Many of the great discoveries in the history of mankind were made not by dedicated scientists, but by self-taught, successful adventurers who did not have academic knowledge, but were ready to go ahead towards their goal.

“A little boy read the Iliad as a child. Homer. Shocked by the work, he decided that he would find Troy no matter what. Decades later Heinrich Schliemann fulfilled his promise."

This beautiful legend about the history of one of the most significant archaeological discoveries has little in common with reality.

The man who opened Troy to the world was sure of something else from an early age: sooner or later he would become rich and famous. Therefore, Heinrich Schliemann was very scrupulous about his biography, carefully erasing dubious episodes from it. The "Autobiography" written by Schliemann has as much to do with his real life as the "Priam's treasure" has to do with Troy as described by Homer.

Ernst Schliemann. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann was born on January 6, 1822 in Neubukov, into a family whose members had been shopkeepers for centuries. Ernst Schliemann, Henry's father, broke out of this series by becoming a pastor. But in his spiritual rank, Schliemann Sr. behaved indecently: after the death of his first wife, who bore him seven children, Ernst began an affair with a maid, which is why he was removed from his duties as a pastor.

Later, Ernst Schliemann completely went downhill, gradually becoming an alcoholic. Henry, who had become rich, did not have warm feelings for his parent, sent him barrels of wine as a gift, which may have accelerated his father’s transition to the best of worlds.

Citizen of the Russian Empire

By that time, Henry had not been to his home for a long time. Ernst Schliemann sent his children to be raised by wealthier relatives. Henry was brought up by Uncle Friedrich and demonstrated a good memory and desire to learn.

But at the age of 14, his studies ended, and Heinrich was sent to work in a shop. He got the most menial work, his working day lasted from 5 am to 11 am, which affected the teenager’s health. However, at the same time, Henry’s character was forged.

Five years later, Heinrich went to Hamburg in search of a better life. In need, he wrote to his uncle asking for a small loan. The uncle sent money, but described Henry to all his relatives as a beggar. The offended young man vowed never to ask his relatives for anything again.

Amsterdam in 1845. Drawing by Gerrit Lamberts. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

In 1841, 19-year-old Schliemann reached Amsterdam, where he found permanent work. In just four years, he went from a delivery boy to a bureau chief with a large salary and a staff of 15 subordinates.

The young businessman was advised to continue his career in Russia, which was then considered a very promising place for business. Representing a Dutch company in Russia, Schliemann amassed a substantial capital in a couple of years by selling goods from Europe. His ability for languages, which manifested itself in early childhood, made Schliemann an ideal partner for Russian merchants.

One of the few surviving photographs of E. P. Lyzhina. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Despite the fact that he managed to warm his hands on the California gold rush, Schliemann settled in Russia, receiving citizenship of the country. And in 1852 Heinrich married daughter of a successful lawyer Ekaterina Lyzhina.

Hobby of "Andrey Aristovich"

The Crimean War, unsuccessful for Russia, turned out to be extremely profitable for Schliemann thanks to military orders.

Henry's name was "Andrei Aristovich", his business was going well, and a son was born into the family.

But Schliemann, having achieved success in business, became bored. In April 1855, he first began studying the Modern Greek language. His first teacher was student of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Nikolai Pappadakis, who worked with Schliemann in the evenings according to his usual method: the “student” read aloud, the “teacher” listened, corrected pronunciation and explained unfamiliar words.

Along with the study of Greek came an interest in the literature of Ancient Greece, especially in the Iliad. Henry tried to get his wife involved in this, but Catherine had a negative attitude towards such things. She openly told her husband that their relationship was a mistake from the very beginning, because the interests of the spouses were very far from each other. Divorce, according to the laws of the Russian Empire, was an extremely difficult matter.

The first surviving photograph of Schliemann, sent to relatives in Mecklenburg. Circa 1861. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

When problems in business were added to the troubles in the family, Schliemann simply left Russia. This was not a complete break with the country and family: Heinrich returned several more times, and in 1863 he was transferred from the Narva merchants to the St. Petersburg First Guild of Merchants. At the beginning of 1864, Schliemann received hereditary honorary citizenship, but did not want to stay in Russia.

"I'm sure I'll find Pergamon, the citadel of Troy"

In 1866, Schliemann arrived in Paris. The 44-year-old businessman is eager to revolutionize science, but first he considers it necessary to improve his knowledge.

Having enrolled at the University of Paris, he paid for 8 courses of lectures, including on Egyptian philosophy and archeology, Greek philosophy, and Greek literature. Without having listened to the lectures in full, Schliemann went to the USA, where he both dealt with business issues and became acquainted with various scientific works of antiquity.

In 1868, Schliemann, having visited Rome, became interested in excavations on the Palatine Hill. Having looked at these works, he, as they say, “lit up,” deciding that archeology would glorify him throughout the world.

Frank Calvert in 1868. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Having moved to Greece, he landed on the island of Ithaca, where he first began practical excavations, secretly hoping to find the palace of the legendary Odyssey.

Continuing his travels through the historical ruins of Greece, Schliemann reached the territory of Troas, at that moment under Ottoman rule.

Here he met the British diplomat Frank Calvert, who spent several years excavating the Hissarlik Hill. Calvert followed the hypothesis scientist Charles McLaren, who 40 years earlier announced that under the hill of Hisarlik there were the ruins of the Troy described by Homer.

Schliemann not only believed in it, he became “sick” with the new idea. “In April next year I will expose the entire hill of Hisarlik, for I am sure that I will find Pergamon, the citadel of Troy,” he wrote to his family.

New wife and start of excavations

In March 1869, Schliemann came to the United States and applied for American citizenship. Here he actually fabricated a divorce from his Russian wife, presenting false documents to the court.

