For most of history, the city of Troy was considered to be a real city and the Trojan War a real event. In the early modern era, however, there was more scepticism of this idea. Scholars began to prioritise empirical evidence and scrutinise the sources of ancient narratives.
For most learned people, the story of Troy was relegated to the same fanciful realm of the gods and monsters that peopled its narrative.
The discovery of a lifetime
All that changed in the late 19th century, thanks to German businessman and amatuer archeologist Heinrich Schliemann. While he lacked formal training, Schliemann was an enthusiastic amatuer archeologist. Driven by a profound belief in the historical underpinnings of Homer’s tales, he began excavations at a site in modern-day Turkey near the Dardanelles in 1870.
He selected the site based on geographical descriptions found in the Greek epics.
Uncovering the past
What he unearthed was staggering: a series of ancient city layers that suggested a long history of settlements and destructions. Among these was a particularly rich layer, which Schliemann hastily identified as the Troy of the Trojan War. Gold, silver, and bronze artifacts, alongside fortifications and fire-scorched debris suggested a thriving city that met a cataclysmic end.
While later archaeological work would clarify that Schliemann had mistaken Troy VI for the Homeric city, the essence of his discovery remained unaltered: Troy was real.
These later findings unearthed a layer known as “Troy VIIa” which dates to around the late Bronze Age. This later is also suggestive of a large-scale conflict, with the timing aligning closely with the traditional dates attributed to the Trojan War by ancient sources.
The implications of these discoveries are profound. The walls of Troy blur the lines between history and myth. While the ancient texts may have been embellished by the fantastical, the existence of a kernel of truth within them may no longer be dismissed.
Homer deserved more credit than he had been getting.
This revelation invites us to reconsider other ancient texts
The Old Testament, for instance, is a compilation of texts that includes historical narrative, law, prophecy and poetry. The stories of the Old Testament, from the exodus out of Egypt to the battles of the Israelites in Canaan, are imbued with the same sense of the fantastical as the Homeric epics. And while things may not have happened exactly as the ancient texts claim, the discovery of Troy is suggestive of a historical core to it all.
Modern archaeology continues to uncover evidence that often corroborates locations and events described in ancient texts, suggesting that these documents are more than mere stories. They are complex tapestries weaving together fact and myth, and they serve as cultural and historical repositories both.
The Kingdom of Judah, frequently referenced throughout the biblical narrative, for example, was long dismissed as a literary construction devoid of historical basis. It has in more recent decades, however, received significant archaeological support from discoveries such as the Tel Dan Stele. This ancient basalt inscription, unearthed in 1993, includes references to the "House of David," affirming the existence of King David as a historical figure rather than a purely mythological one.
Let’s not go nuts - but we should keep an open mind
This is not advocacy for the uncritical acceptance of all the claims of the Old Testament. But it is encouragement of a curiosity that acknowledges the potential of historical cores within mythic stories. Within the realms of the fantastic— the worldwide flood, the plagues of Egypt or the walls of Jericho falling at the sound of trumpets —there is something very real and concrete that is worth knowing.
The New Testament, however, is an entirely different story.