The Late Bronze Age was the chronological setting for most of the stories preserved in Greek mythology. The Classical Greeks believed these legends and regarded them as part of their history: the Trojan War, Jason and the voyage of the Argonauts, Oedipus and the Labours of Heracles. They dated the Trojan War and the events associated with the Iliad to the period of the fall of the Mycenaean citadels, around 1200 BC.
The Iliad takes its title from Ilion, which he uses as an alternative name for Troy. Homer (c.750 BC) described Troy as a great city in the extreme northwest of Asia Minor. Its powerful walls, which precluded the capture of the city by direct assault, enclosed streets, palaces, temples and the houses of the Trojans and their allies.
Schliemann began excavation in 1870 on a hill lying about six kilometres inland from the Dardanelles. This hill, now named Hisarlik, is generally identified with Troy but this identification rests on negative grounds only. No inscription has ever been found at the site. On the other hand, if Troy was indeed a real place then Hisarlik is the only likely site in the appropriate part of Asia.
Hisarlik contains nine main settlements that range from the Bronze Age (Troy I-VII) through the Greek (Troy VIII) and Roman (Troy IX) periods. Excavation of the mound has demonstrated that it was a small (two hectares) fortified citadel, and exploration south of the citadel has revealed an enclosed lower city of Troy VI and VII, eighteen hectares in area, underlying the much later Roman town of Ilium.
Troy-I (c.3000 BC) was a small, fortified citadel. Troy II (c.2600 BC) was dominated by a large megaron complex that included a courtyard, storerooms and ancillary buildings in addition to three megara. Troy III-V (c.2250 BC) were settlements of small villages whose area remained unfortified until Troy V (20th century BC), when it was enclosed with a defence wall much inferior to that of Troy II.
Powerful though the fortifications of Troy II had been, they were far surpassed by those of Troy VI (17th century BC). It appears that the citadel covered roughly twice the area of Troy II. Its prominent features were five gateways let into the circuit at irregular intervals, and a great tower built on the east side (probably to protect the water supply.). The houses were built on terraces ascending from the circuit walls to the citadel. Troy VI was probably destroyed by an earthquake.
The Troy VI culture survived into Troy VIIa (c.1300 BC), but after a short life this settlement seems to have been destroyed by war. Troy VIIb (12th century BC) dates to the time when Greek influence began to extend into the area. The site remained uninhabited until Troy VIII (c.700 BC) was settled by Greek colonists. The last city on this site Ilium/Troy IX (1st century BC) was founded by the Romans. Troy VIIa is generally accepted as the Homeric Troy.
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