Wedding photography. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Fascinated by Greece, Schliemann asked his friends to find him a Greek bride. In September 1869, the aspiring archaeologist married Sofia Engastromenu, daughters of the Greek merchant Georgios Engastromenos, who was 30 years younger than the groom. At the time of the wedding, Sofia was only 17 years old, she honestly admitted that she obeyed the will of her parents. The husband tried his best to educate her, took his wife to museums and exhibitions, trying to attract Sofia to her passion for archeology. The young wife became Schliemann’s obedient companion and assistant and bore him a daughter and a son, whom the father, immersed in archeology, named accordingly: Andromache And Agamemnon.

Having finished settling family affairs, Schliemann entered into a lengthy correspondence to obtain permission for excavations from the authorities of the Ottoman Empire. Unable to bear it, he began them without permission in April 1870, but was soon forced to interrupt the work.

Real excavations began only in October 1871. Having recruited about a hundred workers, Schliemann resolutely set to work, but at the end of November he closed the season due to heavy rains.

In the spring of 1872, Schliemann, as he once promised, began to “expose” Hisarlik, but there were no results. It’s not that there were none at all, but Schliemann was interested exclusively in Homer’s Troy, that is, in what he was ready to interpret in that way. The field season ended without results; minor finds were handed over to the Ottoman Museum in Istanbul.

Plain of Troas. View from Hisarlik. According to Schliemann, Agamemnon's camp was located on this site. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Brian Harrington Spier

"Priam's Treasure"

In 1873, Schliemann publicly declared that he had found Troy. He declared the ruins, excavated by May, to be the legendary “Palace of Priam,” which he reported to the press.

View of Schliemann's Trojan excavations. 19th century engraving. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

On May 31, 1873, as Schliemann himself described, he noticed objects made of copper and announced a break for the workers to dig up the treasure himself together with his wife. In fact, Schliemann's wife was not present at this event. From under the ancient wall, Schliemann used one knife to unearth various objects of gold and silver.

In total, over the next three weeks, about 8,000 items were discovered, including jewelry, accessories for performing various rituals, and much more.

If Heinrich Schliemann had been a classical scientist, it is unlikely that his discovery would have become a sensation. But he was an experienced businessman and knew a lot about advertising.

He, violating the excavation agreement, took his finds from the Ottoman Empire to Athens. As Schliemann himself explained, he did this to avoid looting. He put the women's jewelry discovered during excavations on his Greek wife, photographing her in this form. Photographs of Sophia Schliemann wearing these jewelry became a world sensation, as did the find itself.

A photograph of the “Priam’s treasure” in its entirety, taken in 1873. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Schliemann confidently declared: he discovered the very Troy that Homer wrote about. The treasures he found are a treasure hidden by king Priam or one of his associates at the time of the capture of the city. And they believed the self-taught archaeologist! Many people still believe.

Sins and merits

Professional scientists have a lot of complaints about Schliemann. Firstly, as promised, he literally “exposed” the Hissarlik hill. From the point of view of modern archeology, this is real vandalism.

Excavations must be carried out by gradually studying one cultural layer after another. In Schliemann's Troy there are nine such layers. However, the discoverer destroyed many of them in the course of his work, mixing them with others.

Secondly, “Priam’s treasure” absolutely has nothing to do with the Troy described by Homer.

The treasure found by Schliemann belongs to the layer called “Troy II” - this is the period 2600-2300. BC e. The layer belonging to the period of “Homeric Troy” is “Troy VII-A”. Schliemann went through this layer during excavations, practically not paying attention to it. Later he himself admitted this in his diaries.

Photo of Sophia Schliemann wearing jewelry from the “Priam’s treasure.” Circa 1874. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

But, having mentioned the sins of Heinrich Schliemann, it is necessary to say that he did something useful. The sensation into which he turned his discovery gave a powerful impetus to the development of archeology in the world, ensuring an influx of not only new enthusiasts into this science, but, very importantly, financial resources.

In addition, when talking about Troy and the “treasure of Priam”, Schliemann’s other discoveries are often forgotten. Continuing his stubborn belief in the accuracy of the Iliad as a historical source, in 1876 Schliemann began excavations in Mycenae, Greece, in search of the tomb of the ancient Greek hero Agamemnon. Here the archaeologist, who had gained experience, acted much more carefully and discovered the Mycenaean civilization of the 2nd millennium BC, unknown at that time. The discovery of the Mycenaean culture was not so spectacular, but from the point of view of science it was much more important than the finds in Troy.

However, Schliemann was true to himself: having discovered the tomb and the golden funeral mask, he announced that he had found the tomb of Agamemnon. Therefore, the rarity he found is today known as the “mask of Agamemnon.”

Photo of summer excavations in Troy in 1890. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

"The Acropolis and the Parthenon greet him in death"

Schliemann worked until the last days of his life, despite his rapidly deteriorating health. In 1890, ignoring doctors’ orders, after an operation he hurried once again to return to excavations. A new exacerbation of the disease led to him losing consciousness right on the street. Heinrich Schliemann died in Naples on December 26, 1890.

He was buried in Athens, in a specially built mausoleum, designed in the style of buildings in which ancient heroes were buried. “In death he is greeted by the Acropolis and the Parthenon, the columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the blue Saronic Gulf and, on the other side of the sea, the fragrant mountains of the Argolid, beyond which lie Mycenae and Tiryns,” wrote the widow Sophia Schliemann.

Heinrich Schliemann dreamed of fame and world fame and achieved his goal, standing next to the heroes of Hellas in the eyes of his descendants.

