I am really glad you highlighted how polarising Schleimann is in archaeology. He gets credit for finding Troy, 100%, beyond that it's very hard to laude him further than that.
The thing with any discipline (medicine, psychology, archeology, etc) is that you have to start somewhere. It’s just that, looking back, we all go: Why there!!!
@@batticusmanacleas510 Tbf, his most laudable idea was to basically treat the Iliad as if it were actual history, and like an actual map, and then plotting their operation from there. It's so genuinely original and defies modern archaeology conventions. In every sense, it shouldn't have worked, people by his era weren't treating the Iliad like history, it was very much thought of as a myth.
Everyone knows about Achilles but have you ever heard of the Greek hero Bophades? He was one of the heroes who fought in the Trojan War. His story is similar to the story of Achilles. When he was a child, his mother held him by the groin and dipped him in the river Styx, as to make him invincible in battle. However, just like Achilles, he had a weak spot. Because his mother held him by the groin, this was where he became vulnerable. In the case of Achilles, this was his heel. So you may have heard of Achilles' heel, but I bet you have never heard of Bophades nuts.
"Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so ask ourselves: will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?" "If they ever tell my story, let them say...I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat...but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses. Let them say...I lived in the time of Achilles." -- ODYSSEUS (TROY 2004)
At least despite Schliemann's destruction, we know that Troy was definitely WAY bigger and older than just the citadel area he was digging up, and excavation is still happening.
Thanks for another great video! Fun fact: the tendon on the back of the human heel/ankle is, of course, the Achilles tendon-- yet another example of the effect this story has had on civilization for all of those centuries.
You wished. Ancient Troy had Dardanian tribes and nothing in connection with today greeks as ancient greeks didn't exist but there were tribes of Pelasgian people,
@@caitlinveneer7314 Which I think modern Greek would be 🤬 about, because they are surrounded with plenty of evidence to prove it's just not true. It's an insult to their culture, history and ancestors.
Ergh. I’m working on my Turkey itinerary for my trip in April 2023. We made the decision to pass on Canakkale/Troy but now i’m second guessing it. This trip is the hardest one I’ve ever planned because are just SO MANY things i want to see, literally so much history and archaeology at every turn and it’s impossible to fit everything in
I'm sure it will be awesome. Too bad for the political situation between Ankara and the West. I'd like to plan a visit to see the Hittite locations. As you wrote, so much to see.
@@MasterMalrubius I think many of the people in my country support Erdogan, but even regardless of that Turkey is still an extremely popular destination for western tourists. I'm in lots of English language travel groups and I see them posting about Turkey pretty much every day. I'm sure the Turkish govt is more than happy to take their dollars and euros ;)
The story of Troy is largely thought by current academia to be something akin to a transcription of the oral storytelling in the periods between the end of the bronze age and the Greek city states, there are some corroborating stories about a city from the region that was destroyed toward the tail end of what is largely called "The Bronze Age Collapse" by modern historians from other civilizations of the same era that managed to survive in some way including Egypt. The bronze age collapse itself is an absolutely fascinating rabbit hole to fall down, not only is it thought that Troy, or the city that inspired the story of the Trojan war fell during this time, but virtually every advanced civilization around the Mediterranean sea also fell apart more or less at the same time. To the point where written language and metalworking nearly disappeared for generations, all within a timespan of about 30-75 years. There appears to have been a nearly generation long shift in climate that precipitated it that lines of fairly well with several significant volcanic events in Iceland, that is one theory at least, though there ARE surviving records uncovered from the time on clay tablets detailing massive famines and crop failure as well as mass migrations.
I remember reading something about the Trojan war where historians made the argument that the true impetus for the Greek attack on Ilium was to secure key trade routes for themselves. By destroying Ilium, they destroyed the Trojan control of those routes.
The Trojans were Greeks as well. Turkey didn't exist back then. So it was the Trojans (a greek tribe) against some other greek city states and kingdoms.
Check out Overly Sarcastic Productions(Miscellaneous Myths series) or Storied by PBS(2 series, Fate & Fabled and Monstrum,) they're both really great resources for dipping your toes in the water of mythology and have phenomenal presenters(especially OSP and Monstrum.) Simon has stated a couple times that he's just not very into mythology so him doing a full series is super unlikely.
Simon, Simon, Simon, it is great you included Heinrich Schliemann in this, and sure you mentioned his archaeological methods would be controversial but not the full story as to why. The dude *blew up several layers*, including the two most agreed upon to be closest to being Homeric Troy, with god damned dynamite, irreparably damaging the site and obliterating untold scores of artifacts! Kinda buried the lede there! 😂
People starting with repeating the persons name in the condescending way aren’t trying to do anything other than make themselves feel superior. It’s the conversational equivalent of pleasuring oneself.
Same energy as the guy who cut down the world's oldest tree in order to retrieve the core drill that proved it was the oldest tree. Some people don't deserve their degrees.
@@vsGoliath96 anyone who'd do that should never be credited when that discovery is written about. They should either credit the school, if they're working with one, or leave it blank
The Trojan war is my favourite story ever told by human history. I asked my parents if they could name my soon to be sibling Troy, if it was a boy.2005 rolls around and my sister is born, crushing my hopes. A few years later out popped out my brother which my parents promptly named him Troy. Not to often the older brother gets to pick the name. Let alone name him after the world's greatest story.
My mom let my sister name me because she struggled to get pregnant and my sister really wanted a sister so she was 10 when I was born and I was named Larissa
The greeks that destroyed Troy didn't know that the city would get its revenge thousands of years later, as a Trojan man named Aeneas escaped from the destruction and started a family. Two of his descendants, Romulus and Remus, founded Rome. Rome conquered Greece in the second century B.C . A win is a win, no matter how long it takes...
