Ilios

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Ilios

Postby Tiberius Dionysius Draco on Thu Feb 13, 2003 10:18 pm

Salvete Romani,

I've recenlty finished reading "Ilios" (the translated version, not the original by Homeros) and was wondering how much of it was true?

I remember reading an article about someone claiming he found the foundations of the legendary city that was besieged in the story (Troje). But this would mean that Troje really existed, does this also mean that the battle actually happend? And that al those heroes really fought and died there? Can somebody anwser some of these questions?

Valete bene,

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Postby Curio Agelastus on Thu Feb 13, 2003 11:26 pm

Salve,

I don't know a great deal about this, but I do know a little. The first significant archaeological work was by Schliemann in the early 20th century, and he found evidence of a Troy from the 13th century BCE.

There is also evidence that a sack of Troy was carried out by the Greeks, in fact there were several - in one of them, an earthquake brought down the walls and allowed the Greeks in, although I'm not sure if this is the one described by Homer. One theory I have heard, though not in much depth, suggests that the horse was a statue left by the Greeks in tribute to Poseidon (Whose special animal it was) who was the God in charge of earthquakes.

As for the characters - they are related to characters who are believed to be mythical, eg Achilles son of Peleus, Ajax son of Telamon, Odysseus, bastard son of Sisyphos (possibly) which doesn't lend their existence credibility. However, if I remember correctly, Thebes was sacked by some Greek army or other - possiby the Argives - and Diomedes was said to have razed Thebes.

And the nature of Mykenai's dominance of Greece after the fall of Crete meant that a coalition such as the one that was meant to have ventured to Troy is entirely feasible.

Hmmph. In among that rambling you might find something useful, it's all skimmed off the top of my head, so don't sue me over any errors. ;-)

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Postby Publius Dionysius Mus on Fri Feb 14, 2003 10:51 am

Salve Tiberi!

Many books have already been written on this matter... What is true of all the things Homeros writes? Is it possible that he made it all up, or is there some truth in it? Or is it all truth?

A good book on this matter, in DUtch, is "Troje" by Vic De Donder. It is available in most libraries.


From what I remember, Schliemann was indeed the first to go and search for Troy. But he was a little too enthusiastic, because on the place were he thought Troy was, he dug a big hole in the ground. But he dug too deep... the Troy he found was most likely an older version of the city. So it is possible that he dug through the archaeological layer of the "mythological" city without noticing.

And about the heroes that fought there... I agree with wat Curio said before: they belong to mythology (but it is of course possible that some of them had actually been alive somewhere in time in the Greek world)

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Postby Anonymous on Thu Jun 10, 2004 12:02 am

Did someone knows how the Troians called themselves? I think is Walusa, or something so.
They spoke a Phrigian dialect, right?
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Postby Curio Agelastus on Thu Jun 10, 2004 1:14 am

I think Walusa was found in an Egyptian document and many historians have assumed it to mean Troy. (Walusa -Wilusa-Ilios) Whether the Trojans themselves called themselves Walusa... I doubt we'll ever know.
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Postby Gnaeus Dionysius Draco on Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:32 am

Then where to the names Troia and Ilion come from? Does anyone have a clue about that?

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Postby Curio Agelastus on Fri Jun 11, 2004 1:00 am

Ilios the person was named after Troy, which was also known as Ilium hence Iliad. Troilos was also named after Ilium. Quite where the name Troy comes from I don't know, since it can't be through it's connection to Troilos, and Troy bears little relation to Ilium.

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