Horizon TV - Troy 2004 - Richard Miles TV - Bettany Hughes TV - Ancient Aliens TV -
In May this year Hollywood releases its latest epic. It’s the story of the Trojan war. But is any of it more than just a myth? Tonight Horizon can reveal the latest scientific evidence about the real Troy. The evidence comes from the written tablets of a lost civilisation; a lost shipwreck and treasure uncovered at Troy itself. Horizon: The Truth of Troy, BBC 2004
The story was composed by the Greek poet Homer almost three thousand years ago. It’s so compelling that for centuries people wondered whether any of it was true. Was there a war fought for love? Did a coalition of Greeks set sail? Did Troy even exist? ibid.
The first breakthrough was made by Heinrich Schliemann in 1870. He was something of an amateur but he had other qualities ... They placed Troy in the north west corner of what is now Turkey ... Fifteen metres down he found a walled palace with a paved ramp leading to a gate. Schliemann thought he had found Homer’s Troy. The rest of the world wasn’t so sure. But in this trench he answered the doubters with a breath-taking discovery: treasure. ibid.
These jewels could never have been worn by Helen. They were more than a thousand years too old. Schliemann had dug down too deep. ibid.
Perhaps there was more to Troy than had so far been uncovered. Outside the city walls [Manfred] Korfmann’s team began to excavate ... A city of the late Bronze Age was now revealed. Korfmann believes it was a sizeable city with a population between four and eight thousand. ibid.
After three thousand years the legendary city of Troy seemed to have become a reality. It seemed there was some historical truth in the myth. But there was still no evidence that Troy had been destroyed as Homer said by an enemy army ... Soon they began to find evidence of violence. ibid.
But were the Greeks capable of mounting an expedition together? ibid.
Another possible motivation for a war began to emerge from the stones of Mycenae. That motivation was greed. ibid.
[Manfred] Korfmann believes that Troy became a wealthy city because of its strategic position as a gateway between two continents. So it seems Troy was a very desirable city, desirable to the Mycenaeans because of its wealth. ibid.
The late Bronze Age was a time of rich trade, of great wealth being moved across the high seas. ibid.
The Hittites ... A superpower of the late Bronze Age ... The tablets described festering conflicts involving the Mycenaeans all along the coast ... Conflicts spread over two hundred years. The tablets stated Mycenaean warriors had once fought at the gates of Troy to win Helen back. That it was a war of love and vengeance. It makes a wonderful story but it has never seemed very likely. ibid.
The tablets show that Troy was an ally of the Hittites. If Troy was attacked the Hittites were likely to come and fight alongside them. So Homer’s legend appears to have been based on a real conflict between two superpowers of the Late Bronze Age – the Mycenaeans and the Hittites. ibid.
So there was no face that launched by a thousand ships. The war or wars were not fought for love but more likely for gold and loot. And what of the Trojan Horse? ibid.
3,200 Years Ago: After decades of warfare Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, has forced the kingdoms of Greece into a loose alliance. Only Thessaly remains unconquered. Agamemnon’s brother Menelaus, King of Sparta, is weary of battle. He seeks to make peace with Troy, the most powerful rival to the emerging Greek nation. Achilles, considered the greatest warrior ever born, fights for the Greek Army. But his disdain for Agamemnon’s rule threatens to break the fragile alliance apart. Troy 2004 starring Brad Pitt & Eric Bana & Orlando Bloom & Rose Byrne & Peter O’Toole & Diane Kruger & Brian Cox & Sean Bean & Julie Christie & Saffron Burrows et al, director Wolfgang Petersen, opening caption
The Mycenaeans ... had learnt the arts of civilisation from the Minoans. Richard Miles, Ancient Worlds II: Age of Iron, BBC 2010
The catastrophe of the sea peoples is one of the break points of our story. ibid.
She has been called the most beautiful woman on Earth. She became the face that launched a thousand ships. She has been blamed for starting the Trojan War. A war that brought death and suffering to thousands: Helen of Troy. Bettany Hughes, Helen of Troy
They are very human. The drama starts with a messy love affair. ibid.
These poems tell how the Trojan and Greek heroes fought a long and bloody battle over Helen. All stirred up by the deities on Mount Olympus. ibid.
3,500 thousand years ago the Peloponnese was home to the powerful Mycenaean civilisation. ibid.
Powerful female spirits standing at the heart of Mycenaean culture. ibid.
Helen and Menelaus were married. ibid.
Helen and Paris are on the run. ibid.
So even in her later years Helen still crackles with danger. ibid.
These Mycenaean fortifications were thought to be the work of a strong one-eyed race of giants known as the Cyclops. Ancient Aliens s2e6: Alien Tech, History 2010