A win is a win?, tell me are there Greek loosers alive today to accept defeat? Or are there any Roman winners alive who could actually accept the win? U cannot even imagine your own father's hardships his wins and his looses and u think Greeks or Romans today could actually fathom anything? 😅 No. Doesn't really matter does it? What mattered was how ferocious THEY ALL LIVED.
Aeneid was propaganda written by Vergil commissioned by Augustus to consolidate his power as well as legitimize his rule. Mehmet 2 also claimed the conquest of Constantinople was revenge against Greek for sacking troy . So who right anyway ?
There is recent scholarship in Hittite studies indicating the existence of a genre of epic entertainment that is essentially a narrative template for the Iliad--a great seige of a city by heroes with various divine connections leading to its destruction. This may be a reflection of the Bronze Age Collapse or it may be an older tradition. Thus, the Iliad would be a local adaptation of a pre-existing tale whose appeal to the local audience is based on whatever minor conflicts their city may have faced over the centuries, or major ones.
Even though it's really old, I can highly recommend Michael Wood's brilliant BBC series "In Search of the Trojan War" - 6 episodes á c. 50 minutes (1985) - from way back when the BBC really bothered taking these things seriously and were willing to spend the time and money to do the job properly and in depth - instead of the mostly superficial and hopeless junk that we are getting from them - and from several other broadcasters! - these days with respect to history and archeology. I have watched this amazing, captivating and enlightening series at least six times - it's that good! And then watch some of the more recent documentaries about the newer finds at Hisarlik, where German (!) archeologists have been uncovering a large lower city below the citadel with modern methods, so that it now fits Homer's description much better. They also know now, where the coastline of the now silted up bay lay during the time of the Trojan War ( c. 1200 BC ), so hopefully we can expect some interesting finds based on that information - maybe even the remains of a Greek camp and graves, if the events described in the Illiad really did take place in some form.
How about all of the arrows found that aren't from Troy. All of the burnt material? Or the stockpiles of weapons and rocks? Or the buried stockpiles of food? It's clear by how Troy has been found that there was indeed a very long siege at some point.
Need to mention the recent ground and aerial scans that indicate the large city remains that exist under the ground showing the outlines of properties and streets. Fascinating what could be excavated.
What about the theory that Troy was destroyed in an earthquake and that the horse element of the story emerged from the fact that both horses and earthquakes fell under the deific purview of Poseidon?
I am inclined to think that the walls of Troy tumbled during an earthquake. Because horses were very important to the Trojans, if any trophy was likely to intrigue the Trojans it would have been something horse related. Although Helen returned to her former position as queen, the women of Troy suffered greatly. Is it possible that some men escaped the slaughter of Trojan men?
There's a theory that vital trade from Western Asia that would've passed across the black sea would pass through troy in a similar way to how large amounts of trade passes through Istanbul now. The theory states that the destruction of Troy, for whatever reason, led to the trade from Asia drying up, which in turn set the Bronze Age Collapse in motion
Maurico Druon, secretary of the French Academy: "Albanians belonging to those people older than History itself. Albanian grandparents participated in the war of Troy, led by Achilles (on one side) and Hector (the other side). " Troy was not a city but a region with 12 communities in North Albania. You find all the myths of that time stamped on the North Albanian folkloric costumes.
Simon, your beard is getting more magnificent by the day. Very soon it'll be hosting a show of its very own! As for the writers, reward them well for their work - maybe a radiator in the basement?
It’s the Odyssey that mentions it and the Aeneid that gives specifics. The Iliad unfortunately doesn’t go past Hector’s funeral. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered I had so many more books to read to get all the story 😂
Ah, Schliemann. This vid brings back all my memories of my Classics courses for my undergrad degree. The Aeneid is a very early example of fanfiction basically. I've always preferred reading The Odyssey over the Iliad, and I also tend to prefer The Aeneid a lot as well, but that's because my focus was on Roman history and Classic Latin rather than the Greek side of things (didn't help the textbooks for Ancient Greek were horrible; even the students with a focus on Ancient Greek hated the books). We acknowledge Schliemann's work, but we also very much tear him and his "techniques" apart. Most of the early archaeologists from the 1800s and even into the mid-1900s were pretty bad, but in terms of actual archaeological studies and in terms of just stealing stuff and carting it all back to whatever country they came from. Lord Elgin being a particularly infamous example of that. Freaking Getty "Museum" out in California is also filled with stolen artifacts and the like.
The trouble with calling it a myth is that the story has no basis in truth. The recorded story is so detailed that there must be something in it, the only question is how much. I find ancient stories fascinating and I suspect that many have an element of something that actually happened, that leaves us to interprate and research them.
I have a book about this dig. It might have been a groundbreaking dig, true , bit I wish it'd been done cautiously. I'm fascinated with the topic of the Trojan war and Troy itself. I've got theories ( from my studies ). Fascinating.
"A relatively minor character" is a weird way to describe who was the most competent fighter on the Trojan side in The Illiad. He wasn't particularly successful, but he dueled Ajax the greater to a standstill, an effort that took Hector and his entire ambush force to match. He wasn't Trojan royalty, but he certainly wasn't minor
@@LofiCameron Yes, I recommend those podcasts, as well! Also, search for videos on the Hittites! There is pretty good one narrated by Jeremy Irons. Again, in most of these things, there's a lot of discrepencies on details and dates, but it is very interesting to consider the more major events, some of which have pretty well determined dates, while others seem pretty authentic, even if the dates are more fuzzy: for most things, if some stuff happened a few years sooner/later, it does not always make much difference; it's more about the sequence of events... Like, it's really looking like, when Tutahnkamon died, his sister/widow wrote to the Hittite Emporer to ask for a Hittite Prince to marry...real cloak & dagger stuff! Enjoy!
