Archaeology investigates the reality of the Trojan War and the existence of the city

Oral tradition about the Trojan War circulated for centuries before being recorded by Homer, around the 8th century BC. There is a debate about Homer's existence, as he might have been a specific person or a name used by a group of writers. Regardless, when the poems emerged, the story was already ancient. According to the narrative, the Trojan War occurred around 1200 BC, while 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' were written approximately five hundred years later.

The Siege and the Legend

According to legend, the conflict began when Paris, a prince of Troy, abducted Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world and wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. In another version, Helen fled voluntarily with Paris. The Greeks, who lived in independent kingdoms, united in an alliance to invade Troy and rescue Helen. The Greek army included heroes such as Achilles and Odysseus, king of Ithaca, under the main command of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae.

Troy, a fortified city, resisted the Greek attacks, resulting in a ten-year siege. The war ended with the famous Trojan Horse trick, which allowed Greek warriors hidden inside to enter the city. With this strategy, the Mycenaeans won, recovered Helen, and destroyed Troy.

Shift in Historical Perspective

The Trojan narratives contain many mythological elements, with the gods of Olympus intervening directly in the war, classifying them as fiction. However, the question raised is whether they were inspired by real events. In Ancient Greece, the poems were seen as fantastic narratives, but based on real life, implying that the Trojan War actually happened. This view persisted until the Middle Ages. However, the opinion began to change in the Modern Age, starting in the 17th century, when scholars began to doubt the veracity of the accounts, questioning not only the war but also the very existence of the city.

This perspective changed at the end of the 19th century, thanks to Heinrich Schliemann, a wealthy businessman. The German fervently defended the historicity of the Homeric works and searched for the ruins of Troy to prove his thesis, even without formal training in archaeology, a field still nascent.

Archaeological Discoveries at Hisarlik

Schliemann traveled to the archaeological site of Hisarlik, on the west coast of Turkey, where rumors of ancient ruins already existed. He began excavations in the 1870s and surprisingly discovered a lost city, actually nine cities built upon previous ones. The site was inhabited for about three millennia, generating nine archaeologically datable 'layers' with some precision.

Schliemann claimed to have found Troy and pointed to Layer 2, the second oldest, as the specific location of the conflict. Currently, most historians and archaeologists agree that he discovered Troy (the name used as a synonym for Hisarlik), but they note a discrepancy: the second layer was much older, a thousand years before the supposed conflict.

Later analyses indicated that the layer temporally corresponding to 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' is Layer 7. If a war occurred, its traces are there. The sixth layer, preceding the seventh, could have inspired Homer because it was richer, but it was destroyed by an apparent earthquake.

Controversies and Evidence from Layer 7

Schliemann is a controversial figure in archaeology due to his questionable methods, such as the use of dynamite for excavation, which caused destruction in many layers. Furthermore, he did not document everything in detail and tended to neglect items such as ceramics. His focus on Layer 2 resulted in damage to the upper layers, including Layer 7, associated today with the Trojan War. Despite this, researchers managed to excavate it and find relevant findings.

Layer 7 of Troy shows signs of war around 1200 BC, including burned structures, unburied bodies (indicating massacre), and fragments of arrows and weapons. Although it is unknown who was responsible for the destruction and no giant wooden horse has been found, the hypothesis that there was a war in Troy that inspired later oral stories is strong. However, there is no consensus, as the archaeological findings are limited, and destruction by natural disaster remains a possibility.

Written Sources and the Hittite Empire

No written documents were found in Troy, nor any Mycenaean primary sources about the event. An important source resides in Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey, where the powerful Hittite Empire existed, an economic and military power of the Late Bronze Age, which recorded many documents.

Although Troy probably was not directly part of the Hittite Empire, it seemed to be a vassal state or within its sphere of influence. Located between the Hittites and the Mycenaeans (proto-Greek civilization), Troy occupied a crucial commercial area. Most historians agree that Troy is mentioned in Hittite documents under the name Wilusa, which offers a second proof of its existence.

Hittite documents report conflicts in Wilusa, but there is never a direct mention of a battle between Mycenaeans and Trojans. One valuable document cites the King of Troy, Alaksandu, who resembles Alexander, another name used by Homer for Paris. However, this does not prove the Trojan War, as Alaksandu existed about a century before the supposed conflict, and he was a king, whereas Paris was a prince who died before ascending the throne. Nevertheless, the record confirms the existence of the name Alexander in the royalty of Wilusa/Troy, reinforcing the possibility of Paris.

In summary, there is no consensus on the Trojan War. The city existed, and there are indications of conflicts, including around 1200 BC. Details are unknown, neither archaeological nor from the Hittite documents. One possibility is that a real Mycenaean-Trojan war was preserved orally and became mythical over time, while another suggests that Homer was inspired by multiple conflicts.