Troy, Greek Troia, also called Ilios or Ilion, Latin Troia, Troja, or Ilium, ancient city in northwestern Anatolia that holds an enduring place in both literature and archaeology. The legend of the Trojan War is the most notable theme from ancient Greek literature and forms the basis of Homer’s Iliad. Although the actual nature and size of the historical settlement remain matters of scholarly debate, the ruins of Troy at Hisarlık, Turkey, are a key archaeological site whose many layers illustrate the gradual development of civilization in northwestern Asia Minor.
Geography
Ancient Troy commanded a strategic point at the southern entrance to the Dardanelles (Hellespont), a narrow strait linking the Black Sea with the Aegean Sea via the Sea of Marmara. The city also commanded a land route that ran north along the west Anatolian coast and crossed the narrowest point of the Dardanelles to the European shore. In theory, Troy would have been able to use its site astride these two lines of communication to exact tolls from trading vessels and other travelers using them; the actual extent to which this took place, however, remains unclear.
The Troad (Greek Troias; “Land of Troy”) is the district formed by the northwestern projection of Asia Minor into the Aegean Sea. The present-day ruins of Troy itself occupy the western end of a low descending ridge in the extreme northwest corner of the Troad. Less than 4 miles (6 km) to the west, across the plain of the Scamander (Küçük Menderes) River, is the Aegean Sea, and toward the north are the narrows of the Dardanelles.
Archaeology
The search for Troy at Hisarlık
The approximate location of Troy was well known from references in works by ancient Greek and Latin authors. But the exact site of the city remained unidentified until modern times. A large mound, known locally as Hisarlık, had long been understood to hold the ruins of a city named Ilion or Ilium that had flourished in Hellenistic and Roman times. In 1822 Charles Maclaren suggested that this was the site of Homeric Troy, but for the next 50 years his suggestion received little attention from Classical scholars, most of whom regarded the Trojan legend as a mere fictional creation based on myth, not history. The German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann deserves full credit for adopting Maclaren’s identification and demonstrating to the world that it was correct. In seven major and two minor campaigns between 1870 and 1890, Schliemann conducted excavations on a large scale mainly in the central area of the Hisarlık mound, where he exposed the remains of a walled citadel. After Schliemann’s death in 1890, the excavations were continued (1893–94) by his colleague Wilhelm Dörpfeld and later (1932–38) by an expedition from the University of Cincinnati headed by Carl W. Blegen. After a lapse of some 50 years, excavations resumed (1988–2005) under the leadership of University of Tübingen archaeologist Manfred Korfmann and continued after his death.
Questions of Troy’s physical size, population, and stature as a trade entrepôt and regional power became subjects of intense scholarly dispute following the resumption of excavations at Hisarlık in the late 1980s. Although Homeric Troy was described as a wealthy and populous city, by this time some scholars had come to accept the probability of a lesser Troy a relatively minor settlement, perhaps a princely seat. Beginning in 1988, Korfmann’s team investigated the terrain surrounding the citadel site in search of wider settlement. Korfmann’s findings at Hisarlık, drawn from geomagnetic surveying and isolated excavations, led him to conclude in favour of a greater Troy that is, a settlement of some size and prosperity. His presentation of this perspective in a 2001 exhibition, accompanied by a controversial model reconstruction of the city, sparked especially intense scholarly debate over the city’s true nature.
Trojan War
Helen of Troy
Troy,
I found Troy to be overrated. It's a drive to get too, expensive to get into and when your there you need one hell of an imagination. Mainly ruins which really not that well preserved.
If brad Pitt was there….. May have felt differently. Head to Ephesus instead!
If you are a history lover, you are going to love this place. I would imagine most people who visit Troy would have already carried out their research at a certain degree of level but I would still suggest you hire a local guide there as they are so enthusiastic about their job that they help bring in an expression…
It is recommended to make an overnight stay instead of a day trip out of Istanbul because of the long journey.
Heinrich Schliemann came in 1868 and started digging straight into the bowel of Troy in search of Trojan treasures, and took credit for discovering Troy. The Schliemann Trench is appropriately named and it showed his intent for wealth with…
Hi, I born in Çanakkale, Ilove this area, but here, in Troie, I saw sometimes some disappointed tourists (national or international).
Because, who read Ilyada (From Homeros) and Troy War hope to see lots of thing here. BUt, we haven't so much. History, tresor and other things is correct, place is here but, after thousands year, after wars, fires and…
You'll often hear that there's "nothing but rubble at Troy." It may look like that if you don't know anything about it, but if you've read the Iliad and the history of Schliemann's excavations, Troy is well worth the trip. The site, the 3000-year old walls, the wind–all evoke Homer's "wind-swept Troy." We had an excellent guide, Lutfe Atay, who…
Standing on top of the walls of Troy and looking at the direction as to where Achilles and the Greek armies are coming from, will bring chills to your imagination. You can pretend to be Prince Hector waiting for the onslaught of the demigod Achilles. My daughter and I had a blast playing roles on every historic part of the…
While extensively excavated, in comparison to other ancient Greek/Roman cities throughout Turkey there is very little to see in Troy beyond rough foundation stones and some unexciting renovations. I did not expect much and was not disappointed. The explanatory signs are perhaps the best I have seen anywhere in Turkey so at least there is one high point. Were it…
We visited Troy as part of a world cycle tour in 2010. We had just crossed the channel from Gallipoli and Troy was on our way. I don't think I would have gone out of my way to see it but it wasn't far from the main road so we stopped in. We arrived at the end of the day…
The fact that the walls are still visible in places is wonderful (they were up to 30 metres tall). There are lots more excavations needed of this legendary sight, but beware the rotting walkways; at the moment they are dangerous in places.
Easy to get to by road from Canakkale and good parking. A lot of restoration still needs to be done here and a great deal of imagination or knowledge of archaeology is required to understand a lot of the site.. The site is well sign posted with information boards though out. Take plenty of water on the tour . There…