The Bronze age collapse not only had the sea people countering chariots, but they were also able to overcome city walls and gates. Defenders could not simply hide inside a fortress. Here the tale of Troy and how the walls were defeated using a "Trojan Horse" gives us a very useful clue. No logical city defenders would bring in a statue with men hidden inside. Clearly something else was involved. A covered battering ram looks a lot like a horse, and has men hidden inside. This would open the gates of any Bronze age walled city. However, the covered battering ram was such a huge military advantage that it's workings were a military secret and cleverly disguised in Homer's epic tales. Cities built after the collapse had a new design of triple gate that could defend against a covered battering ram. My conclusion is that the Sea people were initially the Greek Army that sacked Troy, but then added additional soldiers from each defeated city as they attacked the next. Pillaging was profitable, but caused the Greek dark age. Homer’s stories are a memory of a past prosperous age, before greed destroyed that Bronze Age civilization.
Trojans during the destruction of the city: "WE ARE ALL DEAD" Aeneas: "Don't worry. I have a plan" Trojans: "Really?! What's you idea!?" Aeneas: "I shall form a family and, centuries later, two of my descendants will found a powerful city that will destroy our enemies. Sounds brilliant, right?" Trojans: "You are banished" Aeneas: "And with good cause!"
I figured with your production value through the roof like it's been you guys weren't breaking the bank like many people would think and I'm glad the sponsors don't have as much pull as other channels you can see how far these other channels have fallen due to sponsor pull
Yeah, irnoically Schliemann dug right through the version of troy he sought. Hence the still popular saying among archeologists: Schlieman did more damage to Troy than the Mycenaeans.
There is a lot of corroboration in the iliad with the bronze age. A good example is the boars tusk helmet which is mentioned. Examples have been found in burials in mainland Greece & crete.
Funny how Simon totally glances over that dude's wife kills him because he SACRIFICED THEIR CHILD at the beginning of the war xD It's not some thing the gods did... His wife was just super pissed that he killed their child!
Love simon, fan of squarespace too, use it for one of our stores. But surely Simon knows that Squarespace is becoming the new RAID Shadow Legends! Everything is sponsored by them now! Im just happy for Simon to get more money though to be honest.
Pegasus the flying horse was not mentioned here, he/it and it's brother should have been as it was used in the war against troy. Now that would really show good research.
I think that the Trojan war was real but I don't think the siege of the freat city lasted 10 years. Realistically, the Greeks probably took Troy after a 10 month siege because any longer, disease would have been actively killing off the besiegers.
It might well have lasted 10 year. However, it is extremely unlikely that the Greeks maintained a constant siege that entire time. What is likely to have occurred is that that Greek alliance would campaign at Troy (or in the region) for whatever duration campaign season lasted in those days. They'd then return to the various homes to run their kingdoms. This might be repeated year after year. Or maybe there would be breaks of a year or two between expeditions. In any case I can't see the Greek's having established a permanent "beachhead". Supplying the army would have been a nightmare considering the distances involved, and the ruling class simply couldn't afford to be away from the seat of power for years on end. Or so I think.
war was seasonal back then. you'd plant your cops in the spring, go to war in the summer, return home and harvest your crops in the fall, and use winter to prep for next year.
I wonder why no one mentions the greatest achievement of Archeology: The creation of this "Field of Study" removed the capital crime of Grave Robbing from the books of law, and converted Grave Robbing into a legitimate and highly respected career choice... All you needed was a degree, bestowed by other legitimized Grave Robbers... This is one of the earliest know cases of "Raising yourself by your own bootstraps."
People write these stories 100's of yrs after they supposedly happened. Like King Arthur. Nobody knows what happened way back then. It would be like if I wrote something that happened many years ago. Back the they had no means of communication at all. People try and put their own spin on things. But honestly nobody knows for sure.
Great coverage of, as expected, a complex greek mythology and its writers- On a side note, since you put it in the 18th century: The first mention of a printing press in Europe was 1439 AD in a law suit of Johannes Gutenberg in Strassbourg The Koreans even had it a century earlier. Not the law suit though.😁
I have read three or four versions or translations of the Iliad and the odyssey. I have come to think it’s more than likely based in fact but embellished by so many who survived the war to tell the tales of battles and skirmishes. When I think back on what the time period how would you describe a once in a lifetime warrior facing another without understanding what is going on crediting the gods for assisting or blessing them with great ability, it would be like trying to explain the intricacies of boxing to a pacifist it just doesn’t compute.
There are several other poems that only partially survive today, that tell the rest of the Trojan War story after the Iliad ends. “Aethiopis” tells of Achilles’ death, the “Little Iliad” tells of the building of the Trojan Horse, and the “Iliou persis “ tells of the Sack of Troy.
Finally! I may be a mature, reasonably intelligent person, but I still turn into a 4 year old when I hear my favorite RUclipsr saying my name over and over 😁😁😁
There's an eerie similarity between Iliad and the Indian epic Mahabharata ! For those who have read both, the similarity is unreal. You can do a video on the two ...
that may not be a coincidence as we know some stories tend to travel and morph. Nearly all culture have a flood myth for example and certain goddesses like Aphrodite who began as perhaps as Ishtar before morphing into the greek goddesses. The legend of troy could have the share the same root legend and just retold for their intended audience.
