“The gods deliberate in council concerning the Trojan war: they agree upon the continuation of it, and Jupiter sends down Minerva to break the truce. She persuades Pandarus to aim an arrow at Menelaus, who is wounded, but cured by Machaon. In the meantime some of the Trojan troops attack the Greeks.”
Was the “Trojan War” real, or just a myth? A historian investigates to find out …
Was the “Trojan War” real, or just a myth? In this program, historian Michael Wood investigates to find out. We know that the Ancient Greeks believed in the Trojan War, because they were great admirers of the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” – probably written by the Greek poet Homer around the eighth century BC. In the “Iliad,” Homer recounts the story of the “Trojan War,” which he placed some centuries earlier than his own time. Some would say that this conflict has never existed outside the pages of the “Iliad.” Others believe that there is a kernel of truth in certain parts of these stories.
What approach did historian Michael Wood use in this program?
Either way, the approach of Michael Wood in this program is noteworthy. You might expect that he would first explore what led up to the “Trojan War” (or, at least, is hypothesized to have done so), then say that it began around such-and-such a time, and then discuss the first part of the war, and so on. But no such approach is used. Even if you believe that the “Trojan War” is real, there are other ways available to tell this story. Michael Wood, as it turns out, starts by telling the history of the relevant archeology. That is to say, he starts out with the earliest archeologists who went in search of Troy, and then works his way to some of the later ones. It’s a very different approach from some of his other programs, but it works for this particular topic. The archeological searches for Troy are definitely known to have taken place, starting as early as the nineteenth century. And we have photographs (and even footage) from the people, places, and archeological digs – all of which are used to great effect in this program. Michael Wood even interviews some of those who performed the digs, since some of the later ones were still alive when this program came out in 1985.
Walls of Late Bronze Age Troy
Episode 1: “The Age of the Heroes”
The first episode focuses on Heinrich Schliemann, the first archeologist to go in search of Troy. Incidentally, there are places in the general region that go by the name of “Troy,” but we’re not really sure if any of these are Homer’s Troy. But back to Heinrich Schliemann. His legacy seems to be somewhat mixed. It’s true that he really did make some archeological discoveries, in Turkey and Mycenae. But on the other hand, he seems to have oversold these discoveries, and embellished the story of how he made them to boot. In one of his digs, his excavation methods were so brutal that he inadvertently destroyed a fair amount of the evidence. Other evidence was located in Berlin museums during World War II, and thus destroyed in the bombings and ground battles that were taking place there in 1945. Mr. Schliemann was not very scientific, but his story was still a logical place for Michael Wood to begin his story. Later archeologists were more scientific than Schliemann, but they shared his romanticism regarding the search for Homer’s Troy. The first episode ends shortly after it covers Schliemann’s death (which was in 1890).
Schliemann’s trench – with layers marked by Roman numerals
Episode 2: “The Legend Under Siege”
The second episode focuses on Heinrich Schliemann’s immediate successors – some of whom had known Schliemann personally, and worked with him on his digs. Some of this episode discusses archeological finds elsewhere, in places like Crete. The archeologists were expecting to find some evidence related to Homer’s Troy, but what they found there was even more important for certain other topics. That is to say, they uncovered a writing system now known as “Linear B.” It was originally hypothesized to be a “Minoan language,” named after the ancient king Minos. But for a long time, it remained undeciphered, and no one was really sure what language had been written in that script. Here, I will insert some details not mentioned in this program, since I have some background with the Ancient Greek language. Scholars had noticed special endings on certain words that were believed to be nouns. There are several modern and ancient languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek, which were known to have a system of noun endings. Incidentally, these noun endings are just known among linguists as “declensions.” But there were many known languages with noun declensions that were candidates for this, so this didn’t exactly narrow down the search very much.
Linear B tablet, showing Mycenaean Greek writing
In the 1950s, discoveries of additional writings in “Linear B” script, along with the publication of these writings, allowed a self-taught linguist named Michael Ventris to finally decipher them for everyone else. He showed that the language written in “Linear B” was actually an early form of Greek, which predated the use of the more famous Greek alphabet. This particular historical stage of the Greek language is now known as “Mycenaean Greek,” because it is associated with a Greek city called Mycenae (mentioned earlier). As Michael Wood shows here, this had many implications, including that it disproved the hypothesis that “Linear B” was “Minoan” instead of Greek. But it also gave scholars access to the earlier Mycenaean period of Greek history, long forgotten by classical scholars. And, most relevantly, it had implications regarding the Trojan War. The Mycenaean script was used during the period in which Homer’s “Trojan War” is traditionally supposed to have taken place. But Homer’s “Iliad” was instead written in the later Greek alphabet – the one taught to Classics students like myself. Thus, this opened up new avenues for research into the general period. But one also wonders why this story wasn’t recorded in the script of its own period. Thus, this is a topic examined by the next episode.
Homer
Episode 3: “The Singer of Tales”
The third episode leaves the archeological history, and instead starts to examine the written records. Most importantly, it looks into the text of the “Iliad” itself for clues. Michael Wood examines various theories about who Homer was, and where he came from. Incidentally, Homer was traditionally believed by the ancients to be blind. And Michael Wood also examines debates about whether the Trojan stories predate Homer, and about their probable method of oral transmission. Homer may have been the first to record these traditions in writing, although he may have embellished them for artistic reasons – or even out of boredom from having to repeat them verbatim. Others before him may have done the same thing with these stories, meaning that they may have been modified significantly by many people over time. Regardless, what Homer produced was a literary masterpiece; and Michael Wood makes the case that some of his details are confirmed by the local geography and archeology – things that Homer himself would have been unlikely to know from his own experience, since the Greeks did not then fight in Turkey. People also look at the Greek-language text of the “Iliad” itself for clues, looking at repetitions of prior things – sometimes with important variations, again suggesting modification. And they look at the metrical structure of the Greek text, to compare it with known samples of the earlier Mycenaean form of Greek. The goal is to ascertain how much of the text was preserving grammatical features from this earlier stage of the language, and how much of it suggests the later grammatical influence of the Greek “Dark Ages” – the era of Homer. In other words, they are again looking for evidence of modification, and trying to ascertain the extent of this modification.
