Le Blog de Duygu: Troy, Legend and First Beauty Contest

Legend

To the most beautiful one… The most important battle of mythological world began with this simple sentence. Eris the goddess of strife and riot was not invited to an important meeting which was arranged by Zeus the God of Gods and Goddesses.

So Strife and riot goddess sends an apple to the meeting to take her revenge

Athena, Hera and Aphrodite quarrel and cannot decide who is the most beautiful one. So Zeus sends the Goddessed to Paris son of King Priamos and asks him to choose “the most beautiful”. Paris chooses Aphrodite the goddess of beauty and love as the most beautiful one. But of course nothings is gratuitous. Paris wants Helene the most beautiful woman in the world and wife of Menelaus King of Sparta.

Aphrodite does not return his wish and make Helen fall in love with Paris. Paris elopes Helen to Troy with help of Aphrodite.

So the Greeks who believe they are insulted declare a war to Troy. So a war called “Trojan” begins between Achaeans (Greeks) and Troy. We can say Trojan is the first war between east and west.

With the help of God and Goddesses (Athena, Aphrodite and Ares) war continues more than 10 years. Odysseus who is loved by Athena Goddess of wisdom makes a wooden horse. According to plan Achaeans would act like they withdraw and leaves that wooden horse behind. Odysseus and other skilled generals hide inside that wooden horse and others sail to Tenedos and hide. Achaeans leave only one soldier with the horse and send him to gates of Troy. This one soldier tells to people of Troy he hates Greeks, he escapes from them and runs to Lands of Troy, this wooden horse made as holly altar for the sake of Athena”. People of Troy let he wooden horse enter to their city to beg for mercy and peace from Athena. That night people of Troy get drunk with the joy of peace and in a sudden army of Achaean show up, destroy the city. After this great mess Menelaus takes Helen and sails to Greece.

This is a very brief summary of Iliad and Odyssey of Homer.

The Wind brought wealth to Troy

Troy till the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered the city was presumed as mythological city. But is an ancient city which contains 9 cities or 9 layers.

Troy I (3000 – 2500 B.C.) : Initial settlement of the early bronze age

Troy II (2500 – 2200 B.C.) : First settlement, Center of contemporary civilization. Ended in a raging fire

Troy III ( 2200 – 2050 B.C. ) : Surrounded by walls, Buildings were larger and more developed than the previous period

Troy IV ( 2052 – 1900 B. C. ) : Blocks of the houses were attached to each other

Troy V ( 1900 – 1800 B. C. ) : More advanced techniques and workmanship in the construction of the walls and the houses

Troy VI ( 1800 – 1300 B.C. ) : Middle bronze age

Troy VI A ( 1300 – 1260 B.C. ) : Large storage jars that were set deeply into the ground and covered with a heavy stone slab to store solid and liquid supplies for an emergency

Troy VII B 1 ( 1260 – 1190 B. C. ) : Founded on Troy VI A * Similar construction techniques with Troy VI A

Troy VII B 2 (1190 – 110 B.C.) : New settlers

Troy VIII ( 700 – 350 B. C. ) : Repopulated by Greeks from Lesbos and Tenedos

Troy IX (350 – 400 A. D. ) : The city spread and covered the whole mound Hisarlik. Emporor Augustus rebuilt the city. The temple of Athena was the most important building