's bold and unprincipled business, and especially his actions during the Crimean War, did not go unnoticed by the authorities and were perceived as undermining Russia's military combat capability. It's amazing that this smartest person did not calculate their risks. Many years later, Heinrich Schliemann naively decides to implement another of his commercial ideas related to Russia, and will turn to Alexander II with a request to allow him to enter the country. The emperor will then pronounce his famous answer-resolution: "Let him come, we'll hang him!" It seems that with these words the Russian traces of Schliemann end.
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Search for Troy
Having "lost" "antique Troy" in the epoch of the XVI-XVII centuries, historians of the EIGHTeenTH century began to search for it again. It happened like this. Archaeologist Ellie Krish, author of The Treasures of Troy and Their History, reports:
After, on behalf of the French envoy in Constantinople, a certain Frenchman, Choiseul - Goufier, made a series of expeditions to northwestern Anatolia (1785) and published a description of this area, a DISCUSSION about exactly where Troy was located flared up again. According to the French, the city of Priam should have been located near Pynarbashi, about ten kilometers towards the mainland from the Hisarlyk hill; the latter was marked on the map compiled by Choiseul - Gouffier as the LOCATION OF THE RUINS.
So the hypothesis that some ruins near Hisarlyk are "ancient Troy" was expressed long before G. Schliemann by the Frenchman Choiseul - Goufier.
In addition, more
in 1822, McLaren ... claimed that the Hisarlik hill was ancient Troy ... Based on this, the Englishman and at the same time the American consul Frank Calvert, whose family lived near the Dardanelles, tried to convince Sir Charles Newton, director of the Greco-Roman collection of the British Museum in London , to organize an expedition in 1863 to excavate the ruins on the Hisarlyk hill.
G. Schliemann himself wrote the following.
After I had examined the entire area twice, I COMPLETELY AGREED WITH CALVERT that the plateau crowning Hissarlik hill is the place where ancient Troy was located.
Ellie Krish writes:
Thus, Schliemann directly refers here to Frank Calvert, which contradicts the WIDELY COMMON MYTH about Schliemann, who allegedly found Troy, holding Homer in his hands and relying solely on the text of the Iliad. Not Schliemann, but Calvert, if he did not discover, he nevertheless quite confidently suggested, on the basis of the remains of stone walls exposed in places, that Troy should be sought inside the Hissarlik hill. It fell to Schliemann to dig up this hill and find CLAMING EVIDENCE of the existence of the city, previously considered just a myth.
Let's ask ourselves a question: why did they start looking for "Homer's Troy" in this area? The point, apparently, is that there was still a vague memory of the location of Troy somewhere "in the area of the Bosphorus." But the historians of the 18th century could no longer point directly to the Bosphorus New Rome, that is, to Tsar-Grad. Since the fact that Tsar-Grad is the "ancient" Troy, was by that time firmly forgotten. Moreover, back in the 17th century, the Scaligerian history generally “forbade” even thinking that Istanbul is the “Troy of Homer”. However, all sorts of indirect medieval evidence remained, which fortunately escaped destruction, stubbornly suggesting that the "ancient" Troy is "somewhere here, near the Bosphorus." Therefore, historians and enthusiasts began to look for the "lost Troy", in general, not far from Istanbul.
Turkey is densely dotted with the ruins of medieval settlements, military fortifications, etc. So it was not difficult to "pick up suitable ruins" in order to declare them the remains of Homeric Troy. As we can see, the ruins on the Hisarlyk hill were also considered as one of the candidates. But both historians and archaeologists perfectly understood that it was still necessary to dig out from under the ground at least some kind of "confirmation" that this was Homer's Troy. Find something! This "task" was successfully completed by G. Schliemann. He began excavations on the Hissarlik hill.
The ruins liberated from the earth showed that there really was some kind of settlement the size of everything - only about 120X120 meters. The plan of this small settlement is given below.