Once upon a time, on the southern bank of the Hellespont (Dardanelles) stood the ancient city of Troy, the walls of which, according to legend, were erected by the god Poseidon himself. This city, which the Greeks called Ilion (hence the name of Homer’s poem “The Iliad”), lay on the sea trade route from Asia Minor to the Pontus Euxine (Black Sea) and was famous for its power and wealth. The last ruler of Troy was the wise old man Priam.

Around 1225 BC. e. The warlike Greek tribes of the Achaeans united for a large military campaign in Asia Minor. Under the leadership of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, the Achaeans crossed the Aegean Sea and besieged Troy. Only in the tenth year, after fierce battles, they managed to take possession of the impregnable city and destroy it...

One day there will be a day when sacred Troy will perish,
Priam and the people of the spearman Priam will perish with her.

King Priam of Troy and many townspeople were killed, Queen Hecuba and other Trojan women were sold into slavery along with their children. Only a small detachment of Trojans, led by Priam's youngest son Aeneas, managed to escape from the burning city. Having boarded ships, they sailed somewhere out to sea, and their traces were subsequently found in Carthage, Albania, and Italy. Julius Caesar considered himself a descendant of Aeneas.

No written documents or evidence of the Trojan War have survived - only oral traditions and songs of wandering Aedi singers who sang the exploits of the invulnerable Achilles, the cunning Odysseus, the noble Diomedes, the glorious Ajax and other Greek heroes. Several centuries later, the great blind singer Homer, taking as a basis the plots of songs that had by that time become truly popular, composed a large poem called “The Iliad.” For a long time, the poem was passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. A few centuries later, its text was written down. Having passed through several thousand years, entering the lives of many generations of people, this poem has long ago become part of the world literary classics.

Literary - that's all? Yes. At least until the 19th century, no one ever considered the Iliad as a historical source. In the perception of “serious scientists” and no less serious ordinary people, it was just ancient Greek mythology, an epic. And the first person to believe the “tales of blind Homer” was the German Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890).

As a child, he heard stories from his father about Homer's heroes. When he grew up, he read the Iliad himself. The shadow of the great blind man troubled his soul and took possession of him for the rest of his life. The misfortune of many people is that they do not believe in fairy tales. But young Schliemann believed Homer to the end. And even as a child, Heinrich Schliemann announced to his father: “I don’t believe that nothing remains of Troy. I will find her."

So Ariadne's thread of legends led him into the depths of millennia...

However, there is every reason to believe that the above story, taken from Schliemann’s autobiography, was entirely invented by him, and he became interested in Troy and Homer much later, already in adulthood. This small man (1 m 56 cm) - enthusiastic, childishly inquisitive and at the same time secretive and focused - was constantly tormented by a thirst for knowledge. A successful businessman and millionaire, a polyglot, a self-taught archaeologist and a dreamer obsessed with the idea of ​​finding Homer's Troy - all this is Heinrich Schliemann, whose life path is so rich in adventures and stormy twists of fate that just describing them would take an entire book. His fate is not just amazing - it is unique!

With a volume of Homer in his hands, in the summer of 1868, Schliemann arrived in Greece. He was greatly impressed by the ruins of Mycenae and Tiryns - it was from there that the Achaean army led by King Agamemnon began the campaign against Troy. But if Mycenae and Tiryns are a reality, then why shouldn't Troy be a reality?

The Iliad became a guidebook for Schliemann, which he always kept with him. Arriving in Turkey, on the banks of the ancient Hellespont, he spent a long time looking for the two springs described in the poem - hot and cold:

We reached the springs, flowing beautifully
Two of them spring here, forming the sources of the abyssal Xanthus
The first spring flows hot water. Constantly
It is enveloped in thick steam, as if by fireman's smoke.
As for the second, even in summer its water is similar
Or with water ice, or with cold snow, or with hail.

(Iliad, Canto XXII)

Schliemann found the springs described by Homer at the foot of Bunarbashi Hill. Only it turned out there were not two of them here, but 34. Having carefully examined the hill, Schliemann came to the conclusion that this was not Troy after all. The city of Priam is somewhere nearby, but this is not it!

With a volume of Homer in his hands, Schliemann walked all around Bunarbashi, checking almost every step he took against the Iliad. His search led him to a 40-meter-high hill with the promising name Hisarlik (“fortress”, “castle”), the top of which was a flat square plateau with sides measuring 233 m.

“... We arrived at a huge, high plateau, covered with shards and pieces of processed marble,” Schliemann wrote. - Four marble columns rose lonely above the ground. They are half-grown into the soil, indicating the place where the temple was located in ancient times. The fact that the remains of ancient buildings were visible over a large area left no doubt that we were near the walls of a once flourishing big city.” Inspection of the hill and linking the area to Homer’s instructions left no doubt - the ruins of the legendary Troy are hidden here...

In fairness, it should be noted that Schliemann was not the first who intended to look for Troy on the southern bank of the Dardanelles. Even ancient authors knew that Troy was located somewhere in the vicinity of Hisarlik Hill. Herodotus wrote that King Xerxes, ruler of Persia, stayed here and the local residents told him the story of the siege and capture of Troy. Shocked, Xerxes sacrificed a thousand sheep and ordered the priests to sprinkle the walls of Troy with wine in memory of the great heroes of the past.

Alexander the Great, staying in Troy, performed a ritual ceremony: he doused himself with oil, ran naked around the “tomb of Achilles” and put on an ancient weapon that was kept in the local temple of Athena of Troy.

Julius Caesar found only ruins here - forty years earlier the city was destroyed by the Romans. He erected an altar on the ruins of Troy and burned incense, asking the gods and ancient heroes to help him in the fight against Pompey.