An alternative DVD cover
Episode 4: “The Women of Troy”
The fourth episode examines “Helen of Troy,” and whether or not she was a real person. Homer seems to suggest that she was born in Sparta, which was part of Greece. Her name “Helen” is about as ethnically Greek a name as one can find, since the Greeks referred to Greece as “Hellas.” We today refer to Greek as a “Hellenic” language, and we refer to people who became culturally Greek as “Hellenized.” Regardless, Michael Wood examines the evidence for imperial wars at that time, which is considerable. There is debate today about whether the wars were motivated by economic considerations, or by the kidnapping of slaves. If Homer’s account is true, Helen was abducted by Paris of Troy for other reasons. It’s entirely plausible that women were abducted for work in the fields – or, more ominously, for work in the beds. Regardless, Michael Wood examines the evidence for what products the economy of Troy had been based on. Some today suggest that the economy may have been based on wool, while others suggest that it may have been based on the kidnapping of slaves. Homer suggests that it was probably horses, who may well have been bred there for sale elsewhere in the region. But, if so, it probably wasn’t the society’s only export. Slavery is also suggested by some of the deciphered “Linear B” records – which give lists of slaves, their names, and their various ages and conditions. This episode delves into the cultural context of Mycenaean Greece and Troy – and, thus, the economic and social context of certain parts of Homer’s story.
Michael Wood, the presenter of the series
Episode 5: “Empire of the Hittites”
The fifth episode goes into the possible connections with the nearby Hittites. These Hittites lived in Anatolia, in what is today Turkey. We know that there was Greek influence in the region, because the archeological digs in that area have found Greek objects in this area. They also found clay tablets of diplomatic letters, which may be from the (approximate) general time of the Trojan War. But when they were found, no one was yet able to read them. Later on, the Hittite language was deciphered, and shown to be one of the Indo-European languages – something that this episode does not mention. This diplomatic correspondence mentions a number of place names, which correspond to those in Homer’s “Iliad” – and to a few other place names found in the region today. In the complicated geopolitics of the Ancient Near East, there were greater kings and lesser kings. The records mention a “great king” from Ahhiyawa, who also has a name similar to “Alexandros” – one of the names that Homer later offered as an alternative to the name “Paris of Troy” (his usual name for this character). There are other coincidences in the names, too, which tend to make Homer’s story more plausible. But even if one accepts this evidence, there are still many unanswered questions. Most tantalizing of all, which of these cities (if any) is actually Homer’s Troy? This is where the fifth episode ends, setting up the discussion in the final episode.
Achilles tending the wounded Patroclus (Attic red-figure kylix, circa 500 BC)
Episode 6: “The Fall of Troy”
The sixth and final episode examines some final lines of evidence. One of them is the group called the “Sea Peoples,” who may have raided certain parts of the ancient world from the sea. For example, Michael Wood examines some Egyptian records of these mysterious raiders, who may have been common pirates. Some scholars believe them to be Philistines, the ancestors of the Palestinians. They may also have been Phoenicians, or even Canaanites. But Michael Wood makes the case that at least some of them were Mycenaean Greeks. This helps to explain the fate of at least one of the hypothesized “Troy” sites. Whoever these mysterious “Sea Peoples” were, they must have plundered the coastal towns and cities of the Mediterranean. Another part of the episode tries to date the archeological sites using knowledge of the pottery, which is a traditional method for dating archeological sites. To be clear, though, dating things via pottery is not an exact science – nor is the search for evidence of an “earthquake” at one of these sites. That kind of hypothesis is hard to verify through archeological evidence. At the end of this last episode, the host tries to bring all of these lines of evidence together, and then give his verdict – albeit a verdict with some necessary disclaimers, about how it is not certain. The host says that he now believes the Trojan War to be real – something that he did not believe when he first set out on this search. If you want to hear the rest of this verdict, you can watch the film itself. I, too, find it likely that the Trojan War was indeed real (at least partially so), and that there is a kernel of truth in certain parts of Homer’s masterpiece.
Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, kills King Priam (detail of Attic black-figure amphora, 520–510 BC)
Conclusion: This is a great introduction to one of the oldest debates in classical history
Regardless of one’s verdict on the relative historicity of the Trojan War, though, this film is a fascinating story, reminding one of Indiana Jones movies about archeology. It’s a search for lost cities, ancient legends, and the famous “Trojan horse” story – now the namesake of a computer malware program, which works in a similar way. Even the “Trojan horse” story may turn out to be real, although that part of the story seems to be less well-attested by the available evidence. Suffice it to say, though, that this film is an engrossing yarn which has the virtue of making you think. It will introduce you to one of the oldest debates in classical history, and may give one a new perspective on Homer’s literary masterpiece. If you have ever read (or ever will read) the “Iliad,” it will help you to better appreciate the work. And whether you read it or not, this film may help you to better understand Classical Greek history as a whole.
Footnote to this blog post:
Getting this program in the United States can be a little difficult. Thus, I also link to the “Michael Wood Collection,” which includes this program and several others in a British DVD format. In North America, one may need a special DVD player to play it. However, it can still sometimes be cheaper than buying the North American version. Thus, I link to both versions, so that viewers may be presented with multiple options. Viewers may do as they please.
Also available as part of the “Michael Wood Collection”
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