Nothing "Homeric" here, of course, was not in sight. Such ruins in Turkey are found literally at every step. Apparently, G. Schliemann understood that something extraordinary was required to draw public attention to these meager remains. Most likely, there was some kind of small Ottoman medieval military fortification, settlement. As we have seen, Frank Calvert has long since begun to say that "antique" Troy was located "around here". But no one paid any attention to his statements. Which is understandable: there are few ruins in Turkey! "irrefutable proof" was required. And then G. Schliemann in May 1873 "unexpectedly finds" a golden treasure, which he immediately loudly announced as "the treasure of ancient Priam". That is, "that same Priam" about which the great Homer narrates. Today, this set of gold things travels to various museums around the world as the legendary "treasures of ancient Troy".
Here is what Ellie Crete writes about this:
Heinrich Schliemann… found in May 1873 near the Skei Gates (he WRONGLY considered them as such) a wonderful rich treasure… belonging, according to his ORIGINAL CONVINCION, to none other than the Homeric king Priam. Schliemann and his work IMMEDIATELY WON WIDE FAMOUS. But there were also many skeptics who were skeptical about his find. Even today, some researchers, primarily the American specialist in ancient philology D.-A. Trail, claim that the HISTORY OF THE TREASURE IS MADE UP: SCHLIEMANN EITHER COLLECTED ALL THESE THINGS IN A VERY LONG TIME OR BOUGHT MOST OF THEM WITH MONEY. The distrust was all the stronger because Schliemann DID NOT EVEN INFORM THE EXACT DATE OF DISCOVERY OF THE TREASURE
Indeed, G. Schliemann for some reason hid the information where, when and under what circumstances he discovered the "antique treasure". It turns out that "detailed inventories and reports WAS MADE ONLY LATER".
In addition, G. Schliemann for some reason stubbornly did not want to name the exact DATE of his "discovery". Ellie Krish says:
In Athens, he finally wrote the most detailed account of his discovery up to that time, THE DATE OF THIS EVENT CHANGED SEVERAL TIMES AND REMAINED UNCLEAR.
Pointing to the many such oddities surrounding the "discovery" of Schlilgan, various critics, including D. - A. Traill, declared "the entire history of the treasure a ROUGH FICTION."
It should be noted here that archaeologist Ellie Krish does not share the position of skeptics. Nevertheless, Ellie Krish is forced to cite all these compromising data, since they could not be hidden at the time. And it was not possible to hide it because THEY turned out to be TOO MUCH, and one way or another they cast serious doubt on the veracity of the version of G. Schliemann, even in the eyes of his admirers.
It turns out that even the place where G. Schliemann "found the treasure" is not known. Ellie Krish rightly notes that
Informative for the dating of the treasure is the very PLACE OF ITS FIND. BUT SHLIMANN DESCRIBED HIM IN DIFFERENT TIMES.
According to G. Schliemann, at the moment of the "happy discovery" only his wife Sophia was next to him. No one else saw where and how G. Schliemann discovered "antique gold". Quoting Ellie Krish again:
Last but not least, DOUBTS IN THE VERITY OF THE HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE TREASURE arose because Schliemann relied on the testimony of his wife Sophia and assured that she was present at the time of the discovery ... Meanwhile, it became known that May 27 "finds" - A. F.) Sophia, perhaps, was not in Troy at all ... There is practically no conclusive evidence whether Sophia was in Troy or in Athens that day. Nevertheless ... Schliemann himself admits in a letter to the director of the antique collection of the British Museum Newton that SOPHIA THEN WAS NOT IN THREE: "... Mrs. Schliemann left me at the beginning of May. The treasure was found at the end of May; but since I always wanted to make of her archaeologist, I wrote in my book THAT SHE WAS NEXT TO ME AND HELPED ME IN FINDING THE TREASURE."
Suspicions are even more intensified when we find out that G. Schliemann, it turns out, HAD SOME MYSTERIOUS NEGOTIATIONS WITH JEWELERS, offering them to make supposedly COPIES of gold "antique" jewelry allegedly found by him. He explained his desire by the fact that he wants to have "duplicates" in case, as G. Schliemann wrote, "the Turkish government starts a process and demands half of the treasures."
However, in view of all the obscurity surrounding the "activities" of Schliemann in 1873, it is not entirely clear whether Schliemann conducted these negotiations with the jewelers AFTER the "discovery of the treasure" or BEFORE IT. What if traces of his talks about the PREPARATION of the "treasure of Priam" have come down to us EARLIER than the moment when he "discovered the treasure" in ALONE on the hill of Hisarlyk?
