Myths and History

Was there a Troy?Was there a Trojan War?Was there a Trojan Horse?

Was there a labyrinth?Was there a minotaur?Was there a King Minos?

Did Theseus Slay the Minotaur?

Knossos and the Labyrinth

Sir Arthur Evans1851-1941

Excavated at Knossos 1900-1931

Bulls and Crete

Labyrinth = House of Double Axes

Important Dates• c.2000 B.C. Troy II (Priam’s Troy?) and Palace at Knossos• c.1800 B.C. Mycenaean Shaft Graves (Mask of Agamemnon)• c.1500 B.C. Palace at Knossos destroyed (Eruption of Thera?)• c.1400 B.C. Palace at Knossos inhabited by Mycenaeans• c. 1350 Citadel of Mycenae built• c.1250 B.C. Troy VIIa destroyed by fire• 1183 B.C. Traditional Date for the Fall of Troy • c.1150 B.C. Destruction of Mycenae and Knossos• 1876 Schliemann excavates at Mycenae• 1900 Evans begins to excavate at Knossos• 1945 Priam’s Treasure disappears in the ruins of Berlin• 1993 Treasure reappears in Pushkin Museum in Moscow

Troy (Ilium)

Iliad = the story of Ilium

Heinrich Schliemann

Born: January 6, 1822 in Neu-Buckow / Mecklenburg, Germany Died: December 26, 1890 in Naples / Italy

Hissarlik

Troy Today

Priam’s Gold

Troy “Rich in Gold”

Important Dates• c.2000 B.C. Troy II (Priam’s Troy?)• c.1250 B.C. Troy VIIa destroyed by fire• 1183 B.C. Traditional Date for the Fall of Troy • 1871-1873 Schliemann excavates at Hissarlik• 1945 Priam’s Treasure disappears in the ruins of

Berlin• 1993 Treasure reappears in Pushkin Museum in

Moscow

Mycenae

With great joy I announce to Your Majesty that I have discovered the tombs which the tradition proclaimed by Pausanias indicates to be the graves of Agamemnon, Cassandra, Eurymedon and their companions, all slain at a banquet by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthos.

Mycenae: 1.) Palace (megaron); 2.) Grave Circle B; 3.) Lion Gate; 4.) Wall; 5.) Persean Fountain; 6.) Tomb of Atreus

Important Dates• c.2000 B.C. Troy II (Priam’s Troy?)• c.1800 B.C. Mycenaean Shaft Graves (Mask of

Agamemnon)• c. 1350 Citadel of Mycenae built• c.1250 B.C. Troy VIIa destroyed by fire• 1183 B.C. Traditional Date for the Fall of Troy • c.1150 B.C. Destruction of Mycenae • 1876 Schliemann excavates at Mycenae• 1945 Priam’s Treasure disappears in the ruins of Berlin• 1993 Treasure reappears in Pushkin Museum in

Moscow

Myths and History

Was there a Troy?Was there a Trojan War?Was there a Trojan Horse?

Was there a labyrinth?Was there a minotaur?Was there a King Minos?