The mad emperor Caracalla, having visited Troy, restored under the name of New Ilion, wished to recreate here the scene of Achilles’ grief over the dead Patroclus. To do this, he ordered his favorite Festus to be poisoned, built a huge funeral pyre, personally killed the sacrificial animals, placed them along with the body of the murdered “friend” on the pyre and set it on fire.

Emperor Constantine, who visited in the 120s AD. e. ruins of Troy, wanted to establish the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire here, but then his choice fell on Byzantium - this is how Constantinople appeared.

Much water has flown under the bridge since that time. Gradually the exact location of Troy was forgotten. In 1785, the Frenchman Choiseul-Gouffier, who undertook several expeditions to northwestern Anatolia, concluded that Troy should be looked for in the Bunarbashi area, ten kilometers from Hisarlik. In 1822, the Scottish journalist MacLaren published an article in which he argued that Troy was the hill of Hisarlik. The same McLaren personally visited the site in 1847, and in 1863 he published his work again, confirming the earlier assumption. The American Frank Calvert, the British consul in the Dardanelles and also a big fan of Homer, who bought half of Hisarlik into his own property, also pointed out Hisarlik to Schliemann. Calvert, back in 1863, tried to convince the director of the Greco-Roman collection of the British Museum in London to equip an expedition to Hisarlik.

The excavations were preceded by an agonizing wait for permission to conduct them. When work finally began in April 1870, it became clear that Schliemann was faced with a very difficult task: in order to get to the ruins of “Homeric” Troy, he had to break through several cultural layers dating back to different times - the Hisarlik Hill, as it turned out to be a real “layer cake”. Many years after Schliemann, it was established that in total there are nine extensive strata on Hisarlik, which absorbed about 50 phases of the existence of settlements from different eras. The earliest of them date back to the 3rd millennium BC. e., and the latest - by 540 AD. e. But, like any obsessive seeker, Schliemann did not have enough patience. If he had carried out excavations gradually, releasing layer by layer, the discovery of “Homeric” Troy would have been postponed for many years. He wanted to get to the city of King Priam immediately, and in this haste he demolished the cultural layers lying above him and greatly destroyed the lower layers - he later regretted this for the rest of his life, and the scientific world was never able to forgive him for this mistake.

Finally, the remains of huge gates and fortress walls, scorched by a severe fire, appeared before Schliemann’s eyes. Undoubtedly, Schliemann decided that these were the remains of Priam's palace, destroyed by the Achaeans. The myth took on flesh: before the archaeologist’s gaze lay the ruins of sacred Troy...

Subsequently, it turned out that Schliemann was mistaken: the city of Priam lay higher than the one that he took for Troy. But the real Troy, although he greatly spoiled it, he still dug up, without knowing it, like Columbus, who did not know that he had discovered America.

As recent research has shown, there were nine different “Troys” on the Hissarlik Hill. The topmost layer destroyed by Schliemann, Troy IX, was the remains of a Roman-era city known as New Ilion, which existed at least until the 4th century AD. e. Below lay Troy VIII - the Greek city of Ilion (Ila), inhabited around 1000 BC. e. and destroyed in 84 BC. e. Roman commander Flavius ​​Fimbria. This city was famous for its temple of Athena Ilia, or Athena of Troy, which was visited by many famous people of antiquity, including Alexander the Great and Xerxes.

Troy VII, which existed for about eight hundred years, was a rather insignificant village. But Troy VI (1800–1240 BC) most likely was the city of King Priam. But Schliemann literally rushed through it, trying to get to the bottom of the next layers, as he was convinced that his goal was much deeper. As a result, he severely damaged Troy VI, but came across the charred ruins of Troy V - a city that existed for about a hundred years and died in a fire around 1800 BC. e. Beneath it lay the layers of Troy IV (2050–1900 BC) and Troy III (2200–2050 BC), relatively poor Bronze Age settlements. But Troy II (2600–2200 BC) was a very significant center. It was here in May 1873 that Schliemann made his most important discovery...

That day, while observing the progress of work on the ruins of the “Palace of Priam,” Schliemann accidentally noticed a certain object. Having instantly gained his bearings, he announced a break, sent the workers to the camp, and he and his wife Sophia remained in the excavation. In the greatest haste, working with only a knife, Schliemann extracted from the ground treasures of unheard-of value - “the treasure of King Priam”!

The treasure consisted of 8833 items, including unique cups made of gold and electrum, vessels, household copper and bronze utensils, two gold tiaras, silver bottles, beads, chains, buttons, clasps, fragments of daggers, and nine battle axes made of copper. These objects were sintered into a neat cube, from which Schliemann concluded that they had once been tightly packed in a wooden chest, which had completely decayed over the past centuries.

Later, after the death of the discoverer, scientists established that these “treasures of Priam” did not belong to this legendary king, but to another, who lived a thousand years before the Homeric character. However, this does not in any way detract from the value of the discovery made by Schliemann - the “treasures of Priam” are a unique complex of Bronze Age jewelry in its completeness and preservation, a real miracle of the Ancient World!

As soon as the scientific world learned about the findings, a huge scandal broke out. None of the “serious” archaeologists even wanted to hear about Schliemann and his treasures. Schliemann's books “Trojan Antiquities” (1874) and “Ilion. City and land of the Trojans. Research and discoveries on the land of Troy" (1881) caused an explosion of indignation in the scientific world. William M. Calder, professor of ancient philology at the University of Colorado (USA), called Schliemann “an impudent dreamer and a liar.” Professor Bernhard Stark from Jena (Germany) said that Schliemann’s discoveries were nothing more than “quackery”...

Indeed, Schliemann was an archaeologist by vocation, but did not have sufficient knowledge, and many scientists still cannot forgive him for his mistakes and delusions. However, be that as it may, it was Schliemann who discovered a new, hitherto unknown world for science, and it was he who laid the foundation for the study of Aegean culture.