G. Schliemann wrote very interesting things:
The jeweler must be well versed in antiquities, and he must promise not to put his mark on copies. IT IS NECESSARY TO CHOOSE A PERSON WHO WILL NOT betray me AND WILL TAKE A ACCEPTABLE PRICE FOR THE WORK.
However, G. Schliemann's agent, Boren, as Ellie Krish writes,
does not want to take any responsibility for such a Dubious BUSINESS. He (Boren - A. F.) writes: "It goes without saying that MADE COPIES IN NO EVENT SHOULD BE PASSED AS ORIGINALS"
However, it turns out that Boren
recommended to Schliemann the firm of Frome and Meury on Rue Saint-Honoré (in Paris - A. F.). This is a family business, he said, having an outstanding reputation since the 18th century and employing numerous artists and craftsmen.
By the way, in the 19th century, "wearing ANTIQUE JEWELRY became fashionable in certain circles. Thus, Princess Canino, the wife of Lucien Bonaparte, often appeared in the light in an Etruscan necklace, which made her the undisputed center of a festive reception." So the Parisian jewelers could have many orders and work "in antiquity". I guess they did it well.
Ellie Krish, not disputing the authenticity of the "Priam's treasure", notes that it is difficult to say definitely that G. Schliemann really made "copies". At the same time, Ellie Krish accurately reports the following:
However, rumors about the copies allegedly ordered by Schliemann have NEVER been silenced since then.
Ellie Krish summarizes:
Some ambiguities and contradictions in various descriptions of this discovery, THE EXACT DATE OF WHICH IS NOT EVEN SPECIFIED, prompted skeptics to doubt the AUTHENTICITY OF THE FIND… William M. Calder III, professor of ancient philology at the University of Colorado, called Schliemann an egocentric, daring dreamer and PATHOLOGICAL LIAR.
By the way, it is believed that G. Schliemann discovered another remarkable "ancient" burial, namely in Mycenae. It is simply amazing how he was "lucky for antique gold." In Mycenae, he "discovered" a golden funeral mask, which he immediately loudly declared to be the mask of "that same ancient Homeric Agamemnon." Evidence - none. Therefore, today historians carefully write like this:
Heinrich Schliemann believed that the mask found in one of the tombs in Mycenae was made from the face of King Agamemnon; however, it WAS later proved that she belonged to another ruler, whose name is unknown to us.
I wonder how archaeologists "proved" the belonging of the UNKNOWN mask to the UNKNOWN ruler, whose name they DO NOT KNOW?
So, returning to Troy, we can say the following. From all of the above, a curious picture emerges:
1) G. Schliemann did not indicate the place, date and circumstances of the “find of the treasure of Priam”, introducing a strange confusion into this issue. G. Schliemann did not provide any convincing evidence that he unearthed "Homer's Troy". And the Scaligerian historians did not really demand them from him.
2) There are reasons to suspect G. Schliemann that he simply ordered some jewelers to make "ancient gold jewelry". Here it must be recalled that G. Schliemann was a very rich man. For example, the construction of the building of the German Archaeological Institute in Athens, in particular, was financed by Schliemann.
Ellie Crete writes:
His personal fortune - primarily tenement houses in Indianapolis (Indiana) and in Paris ... - was the basis for research and the basis of his independence.
It is possible that then G. Schliemann smuggled the jewels to Turkey and announced that he had "found" them in the ruins on the hill of Gissarlik. That is, exactly in the place where some enthusiasts "placed ancient Troy" a little earlier. We see that G. Schliemann did not even bother to search for Troy. He simply "FOUNDED" WITH THE HELP OF GOLD the previously stated hypothesis of Choiseul - Gouffier and Frank Calvert. In our opinion, if they had named another place, G. Schliemann would have found the same "ancient treasure of Priam" there with the same success and just as quickly.
4) Many skeptics back in the 19th century did not believe a single word of his. But the Scaligerian historians were generally satisfied. Finally, they said in unison, managed to find the legendary Troy. Of course, some suspicious oddities are associated with the "golden treasure", but they do not affect overall score the great discovery of G. Schliemann. Now we know for sure: right here, on the Hisarlyk hill, King Priam lived.