This reminds me of the story of the Minotaur that turns out to be a mythical retelling of a Crete empire being defeated. The Greek oral tradition is more reliable than you would think
If Schleiman had not done this we probably would have been able to find and properly excavate Troy possibly decades later. Plus he straight up looted priceless artifacts. I don’t respect him at all personally but you can’t say he didn’t at least discover Troy
Schleimann stole credit for discovering troy, pretty sure it was the Englishman shown after Schliemann. He seemed as if he was a careless man who wanted to be remembered. No matter what what for. Which is a shame. Who knows what would’ve been discovered there
Aeneas ,Αἰνείας from verb αἰνέω =extol, praise. Hector ,Ἕκτωρ, which already answers in Linear B΄ from the combination of the root of the verb ἔχω and the suffix -τωρ which indicates the person who acts, therefore "the one who has, the one who holds".
For a proper run down of Troy get on to the podcast "Our Fake History". Schleimann doesn't really even deserve that much credit. He wasn't the first "modern Westerner" there and the locals even knew all about the ruins.
I visited the ruins of Troy about 7 or 8 years ago. All there is to see is a sad pile of half buried stones and a bit of stone paving. And the location is in no way the size of a fortified city, more like a small town. What I also observed is that hardly anyone living in the region knows of the place.
But in the perspective of ancient Greeks of that time period maybe they saw it as such, or maybe fortifications are missing, or simply it was a story that was greatly exaggerated to make it more appealing, such as Hollywood does with many movies nowadays. Truly no way to know for sure
greece at this time existed on a much smaller scale. its entire plausible that they wouldve seen something like what you describe as a great, fortified city. especially since it was probably richly decorated thanks to its role as a trade city.
Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/GEOGRAPHICS for 10% off on your first purchase.
Simon we need DTU March 8 1994 Michigan Please make it happen
Squarespace murdered my children and claimed the right of prima nocta on my wife.
What shoddy research!
Suggestion to anyone actually interested in this period and in the book The Odyssey: read the book Odysseus Unbound.
BCE/CE, PLEASE!
@@victoriaeads6126 No, we are fed up with that PC nonsense 🙄
I am really glad you highlighted how polarising Schleimann is in archaeology. He gets credit for finding Troy, 100%, beyond that it's very hard to laude him further than that.
@@RogerDonally Classicists have a similar relationship with Medieval scribes... 🙈
The thing with any discipline (medicine, psychology, archeology, etc) is that you have to start somewhere. It’s just that, looking back, we all go: Why there!!!
He definitely had some explosive ideas.
@@batticusmanacleas510 Tbf, his most laudable idea was to basically treat the Iliad as if it were actual history, and like an actual map, and then plotting their operation from there. It's so genuinely original and defies modern archaeology conventions.
In every sense, it shouldn't have worked, people by his era weren't treating the Iliad like history, it was very much thought of as a myth.
@@RogerDonally Right,
just like all of their contemporaries.
Sadly
Everyone knows about Achilles but have you ever heard of the Greek hero Bophades?
He was one of the heroes who fought in the Trojan War. His story is similar to the story of Achilles. When he was a child, his mother held him by the groin and dipped him in the river Styx, as to make him invincible in battle. However, just like Achilles, he had a weak spot. Because his mother held him by the groin, this was where he became vulnerable. In the case of Achilles, this was his heel. So you may have heard of Achilles' heel, but I bet you have never heard of Bophades nuts.
Lol!
😂
Hahha great
🤣
I thought his name was Testiclees.🤣🤣🤣
A story like this that has been told to so many for so long most definitely had some nuggets of truth.
Just like Adam and Eve.
"Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And so ask ourselves: will our actions echo across the centuries? Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?"
"If they ever tell my story, let them say...I walked with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat...but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, tamer of horses. Let them say...I lived in the time of Achilles."
-- ODYSSEUS (TROY 2004)
Er. Wasn't Hector the Breaker of Horses?
"There are no pacts between Lions and men" -Achilles from Iliad and the movie Troy.
At least despite Schliemann's destruction, we know that Troy was definitely WAY bigger and older than just the citadel area he was digging up, and excavation is still happening.
I love everything you put out across all 20 channel's lol idk how you do it...but you and your team are great.
1:30 - Chapter 1 - The troy story
3:30 - Chapter 2 - Turning point
5:50 - Mid roll ads
7:00 - Chapter 3 - The birth of a story
9:45 - Chapter 4 - Beyond greece
12:00 - Chapter 5 - Finding the "real" troy
14:05 - Chapter 6 - An eccentric hero
17:15 - Chapter 7 - Modern understanding
19:25 - Chapter 8 - The origin story
From DJ mixes to Simon's channels 👏
Thank you!
Get a life
Thanks for another great video! Fun fact: the tendon on the back of the human heel/ankle is, of course, the Achilles tendon-- yet another example of the effect this story has had on civilization for all of those centuries.
Troy is 10.90 miles from Moscow. Just look at any map of North Idaho.
The band REM came from Athens, in Georgia. 🎶😁
It’s 53 miles in Maine
You wished. Ancient Troy had Dardanian tribes and nothing in connection with today greeks as ancient greeks didn't exist but there were tribes of Pelasgian people,
Saying the Ancient Greeks didn't exist is quite a bold statement
@@caitlinveneer7314 Which I think modern Greek would be 🤬 about, because they are surrounded with plenty of evidence to prove it's just not true. It's an insult to their culture, history and ancestors.
