Did the Ancient Greeks Hide the True Location of Troy?

Ruins of the past metropolis of Pergamon, suggested arsenic the existent determination of the metropolis of Troy. Credit: Ferit Baycuman Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0

Most scholars hold that the ancient metropolis of Troy was located astatine today’s Hisarlik successful northwestern Anatolia. However, immoderate researchers person argued that the existent determination of Troy whitethorn person really been astatine Pergamon, further southbound on Anatolia’s coast. According to this theory, the existent determination of Troy was hidden by the past Greeks, specifically those from the city-state of Athens (Athenians). What is the grounds for this theory, and does it basal up to scrutiny?

Issues with Hisarlik arsenic the determination of Troy

The main proponent of this mentation is John Crowe, an autarkic researcher and writer of The Troy Deception. He asserts that the archetypal Troy was astatine Pergamon, not Hisarlik. Along with providing grounds successful favour of his suggested tract of Pergamon, Crowe supports his mentation by highlighting issues with placing Troy astatine Hisarlik.

One of the main issues is that Homer describes a blistery and a acold outpouring successful the vicinity of Troy. While determination are springs astatine Hisarlik, nary of them are thermal. In fact, adjacent past historians noted this issue. They observed that Ilium (the Troy of Classical Greece, astatine Hisarlik) did not person a blistery spring. The wide presumption was that it had disappeared done earthy means.

Another contented is the expected information that determination is nary plain betwixt Hisarlik and the beach, wherever the Greek forces would person camped. The coastline was overmuch person to Hisarlik successful antiquity than it is today, placing Hisarlik beside the beach. This is simply a problem, since Homer intelligibly describes the Greek and Trojan forces warring successful the plain of Troy.

Furthermore, Crowe points retired that Homer describes Troy arsenic having a steep acropolis. In contrast, helium claims that Hisarlik has nary specified acropolis. Another expected contented is that Hisarlik is overmuch excessively tiny to beryllium Homer’s Troy.

Additionally, the Trojans were sometimes referred to arsenic Teucrians. This appears to person been a sanction for the inhabitants of Teuthrania, adjacent Pergamon, astir 150km southbound of Hisarlik. Since Hisarlik is obscurity adjacent Teuthrania, this argues against Hisarlik arsenic being the existent tract of Troy.

Arguments successful favour of Pergamon arsenic Troy

Aside from highlighting grounds for wherefore Hisarlik cannot beryllium Homer’s Troy, John Crowe has besides recovered grounds that supposedly points to a circumstantial determination elsewhere. According to Crowe, the existent Troy was Pergamon successful the past portion of Mysia. This metropolis is astir 150km southbound of Hisarlik.

One of the superior pieces of grounds supporting this statement comes from a seventh-century BCE communicative astir the Trojan War, the Cypria. According to this account, the Greeks initially arrived astatine Teuthrania successful Mysia, mistook it for Troy, and attacked it. They are past said to person returned home, though a tempest scattered the fleet.

Eventually, the Greek forces rendezvoused astatine the larboard municipality of Aulis connected mainland Greece. From there, they acceptable disconnected again to onslaught Troy, this clip arriving astatine the close place.

John Crowe argues that this is simply a mendacious repetition of the communicative of the Trojan War. He notes that Homer does not look to hint astatine the thought of the Greeks archetypal attacking a metropolis successful Mysia by mistake. Therefore, helium argues that Teuthrania, oregon a antithetic adjacent city, was the real, archetypal Troy.

Furthermore, Homer refers to a portion of the metropolis of Troy arsenic Pergamos. It is the sanction that helium gives to Troy’s citadel. Based connected this, Crowe argues that Pergamon was the existent Troy. He besides suggests that galore features described by Homer tin beryllium seen successful the vicinity of this city, dissimilar astatine Hisarlik.

How the Athenians hid the existent determination of Troy

Ruins of past Troy astatine Hisarlik, present-day Turkey. Credit: Sonse / CC BY 2.0

Despite these arguments, Crowe cannot refute the information that Homer’s Iliad decidedly relies connected Troy being astatine Hisarlik oregon a adjacent location. Various details marque that clear. One evident information is that the Scamander River supposedly flowed conscionable past Troy. This matches Hisarlik, but not Pergamon.

However, Crowe gets astir this occupation by arguing that the Athenians altered Homer’s Iliad successful the 6th period BCE. This is not extracurricular the realms of plausibility, fixed that the Athenians had so standardized the Iliad’s substance astatine that time. Therefore, they had the means and the opportunity. However, did they person a motive?

In the sixth period BCE, the Athenians were engaged successful a quality implicit the onshore of Sigeion. This was successful the Troad, conscionable adjacent to Hisarlik. To enactment their assertion that the onshore was rightfully theirs, they supposedly pointed to the information that they had participated successful the Trojan War, portion their combatants, the Mytilenaeans, had not.

Hence, they altered the Iliad to spot the onshore of Troy astatine Hisarlik, frankincense giving them the close implicit that land.

Issues with this theory

There are galore problems with this mentation nether examination. For instance, many, if not all, of the objections levelled against Hisarlik bash not truly basal up to scrutiny.

Hisarlik was so precise adjacent to the seashore successful the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. However, determination is nary crushed to judge that the Greeks had to person encamped close adjacent to the city. In fact, communal consciousness would reason against this. Scholars mostly spot the Greek campy to the west, astatine the basal of Cape Sigeion.

With this successful mind, determination would so person been a ample plain betwixt the Greek campy and Hisarlik. As for the Acropolis, Crowe himself notes the following:

“Hisarlik is perched connected the borderline of a plateau overlooking the plain of the Mendere River. From the plain, it appears to beryllium perched connected the borderline of a cliff.”

This surely matches Homer’s statement of a steep acropolis. Regarding Troy’s size, archaeologists person been alert of a immense little metropolis attached to the citadel of Hisarlik for years. What astir the Trojans being alternatively known arsenic Teucrians? This comes from the information that Teucer was the dynasty of Troy’s legendary ancestor, for which crushed the onshore was primitively known arsenic Teucria. It has thing to bash with the metropolis of Teuthrania adjacent Pergamon.

While the Athenians could perchance person altered the substance of Homer’s Iliad, it is unthinkable that they could person erased each hint of Troy’s expected existent determination from oral contented and non-Homeric records.