Schliemann's research showed that Homer's poems are not just beautiful fairy tales. They are a rich source of knowledge, revealing to anyone who wishes it many reliable details from the life of the ancient Greeks and their time.

It is worth noting that Schliemann’s own attitude towards Homer’s descriptions changed over time. “Homer exaggerated everything with poetic freedom,” he wrote in his diary, when he became convinced that the Troy he had excavated was much smaller than the one mentioned in the Iliad.

In total, Schliemann conducted four major excavation campaigns in Troy (1871–1873, 1879, 1882–1883, 1889–1890). Starting from the third, he began to involve experts in excavations. At the same time, the opinions of specialists and the opinion of Schliemann often differed. Excavations at Troy continued in 1893–1894. - Derpfeld, a trusted collaborator of Schliemann himself, and from 1932 to 1938 - Bledjen.

What was Homeric Troy really like?

It was a major urban center of the Late Bronze Age. At that time, on the crest of the Hisarlik Hill, there stood a powerful fortress with towers, the length of whose walls was 522 meters. The walls of Troy were made of large limestone slabs 4–5 m thick. In one of the towers, which was 9 meters high, there was an underground well carved into the rock at a depth of 8 m. Behind the ring of walls was the palace of the ruler (Priam?) and “ Arsenal" is a large (26x12 m) structure, in the ruins of which 15 clay balls for stone throwers were discovered. Residential buildings in Troy were built of stone and raw brick. About 6 thousand people lived in the city at that time.

Judging by some data, the main cause of the death of the “Troy of King Priam” was not the war, but the earthquake that was common in these places. It is possible that the city, which suffered from a natural disaster, was raided by the Achaeans, who finally destroyed and plundered it. By the way, Homer indirectly speaks about this: the god Poseidon, who built the walls of Troy, was deceived by the Trojans and did not receive the agreed payment for his work. Therefore, Poseidon was the enemy of Priam and the ally of the Achaeans throughout the Trojan War. But Poseidon was not only the god of the sea - he is called the “earth shaker,” that is, causing earthquakes! Once again legends echo history...

Over the past hundred years, the ancient walls of the excavated city, exposed to constant rain and wind, began to crumble and crack. In addition, they were damaged by overgrown bushes and other plants, whose roots, like drills, began to cut into the stone. Only in 1988 was it possible to stop the destructive process of destruction - an international group of archaeologists, led by the German Manfred Korfman, began to work closely on the conservation of the ancient walls. Since 1992, 75 scientists of various professions from 8 countries have united under the banner of the joint project “Troy and Troas. Archeology of the area,” continues research into the Hissarlik hill and its surroundings.

In October 1995, a new discovery took place - writing existed in ancient Troy! Based on the found bronze seal with Hittite hieroglyphs (1100 BC), Manfred Korfman came to the conclusion that Troy is the same city that is mentioned not only in Homer, but also in the ancient Hittite epic. Korfman is confident that the latest finds in the fortifications are indisputable proof of the truth of Homer's Trojan War.

There is another point of view: the German archaeologist Zangger, referring to the famous text of Plato, claims that Troy is Atlantis. As evidence, he cites the presence of a moat surrounding the city, flooded in ancient times and discovered back in 1994. Plato in his writings describes Atlantis, washed by rings of artificial reservoirs. Two transverse channels, recently discovered in the coastal mountains, opening into a large basin, could serve as roadsteads, very convenient for anchoring ships at the entrance to the port of Atlantis.

One way or another, excavations and studies of Troy continue. Ariadne's thread of legends leads a new generation of scientists into the depths of history.

On this day:

Presentation for a German lesson on the topic “HEINRICH SCHLIMANN” 9th grade teacher Olga Nikolaevna Dontsova

HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN 06.12.1822 – 26.12.1890

HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN - a German entrepreneur and amateur archaeologist, became famous for his finds in Asia Minor, on the site of ancient (Homeric) Troy.

Heinrich Schliemann was born on January 6, 1822 in Neubukov near the Baltic Sea. His father, Ernst Schliemann (1780-1870), was a local priest. Heinrich was the fifth child in a family of 9 children. . Heinrich Schliemann House Museum in Ankershagen

Ernst Schliemann, father of Heinrich Schliemann (1780--1870). At the age of 8, his father gave Henry “World History for Children” with pictures and an image of ancient Troy. From that day on, his dream was the discovery of Homeric Troy.

Ankershagen. The house where Heinrich Schliemann was born and raised Schliemann House in Athens

At the age of 14, due to financial difficulties of the family, Heinrich left school and went to work in a grocery store. Five and a half years later, in 1841, he went on foot to Hamburg, where he hired a cabin boy on the schooner Dorothea. The ship was caught in a storm and sank off the coast of Holland. He managed to escape. Once in Amsterdam, he got a job as a messenger in a trading company.

During this period, Henry developed an interest in learning foreign languages. He came up with his own method: he did not translate, read a lot out loud, wrote exercises, and memorized them. After three years, he confidently spoke English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.

Schliemann left his place as a messenger and got a job in a trading company and began to study Russian. In 1846, thanks to his knowledge of languages, he was sent to Russia as a trade representative. In St. Petersburg, 24-year-old Schliemann started his own trading business. In just a few years he became a millionaire. Heinrich Schliemann. Bas-relief on a memorial plaque in St. Petersburg

In 1847, Schliemann took Russian citizenship and married the daughter of a Russian lawyer, Ekaterina Lyzhina. The family had three children. Henry’s relationship with his wife did not work out. Schliemann went to America, opened a small bank in California, increasing his fortune.

