Troy
Publié le 17/01/2022
Extrait du document
Greek One of the most famous cities in Western literature and the site of the 10-year-long siege and battle of Troy (see Trojan War). Excavations during the 19th and 20th centuries prove that there were no fewer than nine cities built—one after and on top of the other—on the mound of Hissarlik, a strategic position overlooking the Dardanelles, the strait that leads to the Black Sea. The founder of Troy was Dardanus, a son of Zeus. Priam, king of Troy, was a descendant of Dardanus. Troy commanded the trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It was, in fact, at the crossroads between east and west. In mythology, the Trojan War was caused by the abduction of Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, by the Trojan prince Paris. Many scholars think the abduction was a metaphor for the rivalry between the Greeks and Trojans over the lucrative trade route to the Black Sea. The city discovered by the archaeologists was in fact only about 200 yards across, more of a citadel than a city. Excavations in 1984 and 1985 revealed many burial urns. They have also revealed caches of food buried beneath the walls of the citadel, perhaps the supplies of the people from the neighboring countryside who came inside the walls of the citadel for refuge from the marauding tribes.
Liens utiles
- Laocoön Greek A priest of Apollo and Poseidon; son of Priam, king of Troy, and of Hecuba.
- Laomedon Greek First king of Troy; father of Priam, Hesione, and others.
- Paris Greek Son of Priam, the king of Troy, and of Hecuba.
- Penthesilea Greek Amazon queen who led her female warriors to Troy to help the Trojans in the Trojan War.
- Priam Greek King of Troy during the Trojan War, though too old to take an active part in the war.