Troy, for which many battles have been done for thousands of years and which is listed in World Culture Heritage of UNESCO, still functions as a source of inspiration for many artists. Due to its important position that bounds two continents ( Europe and Asia) and two seas (Mediterranean Sea and The Black Sea), The Dardanelles has witnessed to many wars for thousands of years.

The Trojan War, which is mentioned in Anatolian Bard Homeros’s everlasting masterpiece The Illiad, is accepted to have begun in 1180 BC. From this time to The Dardanelles Wars in 1915 and also in World War I, the main goal has not changed: to get the control over The Dardanelles so as to maintain both The East and The West. The wars that have been done to capture Troy which gets richer due to its important geopolitical position have been the main theme of many epics. However, throughout the years the city has transformed into ruins. Therefore the place where the city was, is forgotten. Especially after the Middle Ages, The Illiad was begun to be read again. As a result of that, many researchers have visited The Dardanelles and its region for centuries to find the city. Finally these quests have reached the climax with rich businessman Heinrich Schliemann who was a fan of Homeros and visited the region in 1868.

The History of Reseach

After he read the Illiad and analysed it in depth, Heinrich Schliemann, the merchant, concluded that Troy ( the other name of it is İllios) had to be searched within the artifical hill Hisarlık which is located in the southern part of The Dardanelles and has 200x150 m facets. The great excavations that made under management of Schliemann were carried on in 1871-73, 1878, 1879, 1882 and 1890 after the very first exploration in 1870; Schliemann spent a great deal of his fortune for these labours. After his death, his colleague Wilhelm Dörpfeld the architect, managed the excavation project in 1893 and 1894, then these endeavours come to a halt temporarily.

The results of these excavations form a basis for the studies that will be done especially in Western Anatolia and in neighbouring regions. The foundlings of the 19th century were entered in the museums of İstanbul, Athens and Berlin, the copies of the foundlings that were more than 10.000 were given to 37 universities and museum collections for education. After the World War II, the most precious ones of the items in Berlin were lost, some part of them were damaged in the fires. Later on, the foundlings, which date back to 2500 B.C. and are named as the “Treasure of Priamos”, were put into the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts by the Russian soldiers as the prize of war after the World War II. A part of these mentioned works of art have been displayed since 1995.

From 1988, Troy had been excavated by a team headed by Prof. Dr. Manfred Osman Korfman from Tubingen University until his death in 2005. The studies have been carried on by Prof. Dr. Ernst Pernicka who is from the very same university. The bronze signet written in Luwi dialect that belongs to The Hitite language which was initially found in Troy, elucidates the relationships between Troy and The Hitite Empire and proves that Troy is an Anatolian city.

The Epic and The Politics

From a political point of view, The Trojan War is interpreted as the war of the West against the East and the Europe’s against the Asia – and vice versa- . Rome has recognized Troy as its origin since 3rd Century B.C. The city goddess Rome and the goddess Aphrodite of Troy were depicted as the women figures with Phrygian helmets on the coins. Aphrodite, who helps Aeneas the greatest surviving hero of the Trojans and his mother escape to Latyom, Italy and remain there as the ancestor of the Roman people, is at the same time the goddess of Ceasar.

The Roman Emperors’s interest in Troy goes on incessantly.

The last important figure that has visited Troy is Mehmed the Conqueror.

Troy in Our Time

Due to their significance in the history of culture, both of the ruins of Troy and its neighbourhood are preserved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Hence, the region which involves Troy in 1996 was declared as the Troy Historical National Park. Immediately, the region in which the ruins of Troy are located has been taken for UNESCO’s list of World Culture Heritage. It is an undeniable fact that Troy, which has inspired the bards and the artists throughout the world for the milleniums, will also leave its impact on many works of art.

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