In 1858, leaving commercial affairs, Schliemann went on a trip to Europe, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Turkey and Greece, studying Latin, ancient Greek and Arabic. In 1864 he visited North Africa and India. The shores of China and Japan, America.

In 1866, Schliemann settled in Paris and attended lectures at the Sorbonne. He was especially interested in archeology and the history of Ancient Greece. His wife refused to live with him in Europe, as she did not approve of his hobbies in archaeology. Due to a divorce from his wife, Schliemann closed his way to Russia. Heinrich Schliemann with his wife Ekaterina Lyzhina. 1868

In 1870, Schliemann moved to Greece. Here he married a 17-year-old Greek woman, Sophia Engastromenos. Sophia Schliemann accompanied her husband everywhere: on excavations and on trips abroad. The Schliemanns had two children - daughter Andromache (1871-1962) and son Agamemnon (1878-1954). Portrait of Sophia Engastromenos in the "Helen's Headdress" from the "Treasure of Priam" 1881

Heinrich Schliemann and Sophia Engastromenos. Wedding.(1870)

For three years, Schliemann was engaged in excavations at the site of the ancient city of Hisarlik. In 1873 he found a gold treasure. It was called "Priam's treasure". The treasure consisted of 8833 items “Priam’s Treasure” (aka the gold of Troy) Schliemann transferred in 1881 to the Imperial Museum of Berlin (now the Constance Museum).

Schliemann at the excavations in Mycenae Inspired by the success, Schliemann began excavations at Mycenae, where in 1876 he found the tombs of the Mycenaean kings, as well as several kilograms of gold jewelry.

Schliemann died in Naples on December 26, 1890. On April 4, 1891, Schliemann's body was transported to Greece. Homer's books "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were placed in the archaeologist's coffin.

Scientists are still arguing whether the remains of the fortress found by Schliemann were Troy or whether Troy was found by other archaeologists. This “Trojan War” continues to this day. One thing is clear: Schliemann’s search had a great influence on the development of archaeology. Monument to Heinrich Schliemann in Schwerin. Mecklenburg.

The Lions' Gate, excavated by Heinrich Schliemann.

Ruins of ancient Mycenae

Excavations of Troy

In the Odyssey, Homer tells the story of a wooden horse that the Greeks used to outwit the Trojans. A copy of this horse stands among the ruins of Troy, discovered by Heinrich Schliemann.

Perhaps this is what a Trojan horse looked like

Thank you for your attention!

Schliemann Heinrich Schliemann Heinrich

(Schliemann) (1822-1890), German archaeologist. He discovered the location of Troy and excavated it, discovering numerous household items, including gold. Conducted excavations in Mycenae, Orchomen, Tiryns, etc.