Look, this is the same hillside where the great Achilles defeated Hector. And then there was the Trojan horse. True, it has not been preserved, but here is its large wooden modern model. Very, very accurate. And here fell the slain Achilles.
Look, there is an imprint of his body.
It must be admitted that thousands and thousands of gullible tourists respectfully listen today to all these arguments.
5) The Scaligerian historians decided to do the same with the "treasure of Priam". It would be imprudent to assert that these are indeed the treasures of Homer's Priam. In response to such a bold statement, a direct question of skeptics was immediately heard: how is this known? What evidence is there for this?
There was nothing to answer, of course. Apparently, this was perfectly understood by all persons, one way or another involved in the "Schliman Troy". After thinking, we found a very elegant way out. They said so. Yes, this is not the treasure of Priam. BUT HE IS MORE ANCIENT THAN EVEN SCHLIMANN HIMSELF THOUGHT.
Ellie Krish reports the following:
Only studies carried out after the death of Schliemann FINALLY PROVED that the so-called "treasure of Priam" refers to a MUCH MORE ANCIENT AGE than Schliemann believed, to the III millennium BC. e. … It was the culture of the people of the PRE-GREEK and PRE-HETTI periods.
Like, a very, very ancient treasure. Monstrous antiquity. There are no Greeks or Hittites yet. After this statement, as it were, there was nothing to prove. However, it would still be interesting to hear how supporters of the "antiquity of the Schliman treasure" date those few gold items, about which even the place on the Hisarlyk hill is unknown, from where G. Schliemann allegedly extracted them (see about this above). And for the gold itself, it is still impossible to establish the absolute dating of the product.
6) And what if G. Schliemann did not deceive us and really found some old gold jewelry during excavations in Hisarlik? To this we say the following. Even if the "golden treasure" was genuine, and not secretly made by Parisian jewelers, it would still remain completely incomprehensible why it should be considered evidence that "ancient Troy" was located precisely on the hill of Gissarlik? After all, there is NOT A SINGLE LETTER on the golden things "found" by G. Schliemann. Especially no names. From a mere oral statement that someone, no one knows where and no one knows when, found some kind of "old gold", it is hardly necessary to conclude that "the legendary Troy was found."
7) In conclusion, we note a curious psychological moment. This whole amazing story of the "discovery of Troy" clearly shows that in fact neither the authors of the "discovery" nor their colleagues, one way or another involved in this dubious activity, seemed to be of little interest to scientific truth. Historians and archaeologists of the Scaligerian school were already deeply convinced that the "lost Troy" was somewhere not far from the Bosporus: Apparently, they reasoned something like this. In the end, does it really matter where exactly she was. Here G. Schliemann proposed to consider that Troy was on the hill of Gissarlyk. Even, they say, he found some rich golden treasure there. True, some unpleasant rumors are swarming around the treasure. However, is it worth delving into all these details. Let's agree with Schliemann that Troy really was where he insists. He is a famous, respectable, rich man. The place is suitable. Indeed, some old ruins. Is it worth it to find fault and demand some kind of "evidence". Even if this is not Troy, it was still somewhere here.
8) After some time, when the skeptics got tired of pointing out obvious inconsistencies in the "discovery of Troy", the "calm scientific stage" finally began. The excavations continued, solid and thick scientific journals "about Troy" arose and began to be published regularly. Many articles have appeared. Nothing from "Homer's Troy" on the hill of Gissarlyk, of course, HAVE NOT BEEN FOUND SO far. They were just slowly digging up some ordinary medieval Ottoman fortification. In which, of course, there were some shards, the remains of utensils, weapons. But as a result of the repeated and importunate repetition of the words that "Troy is here," a tradition has finally developed that "Troy really was here." They convinced themselves and "explained to the public." Valom tumbled gullible tourists. Thus, another problem of the Scaligerian history was "successfully solved".
A fragment of the book by A.T. Fomenko "The Trojan War in the Middle Ages. Analysis of responses to our research"
The story of Troy, sung by Homer, attracted the attention of many people. Homer's fans and scientists did not give up hope to find facts confirming the story. Trojan War, the exploits of Odysseus and Achilles and the death of King Priam. Until the middle of the 19th century, repeated attempts were made to unearth the legendary Troy.