Ergh. I’m working on my Turkey itinerary for my trip in April 2023. We made the decision to pass on Canakkale/Troy but now i’m second guessing it. This trip is the hardest one I’ve ever planned because are just SO MANY things i want to see, literally so much history and archaeology at every turn and it’s impossible to fit everything in
Seriously. It feels like it's impossible to travel Anatolia without tripping on a Byzantine ruin every five minutes.
I'm sure it will be awesome. Too bad for the political situation between Ankara and the West.
I'd like to plan a visit to see the Hittite locations. As you wrote, so much to see.
@@MasterMalrubius I think many of the people in my country support Erdogan, but even regardless of that Turkey is still an extremely popular destination for western tourists. I'm in lots of English language travel groups and I see them posting about Turkey pretty much every day. I'm sure the Turkish govt is more than happy to take their dollars and euros ;)
@@resileaf9501 I have a feeling that this is quite literally true 😂😂
Must do Ephesus
The story of Troy is largely thought by current academia to be something akin to a transcription of the oral storytelling in the periods between the end of the bronze age and the Greek city states, there are some corroborating stories about a city from the region that was destroyed toward the tail end of what is largely called "The Bronze Age Collapse" by modern historians from other civilizations of the same era that managed to survive in some way including Egypt.
The bronze age collapse itself is an absolutely fascinating rabbit hole to fall down, not only is it thought that Troy, or the city that inspired the story of the Trojan war fell during this time, but virtually every advanced civilization around the Mediterranean sea also fell apart more or less at the same time. To the point where written language and metalworking nearly disappeared for generations, all within a timespan of about 30-75 years. There appears to have been a nearly generation long shift in climate that precipitated it that lines of fairly well with several significant volcanic events in Iceland, that is one theory at least, though there ARE surviving records uncovered from the time on clay tablets detailing massive famines and crop failure as well as mass migrations.
I remember reading something about the Trojan war where historians made the argument that the true impetus for the Greek attack on Ilium was to secure key trade routes for themselves. By destroying Ilium, they destroyed the Trojan control of those routes.
The Trojans were Greeks as well. Turkey didn't exist back then. So it was the Trojans (a greek tribe) against some other greek city states and kingdoms.
I wonder if a possible channel for exploring mythology is in the horizon. mythographics, perhaps? Love to hear Simon narrate the Odyssey
oh yeah, that would be awesome indeed.
There is one. It's from the vlogbrothers. It's called Crash Course. It has a Mythology series.
No way Simon would make another channel... right?.. RIGHT?
Overly Sarcastic Productions
Check out Overly Sarcastic Productions(Miscellaneous Myths series) or Storied by PBS(2 series, Fate & Fabled and Monstrum,) they're both really great resources for dipping your toes in the water of mythology and have phenomenal presenters(especially OSP and Monstrum.) Simon has stated a couple times that he's just not very into mythology so him doing a full series is super unlikely.
As always, excellent research and great presentation. I'm glad I subscribed to this channel.
There's at least a hundred more, Simon channels 👍🏼🤣
Simon, Simon, Simon, it is great you included Heinrich Schliemann in this, and sure you mentioned his archaeological methods would be controversial but not the full story as to why. The dude *blew up several layers*, including the two most agreed upon to be closest to being Homeric Troy, with god damned dynamite, irreparably damaging the site and obliterating untold scores of artifacts! Kinda buried the lede there! 😂
It has said that much might be learned of Homeric Troy by carefully excavating Schlemamann's rubble heaps.
People starting with repeating the persons name in the condescending way aren’t trying to do anything other than make themselves feel superior. It’s the conversational equivalent of pleasuring oneself.
Same energy as the guy who cut down the world's oldest tree in order to retrieve the core drill that proved it was the oldest tree. Some people don't deserve their degrees.
Also drove a bulldozer through the site…
@@vsGoliath96 anyone who'd do that should never be credited when that discovery is written about. They should either credit the school, if they're working with one, or leave it blank
The Trojan war is my favourite story ever told by human history. I asked my parents if they could name my soon to be sibling Troy, if it was a boy.2005 rolls around and my sister is born, crushing my hopes. A few years later out popped out my brother which my parents promptly named him Troy. Not to often the older brother gets to pick the name. Let alone name him after the world's greatest story.
Be the best older sibling 🎉
My mom let my sister name me because she struggled to get pregnant and my sister really wanted a sister so she was 10 when I was born and I was named Larissa
The greeks that destroyed Troy didn't know that the city would get its revenge thousands of years later, as a Trojan man named Aeneas escaped from the destruction and started a family. Two of his descendants, Romulus and Remus, founded Rome. Rome conquered Greece in the second century B.C .
A win is a win, no matter how long it takes...
A win is a win?, tell me are there Greek loosers alive today to accept defeat? Or are there any Roman winners alive who could actually accept the win? U cannot even imagine your own father's hardships his wins and his looses and u think Greeks or Romans today could actually fathom anything? 😅 No. Doesn't really matter does it? What mattered was how ferocious THEY ALL LIVED.
Aeneid was propaganda written by Vergil commissioned by Augustus to consolidate his power as well as legitimize his rule. Mehmet 2 also claimed the conquest of Constantinople was revenge against Greek for sacking troy . So who right anyway ?
One thing i learned is to dip my kids in the river Styx, i use one of those wire holders like they put in easter egg dye kits.
It was Apollo that guided Paris’s arrow into Achilles heel as punishment for desecrating the temple of Apollo
No it wasn't. There is only one God. I don't know where they got all of those god's back then?
