Troy – FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions)

                                                   Troy – FAQ’s

1) How do I get to Troy?

The site of the ancient city of Troy is near Canakkale in Turkey. For directions, see “Troy–Transportation”.

2) Who built the wooden horse? Is it the original?

The original wooden horse was designed by the sculptor Epeios from an idea by Odysseus. The replica wooden horse you see at the entrance to Troy was built in1974-75 by Izzet Senemoglu for the Turkish Ministry of Tourism. For full details see “Wooden Horse of Troy”.

3) Was the Brad Pitt movie filmed here?

No. It was filmed in Malta and Mexico (see “Troy – the Movie”).

4) What happened to Helen?

She returned to Sparta with her husband Menelaus. For the full inside story, see biography of “Helen of Troy”.

5) Is Troy worth visiting?

Troy has an indescribable, indefinable aura of mystery about it that conjures up images from times long past. Troy still holds its secrets – the story is not yet fully told. It’s where the Trojan War took place. If you’re in the vicinity, add it to your “must-see” list. Besides, seeing Troy-Ilion-Wilusa for yourself is much easier than reading an unabridged version of the Iliad, even in paperback.

6) Why is Troy so small?

The first cities in the world were more like fortified palaces or royal citadels. The city of Troy VI (c. 1730-1300 BC), at the height of its wealth and power, enclosed an area of 20,000 sq. m. with a fortification wall 330 m. long. The walls were about 4-5 m. thick and more than 6 m. high, excluding the mudbrick superstructure (no longer visible). These dimensions compare favorably with the largest contemporary cities, Mycenae and Tiryns in Greece. The citadel of Mycenae covered an area of 30,000 sq. m. with a circuit wall 900 m. in length. The walls were 6-8 m. thick and possibly up to 18 m. high. Tiryns enclosed an area of 20,000 sq. m. protected by a 300-m. long wall. The walls as thick as 20 m. in parts and reached a height of perhaps 10 m. Troy was therefore a massive structure for its time, and in the Roman era, about a thousand years later, it covered a much greater area, However, the perimeter stone wall of Hattusa, the capital city of the Hittites in Central Anatolia in the 14 century BC, was 6 km long.

7) What are the walls made of? Where did the stone come from?

The walls of Troy I to VII were built of limestone, which is plentiful locally. The marble for the later Greek and Roman amphitheatre, columns, etc. was brought from islands in the Sea of Marmara which were famed for their marble. Indeed, that is where the word “marble” originated.

8) Who lived in Troy? Who were the Trojans?

The Trojans (also known as “Dardanians”) lived in Troy. The Greeks attacked the city during the Trojan War (c. 1184 BC). The Greeks should more properly be called “Achaeans” or “Argives” since Greece as a unified country did not exist before the time of Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC). Were the Trojans from Anatolia or Thrace? A great deal of national pride is at stake here. Where exactly did the Greeks come from in the first place? Archaeological and linguistic evidence is skimpy and there is a great deal of speculation on the subject. All we can say is that both sides probably belonged to an Indo-European race.

9) Is it really Troy?

The question should really be: Was there actually a Trojan War? If so, when? Why? Some of the evidence supports the view that the Trojan War was a real historical event, if the Iliad is taken literally, but lack of conclusive findings tends to contradict this. The main problem is that we don’t have a contemporary account in writing. There was no writing in Europe at that time. Homer’s epic story was written down about the 8th century BC, five hundred years after the war was over. No writing has been found prior to Troy VIII except for a Bronze-age seal discovered by the archaeologists in 1995 written in an Anatolian hieroglyphic script with the words “good”, “woman” and the name of the scribe. This seal has been adopted as the logo of the site. Is this Troy the real Troy? Only time will tell.

10) What was the original name of Troy?

German archaeologists insist the name should be “Troia” – the Greek-Roman version. American archaeologists tend to stick to good ol’ “Troy”. The Hittites called it Wilusa or Truwisa or Wilios or Taruwisa, which corresponds to the Greek “Ilios-Ilion” and Roman name “Ilium”. The Turks used to call it “Truva” but now call it “Troya”. All these names refer to the same vicinity if not perhaps exactly the same place. To check out current issues of debate about Troy, visit the web site of “Project Troia” at (www.uni-tuebingen.de/troia/eng/faq) or the University of Cincinnati’s “Troy” site at (cerhas.uc.edu/troy/)

11) What was the population of Troy?

Not as many as you may think. Archaeologists estimate the population of Troy at its zenith as being 7,000 for Troy VI (including the lower town) and 10,000 (maybe a bit more) during its heyday in Roman times (Troy IX). You can guess that it was much less in the earlier periods.

12) Why were all the layers built on top of each other?

Each time the city was destroyed, the city was leveled off and rebuilt, partly using existing rocks as building material. The hill of Hisarlik therefore grew higher and higher.

13) Will the treasure of Troy ever be returned?

Very unlikely in the near future.

14) Where can I get a guide for Troy?

Information is provided under “Troy Guide”.

15) When was the Trojan War?

The consensus is that the Trojan War took place c. 1250-1180 BC, or, more precisely 1200 BC, or, if the war lasted 10 years as supposed, between 1194-1184 BC. 1180 BC is also a popular date.

16) Is there a museum at Troy?

There is a display gallery (“Excavation House”) on site built by the University of Cincinnati team in the 1930s with information panels prepared recently by the University of Tubingen archaeologists. Actual artifacts excavated from Troy are on display or in storage at Canakkale Archaeological Museum, the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, and Pushkin Museum in Moscow. An actual museum at Troy (Turkey, not Montana) has been talked about for decades but is still “in the planning stages”.