In the town of Neubukov, in the Duchy of Mecklenburg, on January 6, 1822, the boy Heinrich Schliemann was born. Since childhood, he has been interested in history. Childhood impressions from the stories of the father-pastor left their deep imprint on the fate of the boy.
Heinrich Schliemann lived an eventful life. His ability for languages made it possible to succeed in the financial field. Life threw young man across countries and continents. Being a subject of the Russian Empire, under the name of Andrei Aristovich, Schliemann enriched himself thanks to his ingenuity and penchant for financial fraud. His entrepreneurial spirit did not fail him during the Gold Rush either. Repurchase of gold sand brought him a huge profit.
After breaking the law, he was ordered to return to Russia. The situation of inactivity in which Schliemann found himself opened up a new opportunity for him. He was able to devote himself to his dream - the search for the legendary Troy and prove that the work of Homer is based on historical truth.
Schliemann, in a short time studies modern Greek, ancient Greek and Latin. This allowed him to devote himself entirely to the embodiment of an old dream. He attends a course in ancient history and archeology at the Sorbonne University and makes trip around the world. Having missed the course, Schliemann went to Greece in July 1868 to take his first steps as an archaeologist.
He led excavations in Ithaca and Mycenae, and soon went to dig the hill of Gisarlik. In 1873, he managed to unearth several cultural layers of Troy, dating back to Bronze Age. He discovered copper and gold jewelry, which he mistakenly called "the treasure of King Priam." In fact, the jewelry dates back to an earlier period, which does not detract from the value of the find.
Schliemann was frankly disliked by the scientific community because of his obsession and unprofessionalism. Frequent reproaches could not cool his searching ardor.
The next find at the excavations in Mycenae amazed the world scientific community. In 1876, he found 5 graves with lots of gold jewelry. The most valuable exhibit of the find was the golden death mask, which was later called the mask of Agamemnon. It turned out that these finds in Mycenae are also later and do not belong to the time of the life of King Agamemnon.
In 1890, Schliemann returned to excavate in Troy, but illness and subsequent death prevented him from completing his plans. He underwent a complex operation that did not bring any benefit. December 25, 1890 Schliemann died in Naples.
His passionate desire to prove the historicity of Homer's works did not come true. But his finds have become a significant contribution to world archeology.
Such eccentrics usually pester passers-by with their ideas, raise cats and die alone. But Heinrich Schliemann became a millionaire and the most successful amateur archaeologist in history.
On the shores of the Aegean Sea, not far from the entrance to the Dardanelles, stood the rich city of Troy. They were ruled by the wise king Priam. Around the 12th century BC, the warlike tribes of the Achaeans attacked Troy. The siege lasted 10 years. The city was captured only thanks to the cunning of Odysseus - the soldiers were hidden inside a wooden horse donated to the Trojans. This is how the events are described in the poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by Homer, the oldest works of Greek literature.
Troy was thought to be Homer's invention for more than 2,500 years, until crazy millionaire Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann took the Iliad, a thermometer, a stopwatch and went looking for the lost city.
1. Couldn't sit still
Throughout his life, Schliemann was looking for adventure. Born in 1822 in Germany. From the age of 14 he began working in a grocery store, at 18 he moved to work as a clerk in Amsterdam. At the age of 24, Heinrich Schliemann became a representative of a Dutch company in St. Petersburg, accepted Russian citizenship and became Andrei Aristovich.
When California began in the 1850s Golden fever , Schliemann was among the first to go to the USA, opened a bank there and began to buy gold from miners. This allowed him to make a capital of $ 60 thousand (more than $ 1.5 million in modern money).
The German multiplied his fortune many times after returning to Russia, thanks to the Crimean War (1853-1856). Schliemann sold blue dye for uniforms, sulfur, saltpeter, lead, tin, iron, gunpowder, and also boots with cardboard soles, leaking flasks, and rotten harness to the War Department. Many years later, when he wanted to return to Russia, Emperor Alexander II replied: "Let him come, we'll hang him!"
