Introduction
According to a legend, Zeus and Elektra had a son named Dardanos. Tros, the son of Dardanos, founded Truad, and his son Ilus founded the city of Troy. But this isn’t the only legend that centers on Troy’s Ancient City. From the very beginning of its establishment, the name of Troy has echoed in many myths and legends. It’s still one of the most famous tourist attractions because it carries many living stories.
Another one of the unique aspects of the Troy Ancient City is that the city was destroyed, burned, and rebuilt in the same place many times. Usually, when a city falls off, it is built somewhere else. However, Troy was always rebuilt in the same place. Thus, it allows us to watch and learn thousands of years of human history, culture, and architecture.
Table of Contents
Historical Background of The Ancient City of Troy
Troy Ancient City is a horizontal area and a vertical civilization, and the more you go down, the more you discover. The nine layers in Troy show an uninterrupted period of more than 3000 years. They allow us to trace the civilizations settled in this unique geography where Anatolia, the Aegean, and the Balkans meet. The earliest settlement in Troy dates back to the early Bronze Age, 3000-2500 BC. The continuously inhabited Troy layers end with the Roman Period between 85 BC and 8th-century AD.
Located in Canakkale, Turkey, the region of the ancient city didn’t have significance only in ancient times but also the 20th century, during World War I. As the Ottoman Army was fighting against the UK, the name of the kingdom’s navy was Agamemnon, which refers to King Agamemnon of the Achaeans, who once invaded Troy, according to the myth.
Troy Ancient City has been a National Park since 1996, and UNESCO added it to the World Heritage List in 1998.
Story of the Trojan War
“Destruction hangs o’er yon devoted wall,
And nodding Ilion waits the impending fall.”
The most renowned historical era of Troy is the reign of King Priam, the city’s last king. Dating back to the 13th and 12th centuries BC, Priam’s Troy is in the 6th and 7th layers of the barrow. We learn the story of Troy from Homer, who narrates the final year of the Trojan War in his epic poem, The Iliad.
The Trojan War seeds are spread during Peleus and Thetis’s wedding ceremony. When the goddess of discord, Eris, isn’t invited to the ceremony, she brings a golden apple to be given to “the fairest one.” Three goddesses, Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera, decide Paris, son of Priam, to choose the fairest one, and all make some promises for him. Eventually, Paris chooses Aphrodite, who gives him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world, Helen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus.
But it leads to Troy’s doom. When Paris takes Helen to Agamemnon’s palace, the Achaeans invade Troy to take her back.
After years of siege, Troy has no more strength to stand. There are neither entrances nor exits to the city, and the people are out of resources. They are left to sickness, poverty, and starvation unless they surrender. Famous for his fox-like intelligence, Odysseus, the cunning hero of the Achaeans, sets a final plan.
The Spartan ships set sail to leave Troy, and they leave a mockup horse for the Trojans. Starving to death, the Trojans find the horse full of food as a gift from the Achaeans. They drag the horse to the city center. However, not until then do they realize that Agamemnon’s soldiers are also in the horse. Thus, the city of Troy falls.
Was the Trojan Horse Real?
No, the Trojan Horse wasn’t real; it was a mythic element. However, museum director Ilhan Aksit had a replica of the horse built in 1974, which you can see at the archaeological site today. One of the other stories about the Trojan Horse is that the city was destroyed by an earthquake, and people sacrificed a horse for Poseidon, the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses.
Hero and Leander in Greek Mythology
According to the myth, a young man called Leander falls in love with Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite, who lives in a tower on the European side of the Strait of Gallipoli. As Leander lives on the other side of the strait, he has to swim across the strait to see his lover, who lights a lamp for him. One night, Hero’s light goes off due to a strong wind, and Leander loses his way and drowns.
The region around the strait became popular after the Romantic poet Lord Byron made the legend real: just like Leander supposedly did, Byron swam across the Hellespont in 1810. The area gained a significant place in ancient history in the following years, first with Frank Polvert’s excavations and later Heinrich Schliemann’s.
The Excavation of Troy
In 1870, Schliemann, a wealthy and influential scholar, arrives in Hisarlik determined to excavate the area and uncover its historical treasures. He digs through many layers of the city over time, revealing the city’s importance to various civilizations. Schliemann focuses on excavating the oldest layer, believing it to be the land of King Priam. He disregards the upper layers and their artifacts. Eventually, he discovers what he believes to be Priam’s treasure on the second layer. Upon finding it, Schliemann and his wife flee to Greece and Germany with the treasure. Unfortunately, the treasure gets lost during World War II. Ironically, Schliemann’s belief that he had found the city of Troy was later proven false.
Key Attractions
Troy Museum
Troy Museum is located at the entrance of the Ancient City of Troy. The museum visit begins as you descend the ramp. The niches on the ramp’s walls contain different layers of Troy.
The museum houses marble statues, sarcophagi, inscriptions, altars, paleolithic axes and cutters, coins, fragrance bottles, tear bottles, etc., and the garden exhibits stone works, sarcophagi, column capitals, etc.
In addition to visual graphic designs, the museum also hosts dioramas (three-dimensional modeling of the moment or story using light games) and exhibitions with touch screens and animations.
The Trojan Horse
As soon as you enter the ancient city, you come across the wooden Trojan horse model that Odysseus built to overcome the walls of Troy and enter the city secretly.
The Temple of Athena
The Temple of Athena was built in Doric order between 240 BC and 150 BC in the last layer of Troy and was later renovated during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus. The temple was the center of yearly celebrations in honor of Goddess Athena. During these festivals, people made sacrifices for the Goddess and held sports competitions.
Megaron of Troy
The Megarons date back to the city’s first and second layers. These houses were rectangular buildings with yards in the middle. All Greek and Roman temples were designed as Megarons but were seen in Troy for the first time.
Unfortunately, though, due to Schliemann’s amateur excavations in Hisarlik, there are few well-preserved ruins of Megarons.
Schliemann’s Trench
Schliemann strongly believed that Homeric Troy was in the lowest layer of the settlement, so he dug through all the layers to reach Priam’s treasure. However, his ignorance resulted in Schliemann’s Trench, and his methods destroyed many layers in the area.
It’s believed that Schliemann’s excavations destroyed the layer of the “real Troy,” the city that could be dated to be contemporary with the Trojan War.
Odeon
Odeon, where musical performances, conferences, and other events were held, was built in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, who visited the city in 124 BC.
Visiting Tips
Troy Ancient City is open to visitors every day of the week from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM. The archaeological site and Troy Museum are open for €27. As Troy is a barrow full of historical layers, we strongly recommend exploring the area with a professional tour guide to understand which ruins belong to which historical period.
How to Get to Troy Ancient City?
Those who want to visit the Ancient City of Troy with their own vehicle must first reach the Tevfikiye Village, which is 30 kilometers along the Kepez route of the Canakkale—Izmir highway. Then, turn from the Troy Ancient City sign and enter the Tevfikiye road. After entering this road, the ancient site is just five kilometers away.
If you don’t have a private car, you can also take minibusses from Canakkale city center to the Ancient City of Troy.
Where is Troy in Turkey?
Troy is in Canakkale, in the archaeological region called Hisarlik. It is a city located just south of the southwestern mouth of the Dardanelles and northwest of Kaz Mountain.
Conclusion
Despite being destroyed many times, faced with misfortunes, and losing most of its treasures to an amateur archaeologist overwhelmed by his ambitions, The Ancient City of Troy has been one of the most important settlements of the ancient world. Thanks to its breathtaking scenery on the Gallipoli Strait, geopolitical importance, and historical inheritance, it is a must-see for history and archaeology buffs.