The Iliad & The Trojan War: Can Homer Be Trusted?
[A free copy of the Iliad is available in the Free Lit Archive]
Homer holds immense historical significance as a writer, primarily due to his famous epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. These works not only laid a foundation for Western literature, but also played a crucial role in shaping ancient Greek culture and identity.
The Iliad is often used by scholars, historians and archaeologists, to glean insights into the ancient world, including the location of the city of Troy, as "Iliad" can be translated from Ancient Greek as: "a poem about Ilium (Troy)."
According to Greek Mythology, the son of Tros, named Ilus was the founder of a city called Ilios or Ilion (Latinized as Ilium), to which he gave his name. When this city became the chief city of the Trojan people, it was often called "Troy," the name by which it is best known today.
Homer and the Iliad hold large significance in the understanding of Troy, in part thanks to Homer's portrayal of The Trojan War. The Iliad offers a vivid depiction of the legendary conflict, immortalizing the heroes, gods, and events surrounding the siege of Troy, as mythological legend and historical context converge in often confusing albeit entertaining ways. For instance, did the infamous Trojan Horse actually exist?
The Iliad has been instrumental in the search for the historical Troy. Scholars like Heinrich Schliemann famously used Homer's descriptions, particularly in the Iliad, to help guide his archaeological excavations in the late 19th century (See More Info).
Schliemann was known to carry a copy of the Iliad around the excavation site, joining Frank Calvert's efforts, where they found troves of jewelry, vases, gold and silver, and other precious objects in Hisarlik, Turkey in 1873.
Schliemann claimed they found the treasure of Priam, the legendary king of Troy, but many were leery to trust his claims, believing Schliemann may embellish, lacked experience, and had questionable archaeological practices.
While many claim the location of Troy is correct at Hisarlik, Turkey, there is still debate over exactly where this ancient site may be. Historians disagree about Troy's size, how a Trojan War conflict may have started, whether the city was a major regional player or a small one, and whether the people and places described by Homer were actually real, or rather mythical like the Greek Gods or mythical locations the Gods were said to visit. The exact relationship between myth and reality remains unclear, and scholars ultimately cannot agree on definitive evidence.
Questions of location apply not only to the city of Troy, but many historical sites of the ancient world that have been described as places where mythological events took place. An example of this is the Island of Samothrace, also known as Samothraki, described as a meeting place between the Gods and humans. It is described in the Iliad as the place where Poseidon sits on a mountaintop to observe the Trojan War. Is this just a mythological metaphor, or do legend and archaeology combine to create accurate insight into these locations? Do these details concerning the surrounding areas of Troy lend credence to the assumed location of the city at Hisarlik, or have legends of various areas been inaccurately corroborated?
This leads scholars to ask what cities pre-dated Troy that sat on the same site, or perhaps several, many cities that were built and destroyed on the same site over thousands of years. For example some of the loot Schliemann was claiming as the discovery of King Priam's treasure, failed to hold up under analysis, which dated the materials to a time predating the Trojan War by over 1,000 years, which would mean it belonged to an entirely different civilization than the one featured in Homer's epic poem.
Another issue is that Homer himself is often considered an untrustworthy narrator by scholars, and the historicity of the Iliad has been debated for centuries. Critics point out that Homer composed his epics several centuries after the events they depict, believing he was likely drawing from oral traditions that had evolved over time. Often scholars will warn readers that Homer's poems may contain historical inaccuracies, embellishments, and mythological elements.
Another interesting portrayal of when language and history can blend in confusion, is when one simply tries to answer: what was the skin color of the people of Troy? (See: Source 1, Source 2).
It is also important to note that few people in Homer's time would have been able to read and write. Homer himself describes a written message as being somehow magical, as the sender of the message did not expect the courier to be able to read it.
Most believe that Homer was writing in what is known as the "Greek Dark Ages," and in those times most historical tradition had to be carried orally. Many believe that Homer wove his tale from the stories of bardic singers or other musical languages. Scholars note that Homer does not write in a language of bards, but appears to be a later transcriber, fitting the songs into a new format, potentially mixing and matching songs to make a coherent story (See More Info).
There were various forms of musical languages around various regions at this time and throughout history, and the connection between music and Ancient Greek is a rich and complex subject.
The debate on Homer's accuracy persists, and while some consider parts of Homer's works to contain historical accuracy, others consider his works to be entirely imaginary, unconvinced that any archaeological findings hold weight to corroborate Homer's stories, and instead claim that most scholars of today generally consider Homer's works to be entirely historically inaccurate (See More Info).
Despite these concerns, the Iliad remains a valuable source for understanding ancient Greek mythology and culture. Homer's epic weaves together a rich tapestry of gods, heroes, and supernatural beings, offering insights into the religious beliefs, art, social values, and heroic ideals of the time.
Although Homer's mythological concepts may cause historical confusion, these creative depictions are part of why these stories remain interesting over generations, like interventions of gods such as Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Apollo, in the affairs of mortals, as well as the portrayal of heroes like Achilles, Hector, and Odysseus as larger-than-life figures with divine ancestry and destinies.
Homer's historical significance as a writer is undeniable, with his epic poems providing invaluable insights into the ancient world, which not only helped shape the culture of Western literature, but helped inspire historical excavations that continue to shape our understanding of history.
While scholars continue to debate the reliability of Homer's accounts and the historicity of Troy, his works remains essential for understanding Greek mythology, literature, and culture, and provide key context to the realm of world history at large.
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