There is recent scholarship in Hittite studies indicating the existence of a genre of epic entertainment that is essentially a narrative template for the Iliad--a great seige of a city by heroes with various divine connections leading to its destruction. This may be a reflection of the Bronze Age Collapse or it may be an older tradition. Thus, the Iliad would be a local adaptation of a pre-existing tale whose appeal to the local audience is based on whatever minor conflicts their city may have faced over the centuries, or major ones.
Simon thanks for you uploads. It's hard to find informational channels that don't patronize the audience while having an interesting voice
My theory is that, there was a real war in Troy. It might not be as grand as The Iliad told us, but then again everyone would exaggerate everything.
All these years I thought it was the river Oceanus that Achilles was dipped into. Learn something new every day!
Another fabulous synopsis of the history of Troy, Simon.
Even though it's really old, I can highly recommend Michael Wood's brilliant BBC series "In Search of the Trojan War" - 6 episodes á c. 50 minutes (1985) - from way back when the BBC really bothered taking these things seriously and were willing to spend the time and money to do the job properly and in depth - instead of the mostly superficial and hopeless junk that we are getting from them - and from several other broadcasters! - these days with respect to history and archeology.
I have watched this amazing, captivating and enlightening series at least six times - it's that good!
And then watch some of the more recent documentaries about the newer finds at Hisarlik, where German (!) archeologists have been uncovering a large lower city below the citadel with modern methods, so that it now fits Homer's description much better.
They also know now, where the coastline of the now silted up bay lay during the time of the Trojan War ( c. 1200 BC ), so hopefully we can expect some interesting finds based on that information - maybe even the remains of a Greek camp and graves, if the events described in the Illiad really did take place in some form.
How about all of the arrows found that aren't from Troy. All of the burnt material? Or the stockpiles of weapons and rocks? Or the buried stockpiles of food? It's clear by how Troy has been found that there was indeed a very long siege at some point.
3rd time in this comment section I've seen this recommended, it's now on my watch list
Need to mention the recent ground and aerial scans that indicate the large city remains that exist under the ground showing the outlines of properties and streets. Fascinating what could be excavated.
What about the theory that Troy was destroyed in an earthquake and that the horse element of the story emerged from the fact that both horses and earthquakes fell under the deific purview of Poseidon?
I am inclined to think that the walls of Troy tumbled during an earthquake. Because horses were very important to the Trojans, if any trophy was likely to intrigue the Trojans it would have been something horse related. Although Helen returned to her former position as queen, the women of Troy suffered greatly. Is it possible that some men escaped the slaughter of Trojan men?
SIMON! :) I LOVE ALL YOUR CHANNELS TY FROM THE USA!
There's a theory that vital trade from Western Asia that would've passed across the black sea would pass through troy in a similar way to how large amounts of trade passes through Istanbul now.
The theory states that the destruction of Troy, for whatever reason, led to the trade from Asia drying up, which in turn set the Bronze Age Collapse in motion
Interesting theory!
Maurico Druon, secretary of the French Academy: "Albanians belonging to those people older than History itself. Albanian grandparents participated in the war of Troy, led by Achilles (on one side) and Hector (the other side). "
Troy was not a city but a region with 12 communities in North Albania. You find all the myths of that time stamped on the North Albanian folkloric costumes.
Only if there were differrent Albanians, as there were differrent Macedonians
I'm so glad I found your channel ❤
15:35 I will NOT cut that tnt throwing maniac any slack, he destroyed so much history!
Simon, your beard is getting more magnificent by the day. Very soon it'll be hosting a show of its very own!
As for the writers, reward them well for their work - maybe a radiator in the basement?
The Iliad includes the Trojan horse and the sacking of Troy, it doesn’t finish with Patroclus’ funeral.
It’s the Odyssey that mentions it and the Aeneid that gives specifics. The Iliad unfortunately doesn’t go past Hector’s funeral. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered I had so many more books to read to get all the story 😂
Ah, Schliemann. This vid brings back all my memories of my Classics courses for my undergrad degree. The Aeneid is a very early example of fanfiction basically. I've always preferred reading The Odyssey over the Iliad, and I also tend to prefer The Aeneid a lot as well, but that's because my focus was on Roman history and Classic Latin rather than the Greek side of things (didn't help the textbooks for Ancient Greek were horrible; even the students with a focus on Ancient Greek hated the books). We acknowledge Schliemann's work, but we also very much tear him and his "techniques" apart. Most of the early archaeologists from the 1800s and even into the mid-1900s were pretty bad, but in terms of actual archaeological studies and in terms of just stealing stuff and carting it all back to whatever country they came from. Lord Elgin being a particularly infamous example of that. Freaking Getty "Museum" out in California is also filled with stolen artifacts and the like.
Isn't it funny how he is so widely criticised within the field for his methods yet he achieved so much more than most of those who criticise
The trouble with calling it a myth is that the story has no basis in truth. The recorded story is so detailed that there must be something in it, the only question is how much. I find ancient stories fascinating and I suspect that many have an element of something that actually happened, that leaves us to interprate and research them.
I literally coughed my guts out laughing the first time he said Aeneas
After centuries… another asian nation kicked out invader greeks … this gives me chills… revenge is really a dish which best served cold….
Hey i love this channel.i try and watch as many as i can. can you please do a GEO on
Puma punko. please.
I have a book about this dig. It might have been a groundbreaking dig, true , bit I wish it'd been done cautiously. I'm fascinated with the topic of the Trojan war and Troy itself.
I've got theories ( from my studies ). Fascinating.
Troy is always a reminder that the "experts" will dismiss theories that don't fit their controlled narratives as myth and fable.