In 1858-1859, the entrepreneur wandered around Italy, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Turkey and Greece. In 1864 he visited Tunisia, Egypt, India, Java, China and Japan. He learned French, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Modern Greek, Arabic, Russian, Latin and Ancient Greek. In 1866 he settled in Paris and began to prepare for the search for Troy.
Manager.
The earliest surviving photograph of Heinrich Schliemann, circa 1861. Source: 100 Men Who Changed the Course of History / Wikipedia Photo by Heinrich Schliemann from Autobiography, 1892. Source: Selbstbiographie. Leipzig, Brockhaus, 1892 / Wikipedia
2. Changed citizenship to get a divorce. Married to dig
The first time Schliemann married in Russia, but relations with Katerina Lyzhina did not work out. The wife and mother of three children did not share his main passion - love for ancient Greek history - and refused to accompany him on travels. She did not agree to a divorce. Schliemann had to flee to the US and apply for American citizenship. Three days after receiving it, he filed for divorce in Indianapolis, which had the most liberal family law.
Having not really divorced his Russian wife, Schliemann informed his Greek friends that he was looking for a new one: “typically Greek in appearance, black-haired and, if possible, beautiful”, albeit poor, but with good education and good heart. An old friend of the merchant, the Metropolitan of Peloponnese, brought him together with his cousin Sophia Engastromenos. She was 17 years old, Heinrich - 47. They became husband and wife.
Schliemann's first wife Ekaterina Lyzhina. Source: wmnspb.ru / Wikipedia Schliemann's Russian family. Above - wife Ekaterina Lyzhina and son Sergei, below - daughters Natalya and Nadezhda. Source: F. Vandenberg. Schliemann gold. Smolensk, 1996. Photo sticker / Wikipedia Sofia and Heinrich Schliemann, wedding in Athens, 1869. Photo: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens / ascsa.edu.gr Sophie Schliemann in the “dress of Helen” from the “hoard of Priam”, 1874. Source: Wikipedia
3. Running with a stopwatch on the hills
Schliemann dreamed of finding ancient Troy. At 44, he quit business and enrolled in a course of lectures in archeology, Greek mythology and language at the Sorbonne University. He did not finish his education and in 1870 he arrived in Turkey for excavations. The place was suggested to him by the British consul in the eastern Mediterranean, amateur archaeologist Frank Calvert.
Under the location of Troy, according to the description of Homer, two hills approached: Bunarbashi and Gissarlyk. In the "Iliad" there are references to hot and cold springs near the city, how the Greeks went to swim in the sea, "circled around the Priam fortress three times" and easily ran down the slopes of the hill. Schliemann with a thermometer measured the temperature of the water in the nearest springs and walked around the hills with a stopwatch.
Bunarbashi did not fit the description: the hill was 13 kilometers from the sea, it could not be bypassed because of the incoming river, it had too steep slopes and was too small to accommodate a large city.
So, Hissarlik. It is next to the sea, gently sloping, has an area of 2.5 kilometers and two sources nearby. Both are cold, according to soil samples, Schliemann determined that a hot spring had once dried up here.
Overall plan archaeological finds on the Hissarlik hill. Source: goddess-athena.org / Wikipedia Troad Plain. View from Hissarlik. According to Schliemann, Agamemnon's camp was located on this site. Photo: Brian Harrington Spier / Flickr, October 2007
4. Destroyed the real Troy
Schliemann hired workers and ordered them to dig a trench 15 meters deep into Hisarlik. A year later, they came across walls with the remains of a wide gate and signs of fire. At the end of May 1873, the scientific world was shocked by a sensation - Schliemann found the legendary city. The proof was the "treasure of King Priam": 8833 gold items, including two diadems with pendants, a goblet in the form of a boat, earrings, bracelets, vases and a couple of thousand more items made of silver and ivory.
Scientists will later grab their heads. Hisarlik hid the cultural layers of nine epochs. New cities were built on the ruins of the former ones, Troy was the seventh in chronology. The self-taught Schliemann got to the bottom of the second, built a thousand years before the events described by Homer, destroying the upper Roman and Hellenistic layers. "Priam's Treasure" belongs to different eras - this is a hodgepodge from what was found during the excavations.
Photograph of "Priam's Treasure", taken in 1873.