SCHLIEMANN (Schliemann) Heinrich (January 6, 1822, Neubukov, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany - December 26, 1890, Naples), famous German self-taught archaeologist, discoverer and explorer of Troy, Mycenae, Tiryns and Orchomenus.
Self-taught polyglot
The son of a poor Protestant pastor. From the age of 7, after his father gave him a “World History for Children” with an image of Troy in flames, the discovery of this city described by Homer became his dream. Due to the misfortunes that befell the family, Schliemann was unable to complete his course at the gymnasium; he worked as a carer in a small shop, after which he got a job as a cabin boy on a ship leaving Hamburg for Venezuela. After a wreck off the Dutch coast, he begged for alms and went to Amsterdam, where he received a position as a delivery boy and then as an accountant in a trading office. He spent all his free time studying foreign languages, spending half his salary on his education, living in an attic and being content with the merest food. Starting with English, he learned French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese by reading loudly and learning exercises by heart. In 1844, he began to study the Russian language with the help of grammar, lexicon and a poor translation of The Adventures of Telemachus, and in 1846 he moved to St. Petersburg as an agent of a trading house to later open an independent indigo trade. Expanding his operations, Schliemann became a millionaire by the early 1860s. He made his main fortune during the Crimean War (cm. CRIMEAN WAR), supplying weapons.
Starting to make your dream come true
At the end of the 1850s, Schliemann traveled through Europe, Egypt, Syria, and visited the Cyclades and Athens. By this time, he had married his first Russian wife, Ekaterina (1852), and learned Arabic, Greek and Latin. After visiting the United States, he accepted American citizenship and retained it until the end of his life. In 1863, he finally closed his affairs in order to devote himself entirely to the realization of his dream - the discovery of Troy, known only from the poems of Homer, the historical authenticity of which was completely denied by scientists at that time. Previously, he decided to fill the gaps in his education. In 1864 he began in North Africa, where he examined the ruins of Carthage. Then he took a trip to India, to the shores of China and Japan. Dear Schliemann wrote his first book about the countries of the East he saw. In 1866 he settled in Paris to study archaeology.
Excavations of Troy
In 1868, through the Ionian Islands mentioned by Homer with Ithaca, through the Peloponnese and Athens, Schliemann went in search of ancient Troy, which burned down after its capture by the Achaeans. In 1869 he published his first study of Ancient Greece: Ithaca, Peloponnese and Troy. Preliminary data convinced the researcher that Troy could only be located on Hisarlik Hill. Having received permission from the Turkish government, in the fall of 1871 he began excavations here, which he carried out at his own expense with the assistance of his second (since 1869) wife, Greek Sophia. She was the same admirer of Homer as her husband, and an energetic assistant to him. She subsequently opened one of the domed tombs at Mycenae and continued to finance the excavations of Troy after the death of her husband. Excavations stopped for the winter and resumed in the spring. I had to put up with the inconveniences of bivouac life. The cold spring of 1873 was especially difficult. The reward was a large treasure, consisting of bronze weapons, several silver ingots, many copper, silver and gold vessels, two cups, two tiaras, about 8,700 small gold items, earrings, bracelets, etc. Schliemann produced with his own hands clearing treasures at the risk of life under a wall threatening to fall. The result of the excavations was the discovery of 7 successive cities in the Hissarlik hill. According to Schliemann, the bottom 5 were prehistoric, the 6th was Lydian, and the 7th was Greco-Roman Ilion. Schliemann took the 3rd, and later the 2nd, horizon from below for Homer's Troy.
A resounding success
According to Schliemann, Troy was located in the lower layers of the hill, which is why the upper layers were not studied too critically. What has survived from the second city is a circumferential wall with towers and gates, the ruins of a palace with porticoes, and the aforementioned large treasure - the “treasures of Priam.” This culture later turned out to be even older than the Mycenaean one. (cm. MYCENA). Homeric Troy turned out to be the sixth city, explored after Schliemann’s death by his collaborator and successor with an architectural education, Professor W. Derpfeld. Published in 1874 in the book “Trojan Antiquity,” Schliemann’s discoveries and theories were met with skepticism by many scientists, but the classic scientist, Prime Minister of England W. Gladstone (cm. GLADSTONE William Ewart) and the general public received them with delight. The book was imbued with the conviction of the usefulness of Homer's poems as a historical source. Subsequently, the author became more careful in his conclusions and hypotheses. And it is still doubted that the city discovered by Schliemann is really the historical Troy (Ilion).
"The Face of Agamemnon"
In 1874, work was suspended due to a lawsuit with the Turkish government over the division of finds, especially gold treasures, until April 1876, when Schliemann received new permission. While the troubles were going on, in 1874-76. Schliemann conducted excavations at Mycenae (cm. MYCENA)- a legendary city in the northern part of the Peloponnese. He studied in more detail the previously known ruins of the walls with the Lion Gate (14-13 centuries BC), discovering their base. As early as the 1860s, Schliemann became convinced that the graves of Agamemnon (cm. AGAMEMNON) and his companions mentioned by Pausanias (cm. PAUSANIA (writer)), should be sought inside the acropolis.
On August 7, 1876, he began excavations near the Lion Gate and soon discovered a double ring of stone slabs, an altar, several stone steles depicting scenes from military and hunting life, with spirals in the form of an ornament, and 5 shaft-shaped tombs with golden masks on some of the dead, tiaras , breastplates, baldrics, plaques, rings, bracelets and many weapons. The tombs also contained many vessels with images of bull heads, various animals, a natural ostrich egg, gold idols, etc.
Schliemann was sure that it was Agamemnon’s grave that he discovered (the book “Mycenae” of 1878), but many scientists recognize as certain only that these graves are royal. The archaeologist provided the richest finds, according to the law of the Greek Kingdom, to the Athens National Museum.
Excavations in Boeotia
After unsuccessful excavations on the island of Ithaca, the supposed homeland of Odysseus, in the fall of 1878, Schliemann again returned to the search on Hisarlik. In the extensive work “Ilios” 1881, he published an autobiography and a description of what he had done. In 1880, Schliemann carried out research in Orkhomenes in Boeotia with its famous “treasury of King Menaeus” - a domed tomb from the 14th century. BC e. with a diameter of 14 m. There also existed a Mycenaean palace with two-meter thick walls and rich fresco decoration. Schliemann also planned to carry out excavations in Georgia in the vicinity of Batumi, to find in ancient Colchis traces of the fabulous country of King Aeetes, where the Argonauts stole the Golden Fleece (this plan did not come true).
In 1882-83 The excavations of Hisarlik continued with the assistance of Derpfeld and the book “Troy” was published. Schliemann, despite lucrative offers from England, donated most of his Trojan finds to Germany (after World War II, the “treasures of Priam” were taken to the USSR, now in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow).
Tiryns Palace
In 1884-85. Together with Derpfeld, Schliemann carried out excavations in Tiryns, as if complementing the discoveries in nearby Mycenae. A 13th-century fortification system opened here. BC e. with galleries covered with false vaults made of huge blocks, as well as a large palace with propylaea, a portico, a megaron with a throne, halls, fresco paintings and an alabaster frieze. At the same time, the Greeks opened a similar palace in Mycenae. Their importance was not inferior to the Trojan antiquities. The Aegean Bronze Age civilization of the second half of the 2nd millennium BC was discovered. e., which became additional confirmation of classical legends.
In the last years of his life, Schliemann lived in Athens in a vast house built, where everything was reminiscent of Homer; children and servants were given the names of Greek heroes and heroines. A year before his death, Schliemann went to Troy to resolve scientific disputes and continued his research until August 1890. The next year he hoped to resume it, but in December he died in Naples and was buried in Athens.
The significance of Schliemann's discoveries
Schliemann opened an entire era in the history of Greece, the scale of which was not even suspected. The two unknown civilizations he discovered significantly lengthened the perspective of European history. Exploring Mycenaean (Homeric) Greece, Schliemann postulated the existence of a previous culture and would have discovered it during excavations at Knossos if the price set by the owner of the land had not outraged his feelings as a businessman. Schliemann was the first researcher of stratigraphy (cm. STRATIGRAPHIC METHOD)- the order of deposits of the cultural layer on the Near Eastern multi-layered tell hills, he attracted worldwide interest in the possibilities of the archaeological method, and also set standards for careful observation, careful reporting and prompt publication. Of course, his works must be used with some caution: Schliemann did not have a university education and was uncritical of ancient poetic works. However, his undisguised enthusiasm and faith in the truthfulness of Homer, which resulted in some mistakes, could not undermine his reputation. He was also the first popularizer of archaeological discoveries. By sending telegrams, publishing newspaper articles and books, he kept the world in constant suspense.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "Schliemann Heinrich" is in other dictionaries:

