The Trojan War : : a Very Short Introduction

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Call Number: 939.21 Cl
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	939.21 Cl	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	939.21 Cl	4-week checkout	On Shelf

pt. I. The Trojan War. The story according to the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Epic Cycle ; The Trojan War in context: Mycenaeans, Hittites, Trojans, and Sea Peoples --
pt. II. Investigating the literary evidence. Homeric questions: did Homer exist and is the Iliad accurate? ; The Hittite texts: Assuwa, Ahhiyawa, and Alaksandu of Wilusa --
pt. III. Investigating the archaeological evidence. Early excavators: Heinrich Schliemann and Wilhelm Dörpfeld ; Returning to Hisarlik: Carl Blegen and Manfred Korfmann.
This introduction considers whether the Trojan war actually took place and whether archaeologists have discovered the site of ancient Troy.
"The Iliad, Homer's epic tale of the abduction of Helen and the decade-long Trojan War, has fascinated mankind for millennia. Even today, the war inspires countless articles and books, extensive archaeological excavations, movies, television documentaries, even souvenirs and collectibles. But while the ancients themselves believed that the Trojan War took place, scholars of the modern era have sometimes derided it as a piece of fiction. Combining archaeological data and textual analysis of ancient documents, this Very Short Introduction considers whether or not the war actually took place and whether archaeologists have really discovered the site of ancient Troy. To answer these questions, archaeologist and ancient historian Eric H. Cline examines various written sources, including the works of Homer, the Epic Cycle (fragments from other, now-lost Greek epics), classical plays, and Virgil's Aeneid. Throughout, the author tests the literary claims against the best modern archaeological evidence, showing for instance that Homer, who lived in the Iron Age, for the most part depicted Bronze Age warfare with accuracy. Cline also tells the engaging story of the archaeologists--Heinrich Schliemann and his successors Wilhelm Dörpfeld, Carl Blegen, and Manfred Korfmann--who found the long-vanished site of Troy through excavations at Hisarlik, Turkey. Drawing on evidence found at Hisarlik and elsewhere, Cline concludes that a war or wars in the vicinity of Troy probably did take place during the Late Bronze Age, forming the nucleus of a story that was handed down orally for centuries until put into final form by Homer. But Cline suggests that, even allowing that a Trojan War took place, it probably was not fought because of Helen's abduction, though such an incident may have provided the justification for a war actually fought for more compelling economic and political motives." -- Publisher's description.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

More archaeological than literary submitted by tgallagher on June 16, 2018, 5:59pm A friend recommended I check out this series of "very short introductions" from the Oxford University Press and this is the one I found at the AADL that was closest to my interests.

There are more than 300 titles in the series, "for anyone wanting a stimulating and accessible way into a new subject."

While giving plenty of attention to the "literary evidence," this book leans heavily on the historical/archaeological scholarship, which appeals less to me.

In the epilogue, the author writes, "Homer may not have had his facts straight, nor might he have cared."

I'm like Homer, then.