Episode #17 – Was There a Real Trojan War? (Part III)

We have explored the myth of Trojan War and we have sung the Ballad of Heinrich Schliemann. All that’s left is to answer the question that has inspired this entire trilogy of episodes. To determine whether or not the Trojan War was based on a verifiable historical event we are going to have to scour the Iliad for clues, peruse ancient Hittite clay tablets, and examine all the archaeological evidence that wasn’t thrown in the trash by Heinrich Schliemann. Will we solve the great Trojan puzzle? Tune in and find out how multiple Homers, Sea People, the god of earthquakes, and mean twelve-year-old girls all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Alexander, Caroline. The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of the Iliad. London: Faber and Faber, 2011. Print.

Allen, Susan Heuck. Finding the Walls of Troy: Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlík. Berkeley, CA: U of California, 2010. Print.

Cline, Eric H. The Modern Scholar: Archaeology and the Iliad: The Trojan War in Homer and History. Recorded Books, 2008. Audiobook.

Cline, Eric H. The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford UP, 2013. Print.

Easton, D. F. “Heinrich Schliemann: Hero or Fraud?” The Classical World 91.5 (1998): 335. Print.

Homer, A. T. Murray, and William F. Wyatt. Iliad. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2003. Print.

Latacz, Joachim. Troy and Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

Traill, David A. Schliemann of Troy: Treasure and Deceit. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1997. Print.