"A relatively minor character" is a weird way to describe who was the most competent fighter on the Trojan side in The Illiad. He wasn't particularly successful, but he dueled Ajax the greater to a standstill, an effort that took Hector and his entire ambush force to match. He wasn't Trojan royalty, but he certainly wasn't minor
He was cousin to hector and very much related to trojan royal family.
At 63 I am only now aware of the collapse of the Bronze Age. I'll be watching more videos on that subject.
Check out “fall of civilizations” on RUclips has the best historical documentaries I’ve ever seen, audio and video options
@@LofiCameron Yes, I recommend those podcasts, as well!
Also, search for videos on the Hittites!
There is pretty good one narrated by Jeremy Irons.
Again, in most of these things, there's a lot of discrepencies on details and dates, but it is very interesting to consider the more major events, some of which have pretty well determined dates, while others seem pretty authentic, even if the dates are more fuzzy: for most things, if some stuff happened a few years sooner/later, it does not always make much difference; it's more about the sequence of events...
Like, it's really looking like, when Tutahnkamon died, his sister/widow wrote to the Hittite Emporer to ask for a Hittite Prince to marry...real cloak & dagger stuff!
Enjoy!
The Bronze age collapse not only had the sea people countering chariots, but they were also able to overcome city walls and gates. Defenders could not simply hide inside a fortress.
Here the tale of Troy and how the walls were defeated using a "Trojan Horse" gives us a very useful clue. No logical city defenders would bring in a statue with men hidden inside. Clearly something else was involved. A covered battering ram looks a lot like a horse, and has men hidden inside. This would open the gates of any Bronze age walled city. However, the covered battering ram was such a huge military advantage that it's workings were a military secret and cleverly disguised in Homer's epic tales.
Cities built after the collapse had a new design of triple gate that could defend against a covered battering ram.
My conclusion is that the Sea people were initially the Greek Army that sacked Troy, but then added additional soldiers from each defeated city as they attacked the next. Pillaging was profitable, but caused the Greek dark age. Homer’s stories are a memory of a past prosperous age, before greed destroyed that Bronze Age civilization.
Another great video from "Simon of Troy"...... ;)
Nice! I'm early for this one!
Thanks, interesting video
Trojans during the destruction of the city: "WE ARE ALL DEAD"
Aeneas: "Don't worry. I have a plan"
Trojans: "Really?! What's you idea!?"
Aeneas: "I shall form a family and, centuries later, two of my descendants will found a powerful city that will destroy our enemies. Sounds brilliant, right?"
Trojans: "You are banished"
Aeneas: "And with good cause!"
*More like hundreds of years...
The Aeneid was not considered particularly remote from the traditional founding myths of Rome dated to the 700s B.C.E.
I figured with your production value through the roof like it's been you guys weren't breaking the bank like many people would think and I'm glad the sponsors don't have as much pull as other channels you can see how far these other channels have fallen due to sponsor pull
Yeah, irnoically Schliemann dug right through the version of troy he sought.
Hence the still popular saying among archeologists: Schlieman did more damage to Troy than the Mycenaeans.
This would've been a contender for Simon's other show "decoding the unknown".
very well done.
Great video.
There is a lot of corroboration in the iliad with the bronze age. A good example is the boars tusk helmet which is mentioned. Examples have been found in burials in mainland Greece & crete.
I guess the Iliad is what remained in our collective memory of the bronze age collapse
Did Homer exist? I believe the answer lies in this: D’oh!
Awesome. Could you guys also do Menin Gate.
There were a lot of names in this piece, and Simon managed to mispronounce almost all of them.
Impressive! The narrator managed to mispronounce virtually every name he uttered.
Funny how Simon totally glances over that dude's wife kills him because he SACRIFICED THEIR CHILD at the beginning of the war xD
It's not some thing the gods did... His wife was just super pissed that he killed their child!
Love simon, fan of squarespace too, use it for one of our stores. But surely Simon knows that Squarespace is becoming the new RAID Shadow Legends! Everything is sponsored by them now! Im just happy for Simon to get more money though to be honest.
Pegasus the flying horse was not mentioned here, he/it and it's brother should have been as it was used in the war against troy. Now that would really show good research.
I think that the Trojan war was real but I don't think the siege of the freat city lasted 10 years. Realistically, the Greeks probably took Troy after a 10 month siege because any longer, disease would have been actively killing off the besiegers.
Could have lasted 10 years look at the 30 and 100 years wars
@@tomhenry897 both the thirty year and hundred years war didn't have sieges that lasted more than a year.
It might well have lasted 10 year. However, it is extremely unlikely that the Greeks maintained a constant siege that entire time. What is likely to have occurred is that that Greek alliance would campaign at Troy (or in the region) for whatever duration campaign season lasted in those days. They'd then return to the various homes to run their kingdoms. This might be repeated year after year. Or maybe there would be breaks of a year or two between expeditions. In any case I can't see the Greek's having established a permanent "beachhead". Supplying the army would have been a nightmare considering the distances involved, and the ruling class simply couldn't afford to be away from the seat of power for years on end. Or so I think.
war was seasonal back then. you'd plant your cops in the spring, go to war in the summer, return home and harvest your crops in the fall, and use winter to prep for next year.
At least the Trojans will forever be immortalized, one pack of condoms at a time...
Simon you need to talk about Mt Olympus too
Ah Poseidon is not only the god of the sea and storms, but also the God of horses… And the god of earthquakes.
Fact Boi, the story of Troy was being told in Rome some 200 years before Augustus. Ennius, Naevius, Livius Andronicus.