Schliemann Heinrich- Heinrich Schliemann. Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann Heinrich () German archaeologist. Trade made a huge fortune. In 1863, he left commercial activity and began searching for the places mentioned in Homer’s epic (Iliad, dreamed of finding... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of World History

Schliemann, Heinrich- Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann Heinrich (1822 90), German archaeologist. He discovered the location of Troy and excavated it, conducted excavations in Mycenae, Orkhomenes, etc. He supervised and financed the excavations. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

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Heinrich Schliemann (January 6, 1822, Neubukov, December 26, 1890, Naples), German archaeologist. He made a huge fortune through trade. In 1863 he left commercial activity and began searching for places mentioned in the Homeric epic. In 1869 he expressed... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann Occupation: Entrepreneur and amateur archaeologist ... Wikipedia

- (Schliemann, Heinrich) (1822 1890), German archaeologist who discovered Troy, one of the pioneers of modern science of antiquity. Born into the family of a poor pastor in Neubukov (Mecklenburg) on ​​January 6, 1822. At the age of 14 he entered the grocer's shop as a boy in... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Heinrich Schliemann- famous self-taught archaeologist. He spent his childhood in Ankershagen, where there were many stories about various treasures and there was an ancient castle with strong walls and mysterious passages. All this had a strong effect on the child’s imagination. From the age of 8, after his father gave him “World History for Children” with pictures and, by the way, with an image of Troy engulfed in flames, his dream was the discovery of Homer’s Troy, in the existence of which he unshakably believed.

In 1866, Schliemann settled in Paris and from then on devoted himself to the study of archeology. Having visited the Ionian Islands in 1868, including Ithaca, then the Peloponnese and Athens, Schliemann went to Troas. Before excavating at the site of ancient Troy, it was necessary to decide where to look for it - was it where the Greco-Roman “New Ilion” was, i.e. on the hill now called Hisarlik, or further south, where the village of Bunarbati is now, near the Bali-Dag hill. Preliminary research convinced Schliemann that ancient Troy could only be located on Hisarlik. After receiving permission from the Turkish government, in the fall of 1871 he began excavations here, which he carried out with the assistance of his second wife Sophia for many years, exclusively at his own expense. Schliemann dug deep into Troy, destroying all cultural layers, but discovering the Aegean culture. In the same year, Schliemann discovered the so-called " big treasure" or "Treasure of Priam" (Priam - king of Troy). The treasure consisted of bronze weapons, several silver ingots, a large number of vessels (copper, silver, gold) of different shapes and sizes, 2 magnificent tiaras, a headband, about 8700 small gold items, several earrings, bracelets, 2 cups, etc. Schliemann opened it with his own hand (to save it from theft by workers).

The result of these and subsequent searches by Schliemann was the discovery of several settlements or cities on Hisarlik, which arose one after another. Schliemann counted 7 of them, and he recognized 5 cities as prehistoric, the sixth as Lydian, and the seventh as Greco-Roman Ilion. Schliemann was convinced that he had discovered Homer's Troy, and initially mistook it for it. third city ​​and then second(counting from the mainland side), from which the circumferential wall with towers and gates, the ruins of a building (discovered later) - a palace with porticoes, with two halves, male and female, with a hall and a hearth, the above-mentioned “large treasure”, are quite well preserved, many vessels, often with the image of a head, weapons, mostly bronze, etc. These are the so-called " Trojan antiquities, monuments " Trojan culture." But this culture is much older than Homeric and even Mycenaean, and Schliemann fell into error, identifying this city with Homeric Troy. Homeric Troy turned out to be sixth a city explored after Schliemann's death.

Then Schliemann began excavations in Mycenae, which led to even more amazing discoveries. He explored here the previously well-known ruins of walls and the famous Lion Gate (the base of which was open to him) and discovered several domed graves, similar to the “treasury of King Atreus”. “Tholos” is a tomb that had a false vault (Schliemann called it “the treasury of Artaeus”, although nothing was found in it). Schliemann drew his main attention to the acropolis - the upper city where the nobility lived. On August 7, 1876, he began excavations near the Lion Gate, and soon discovered a rich culture, which has since been called Mycenaean- a circle of a double row or ring of stone slabs, an altar of Cyclopean construction, several stone steles with images of scenes from military and hunting life, with spirals in the form of an ornament, and, finally, 5 shaft-shaped graves, with the bodies of the dead and with a lot of jewelry - golden masks on some of the dead, diadems, breastplates, baldrics, plaques, rings with beautiful images of hunting and battles, bracelets, a variety of weapons, of which bronze swords with various images especially attract attention; with a mass of metal vessels, sometimes striking in their massiveness, clay vessels, distinguished by their lightness, with images of bull heads, various kinds of animals, with a natural ostrich egg, with golden idols, etc. Schliemann, in accordance with the law of the Greek kingdom, made his finds in Mycenae available to the government and they are stored in Athens.

Schliemann then excavated at Orchomenus (in Boeotia), with its famous “treasury of King Minius.”

This was followed by his remarkable discoveries in Tiryns, as if complementing those in Mycenae (1884). Shed light on the fortification system of Tiryns; to a network of galleries or chambers within its walls, and, most importantly, opened a large palace, with propylaea, porticoes, an altar, with two halves - male and female (gyneceum), with a hall (megaron), where there was a hearth, with a bathhouse and with al fresco painting, alabaster frieze, ornaments in the form of spirals and rosettes, clay idols, vessels, etc. All these are monuments of the Mycenaean era. Schliemann intended to carry out excavations in Crete, on the site of ancient Knossos, the capital of Minos, but he was unable to acquire the site on which the excavations were to take place.

In December 1890 he died in Naples. He was buried in Athens.