There’s an allure to the idea that we can lay our hands on proof that a Trojan War was real–and all that we associate with that. But there’s danger in that yearning. Where should the boundaries of history, archaeology, and myth lie?
I was recently asked to put together an annotated list of my personal favorites among Trojan War books. I had fun putting it together, although limiting myself to five was challenging.
When I visited the site in Turkey that archaeologists generally agree is Homer’s Troy, I felt a sizzle of excitement to be surrounded by the remains of a place so dear to my heart. But, I’ll confess, imaging Troy in its grandeur isn’t easy when you visit. It’s a complicated joy that can benefit from knowing the history of the site, which makes me welcome this enjoyable introduction in the Smithsonian’s recent article “In Search of Troy.”
The Trojan War gets a humorous treatment in the New Yorker Magazine with a spoof diary by “the guy who drove the Trojan Horse back from Troy.” For those who love Greek mythology and literature, and wish to put a smile on their faces.
History is more than a series of dates, but sometimes the date itself accumulates its own history. So it is with 1200 BCE when nothing happened and yet history tells us the world ended. The entertaining story of how “1200 BCE” came to be.
In this time-of-hope-but-still-isolated, here are some pleasurable entertainments by Natalie Haynes for those who love mythology and the classics: short videos, radio shows, and a novel set in the Trojan War
The heroes of the Trojan War probably have origins in history, but there’s also been an infusion of myth and legendary grandeur. The development of Achilles was significantly influenced by the Hittite myth of Telipinu.
Is the Trojan War history or myth? A question with a surprising amount of evidence to answer it.
Can we say with reasonable certainty that we know where the real city of Troy is located and what life was like there during the period of a possible Trojan War, that is, the Late Bronze Age?
The late archaeologist of the Troia Project, Manfred Korfmann, suggested that there probably was either one or several “Trojan wars.” The archaeological dig at Troy certainly supports the idea of a large, powerful city that underwent a long period of attack.
