Fall of Troy

• The Fall of Troy is an event in Greek Mythology that ended the ten year Trojan War.

Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey

• Troy was the city described in the Iliad and Odyssey, by the Ancient Greek Epic Poet, Homer.

• The Iliad covers the Fall of Troy (dated by Eratosthenes to 1184 BCE), in the final few weeks of the ten year Siege of Troy.
• The Odyssey describes the ten year Journey of Odysseus (Ulysses, in Roman mythology) to return to his home at Ithaca after the Fall of Troy.

Eratosthenes

• Eratosthenes was the chief librarian at the Great Library of Alexandria. He dated the Fall of Troy between 1194-1184 BCE.
• The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed the War against Troy to have been a real historical event.

Lost Tomb of Achilles

• After Paris killed Achilles in Troy, his body was taken away, but accounts vary of where he was buried.
• The Emperor Caracalla (211-217 CE) is reported to have visited the Tomb in 216 CE on his way to Parthia.

Roman Grand Tour

• The Roman Grand Tour included a visit to Troy, followed by a visit to the Grave of Achilles.

Heinrich Schliemann

• The Iliad was considered to be a Myth until the German pioneer of Archeology, Heinrich Schliemann, excavated the Ruins of Troy in May 1873.
• He discovered the treasures of the ancient city buried under a hill at the village of Hisarlik. The village is 18 miles (30 km) southwest of the modern city of Canakkale.

Ruins of Troy