The Legend of Troy

The legend of Troy depicts a story about a Trojan War that destroyed an ancient, but alluring city. Homer, a Greek poet, wrote about Troy in the Iliad. It is said to be based on centuries of oral stories passed down from generation to generation, but whether or not the events he describes in his poem are true is still up for debate. Some people think that Homer made up the story while others believe that Homer was not a real person and a scribe might have written the Iliad, using the name as an alias. I, on the other hand, believe that Homer was a real person, but I only believe in parts of his story based on the archaeological evidence uncovered.

First off, Troy is believed to be located on a hilltop in western Turkey because it matches the description Homer gives of the city. The city archaeologist found is high-walled enough, based on the discovery of trenches, it is close enough to the sea and there is a stream running through the plains, however, the coastline is a little further than expected. Also, there were clay tablets found by an archaeologist named Blake that helped support the existence of Troy. On them was the word "Ilium," another name for Troy. As well, I do believe that the Greeks and the Trojans went to war and the Greeks defeated the Trojans based on the Iserlic layers, which were layers of ancient cities built on top of each other located in Turkey. Layer 6 is reminiscent of a lavish, rich lifestyle which relates to Troy before the war and layer 7 shows lots of rubble, hoarding of food, and signs of siege which relates to Troy after the war. The bronze spear tips found prove there was a battle.

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