Over the years, there has been a controversy about whether ancient sources give an accurate record of events as they happened during the Greek Bronze Age. To put matters to rest, several archaeologists have excavated some areas around ancient Greece and their discoveries suggest that the ancient records on the Bronze Age are not farfetched. From time immemorial, people have used stories, poems and other pieces of writing to preserve their most precious heritages. This has enabled generations after generations not only to gain an insight into the ancient Greece, but also other civilizations in the world as well. A perfect example is the ancient Greek mythologies narrated by Homer. Although people did not take the ancient sources on the Greek Bronze Age as gospel truth, archaeological evidence discovered around the ancient Greece has vindicated their work.
One of the ancient sources which give an insight into the Greek Bronze Age is Homer’s epic poems. Many centuries ago, Homer, one of the most revered ancient Greek poets, penned down Iliad and Odyssey. Although historians date the poems to 8th century B.C., the poems narrate events which took place much earlier than that. Nonetheless, one thing is quite evident from the Homeric poems: the rise of the Classical Greece and epic battles marking the famous Trojan War. During this period, Homer paints a picture of a besieged city of Troy, and the quarrels that took place between King Agamemnon and one of his warriors named Achilles. Homer also makes references to Greek legends that give the background of the war, and other events such as warriors gathering to attack the city.
Through Homer, the readers get to know of the Trojan civilization, which was later felled by the Greeks; Homer paints a picture of a powerful Trojan empire with a flourishing trade and a powerful army. It is also evident that the Trojan civilization enjoyed sophisticated writing techniques and the use of coins as a form of trading. The fall of the Trojan empire marked the end of the Bronze Age era, which had started earlier with the emrgence of the Minoan empire. Ironically, the period when Homer was writing the poems is considered the Dark Age; it is the period historians associate with little trade and isolated agricultural settlements. This is a sharp contrast, and untimely departure, from what Homer purports to portray in his poems. Homer paints the picture of a flourishing kingdom, a large military, and grand palaces decorated with ornaments of great value. Probably, it is because of this reason that Homer’s narration of a powerful kingdom was thought to be a poetic fiction only.
Other records, set in the Mycenaean Greece during the Bronze Age and which date back to 750– 650 BC also portrays the picture of sophistication. The Mycean people lived under the rule of the Minoans, until they conquered Crete at around 1400. The Minoan empire, which is estimated to have existed between 27th to 15th centuries BCE, arose in the Island of Crete. The Minoans introduced a more civilized form of agriculture, and the people expressed themselves through art and religion. The people also established sophisticated architecture designs such as the King’s place, which was beautifully decorated. However, the ancient sources do not clearly define the various levels of civilizations during the Bronze Age: the Minoan, Mycean and the Trojan civilizations. The archeologists made these distinctions possible through their work.
Despite these epic tales narrated by Homer, many people still believed that the ancient sources were a mere fiction, and did not take place in reality. However, the early sources were vindicated in the 19th century when a German national named Heinrich Schliemann discovered a large Bronze Age city after excavating some pieces of land in the present-day Northwest Turkey. Schliemann’s archaeological work opened the doors for other works which seem to corroborate the ancient sources.
Heinrich Schliemann, born and bred in Germany, had always been fascinated with Greek mythologies. Of particular interest to Heinrich Schliemann were the myths that talked about the Trojan War. Convinced that the stories were not myths but a reality, Schliemann was determined to prove that Homer was right. In 1870, Heinrich Schliemann made a journey that would forever change the history of the world. The German banker travelled to Turkey and excavated some places where people suspected to contain fossil records. His strategy was to locate the names of the ancient places and excavate them.
Although the excavation began at a place called Ithaka, it was actually at Ilion and Mycenae that the archaeologist made some important discoveries. At a site identified as Troy/Ilion, Schliemann discovered some remains which suggested the presence of a large Bronze Age city. The city was excavated in levels, and Schliemann was convinced that the discovery corresponded to the Ilion in the Homer’s Iliad. After proceeding to Greece, and carrying out excavation at Mycenae and Tiryns, Schliemann also discovered some evidence which could be linked to the powerful Bronze Age civilization narrated in Homer’s poems. The remains found by the archaeologist also found the presence of materials which suggested an armed conflict. Schliemann’s discovery was strengthened years later when, another archaeologist named Arthur Evans uncovered more evidence in Crete.
At, approximately, the beginning of the 20th century, Arthur Evans, a British national made a journey to Crete. At Crete, Evans discovered some evidence of Bronze Age civilization. Before this discovery, the archeological remains of Crete presented a picture of a haphazard Bronze Age culture. However, this view was completely transformed by Evans’s discovery of remains of a large palace called Knossos. Inhabitants of the site continually found some interesting objects as they tilled their land, and this further convinced Evans that the site could be harboring some archaeological evidence. In 1899, Evans uncovered Knossos, a grand palace decorated with frescoes and sophisticated pottery. Evans later named the civilization the Minoan civilization – a name which was borrowed from the Greek myths of King Minos. The Frescoes and evidence of running water convinced the archaeologist that the empire was highly civilized. Evans also named the writings on the walls of the palace Liner A and Liner B. After Arthur Evans made this discovery, another archaeologist named Manfred Korfmann became interested in uncovering more about the ancient Greece. Years later, Manfred Korfmann’s archeological findings also pointed out the things alluded to by the early records.
Manfred Korfmann was particularly interested in Troy. After being given exclusive rights to excavate Troy, memories of the Greek myths of Troy were rekindled among many people. His discoveries proved that Troy was larger than most people thought, and there was existence of trade routes especially around Dardanelles. Moreover, Korfmann’s discovery proved the existence of the several Bronze Age cities. More importantly, the archaeological evidence seemed to give credence to the idea that the Trojan War took place. The presence of remains of sling bullets, for instance, shows that the people were defending themselves, or some form of confrontation took place. The presence of evidence that suggests that there were repairs to the city of Troy also confirms that the city of Troy was attacked, and the repairs were undertaken to strengthen the city’s fortifications. In light of this, there is a high degree of possibility that there was an armed conflict between the Greeks and the people of Troy.
Together with Heinrich Schliemann’s and Arthur Evans’s discovery earlier, the new findings changed people’s notions about the early Greece. It was now evident that the Bronze Age was clearly more sophisticated than people thought of it earlier and the Trojan War actually did take place. Since then, more precise and informative pieces of archeology have been found, and this has given the ancient Greek sources some valuable impetus. Above all, the early records on the ancient Greece have been vindicated. Indeed, this is a proof that literature is indispensable when it comes to preserving people’s culture and their way of life. In light of this matter, it is only fait to say that all pieces of recording and writing preserver society’s culture as it is and therefore, it is the only cushion people have in preserving evidence such that future generations can learn of their predecessors. However, this relies on the reliability of the informer. If it were not for the precise ancient records, who would have thought of going back though time and carrying out an excavation to get the truth?
Works Cited
Karavites, Peter. Homer and the Bronze age: the reflection of humanistic ideals in diplomatic
practices. Danvers, MA: Gorgias Press , 2008. Print.
Strauss, Barry S. The Trojan War. London: Arrow Books , 2007. Print.
Thompson, Diane P. The Trojan War: Literature and Legends from the Bronze Age to the
Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland , 2004. Print.