I wonder why no one mentions the greatest achievement of Archeology: The creation of this "Field of Study" removed the capital crime of Grave Robbing from the books of law, and converted Grave Robbing into a legitimate and highly respected career choice... All you needed was a degree, bestowed by other legitimized Grave Robbers...
This is one of the earliest know cases of "Raising yourself by your own bootstraps."
People write these stories 100's of yrs after they supposedly happened. Like King Arthur. Nobody knows what happened way back then. It would be like if I wrote something that happened many years ago. Back the they had no means of communication at all. People try and put their own spin on things. But honestly nobody knows for sure.
Thanks for the mention ;)
Just finished reading The Iliad a couple days ago - what are the odds!
very high...the Iliad is one of the all time biggest selling books and been in print for longer than the bible
Great coverage of, as expected, a complex greek mythology and its writers-
On a side note, since you put it in the 18th century:
The first mention of a printing press in Europe was 1439 AD in a law suit of Johannes Gutenberg in Strassbourg
The Koreans even had it a century earlier.
Not the law suit though.😁
I have read three or four versions or translations of the Iliad and the odyssey. I have come to think it’s more than likely based in fact but embellished by so many who survived the war to tell the tales of battles and skirmishes. When I think back on what the time period how would you describe a once in a lifetime warrior facing another without understanding what is going on crediting the gods for assisting or blessing them with great ability, it would be like trying to explain the intricacies of boxing to a pacifist it just doesn’t compute.
Shout out to my fellow Latin students. How many nights were wasted translating the adventures of Dido
The missing gap at 1200 B.C, You have to love how humans prefer not to acknowledge something rather than see the truth.
"is there no one else?"
No
No
I'll do it
Man that movie sucked
Business Blaze is like the Marvel Universe. Random little teasers for videos you didn't know existed
And then the script mentions Marvel? My simulator needs to hit the shop
This'll be a good one!
In what book(s) is everything after that goes on after the funerals of Hector and Patroclus told?
@Gerald H I guess I wasn't clear. I meant the bit with the Horse and the sacking of Troy.
@Gerald H No worries.
So they're technically...fanfic? Lol
There are several other poems that only partially survive today, that tell the rest of the Trojan War story after the Iliad ends. “Aethiopis” tells of Achilles’ death, the “Little Iliad” tells of the building of the Trojan Horse, and the “Iliou persis “ tells of the Sack of Troy.
Finally! I may be a mature, reasonably intelligent person, but I still turn into a 4 year old when I hear my favorite RUclipsr saying my name over and over 😁😁😁
i just came here to say
HECTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!!!
We need a ridley scott production of the Iliad or odyssey, along the lines of "the kingdom of heaven".
There's an eerie similarity between Iliad and the Indian epic Mahabharata ! For those who have read both, the similarity is unreal. You can do a video on the two ...
that may not be a coincidence as we know some stories tend to travel and morph. Nearly all culture have a flood myth for example and certain goddesses like Aphrodite who began as perhaps as Ishtar before morphing into the greek goddesses. The legend of troy could have the share the same root legend and just retold for their intended audience.
This reminds me of the story of the Minotaur that turns out to be a mythical retelling of a Crete empire being defeated. The Greek oral tradition is more reliable than you would think
Simon, Simon, Simon - In German "ie" is pronouced "ee" and not "ai" Great video as always!
If Schleiman had not done this we probably would have been able to find and properly excavate Troy possibly decades later. Plus he straight up looted priceless artifacts. I don’t respect him at all personally but you can’t say he didn’t at least discover Troy
Spot on.
Schleimann stole credit for discovering troy, pretty sure it was the Englishman shown after Schliemann. He seemed as if he was a careless man who wanted to be remembered. No matter what what for.
Which is a shame. Who knows what would’ve been discovered there
The God of War continues to intervene in the affairs of mankind to this day...
Ever any evidence of the horse?
It all started with a golden apple.
Loved the movie with Brad Pitt.
Id be interested to find out what you guys at Geographics thought of Graham Hancocks new Netflix series Ancient Apocalypse?
Fun to watch but lack enough evidence?
QueerSpace... where SquareSpace leaves off.
Aeneas ,Αἰνείας from verb αἰνέω =extol, praise.
Hector ,Ἕκτωρ, which already answers in Linear B΄ from the combination of the root of the verb ἔχω and the suffix -τωρ which indicates the person who acts, therefore "the one who has, the one who holds".
Thanks for the name origin explanation.
Hold on, another reupload? Or am I having a Deja Vu?
That one's not a reupload, but I wouldn't be surprised if some things here were said in another channel. Biographics for Homer, for example.
For a proper run down of Troy get on to the podcast "Our Fake History". Schleimann doesn't really even deserve that much credit. He wasn't the first "modern Westerner" there and the locals even knew all about the ruins.
I visited the ruins of Troy about 7 or 8 years ago. All there is to see is a sad pile of half buried stones and a bit of stone paving. And the location is in no way the size of a fortified city, more like a small town. What I also observed is that hardly anyone living in the region knows of the place.
But in the perspective of ancient Greeks of that time period maybe they saw it as such, or maybe fortifications are missing, or simply it was a story that was greatly exaggerated to make it more appealing, such as Hollywood does with many movies nowadays. Truly no way to know for sure
greece at this time existed on a much smaller scale. its entire plausible that they wouldve seen something like what you describe as a great, fortified city. especially since it was probably richly decorated thanks to its role as a trade city.
Happened thousand years ago
@@tomhenry897 Yes, but ancient Greek buildings, such as the Parthenon in Athens, are just as old.
@@mikethespike7579 They aren't lol. You're comparing bronze age structures to classical Greek ones.