Customer Reviews

In Search of the Trojan War: Complete & Unabridged

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Only someone like Michael Wood could breath life into such a subject as Troy; his 6 part P.B.S. "Trojan War" series back in 1985 is one of my favorites! The only other author who is as passionate about his subject matter is John Romer. His "Ancient Lives" series is not to be missed.

What I found almost as interesting as the search for Troy, were the varied personalities in the search. Frank Calvert, for example. Were it not for his direction, Schliemann may have never have uncovered what he did.

Sir Arthur Evans died a spent man, both physically and financially, due to the intensity with which he approached Troy.

Carl Blegen's 7 season dig was carried out the with a surgeon's precision. He seemed so passionate about Troy, yet in thought and appearance, so restrained.

Did the war actually occcur? After reading the book, seeing the video, I believe it did; however, still doubts remain. Homer and The Iliad await vindication thirty-two hundred years after the "fact".

After reading the book, I became very interested in archeology. I have visited Ephesus and Herculaneum. Heretofore, having no interest in the subject at all; this, I feel, is the greatness of an author and his/her subject matter. To convey to the reader the excitment, intrigue and triumph that stories like this offer and to draw the reader into the mystery.

That an author can inspire, stir up enthusiasm and interest in this way is a triumph!

This book get a "Two Thumbs Up--Way Up!"

In this excellent book, Michael Wood covers the history of the modern search for the Troy of Homer's Iliad, and makes a strong case for the Trojan War being a historical occurrence, with most of the details in the Iliad being likewise historical.

About half the book is devoted to the major archeological digs at Hisarlik, a site in northwest Turkey, that is the likely site of Troy. Wood puts the discoveries at these digs in a broad context, both geographically and economically, for example in terms of archeological discoveries about contemporaneous sites in Greece and Crete and their implications about trade and warfare, and historically, in terms of the development of the archeologists' own theories over the last century and a half. He also pinpoints which archeological layer is most likely the city that was sacked by the Greeks - specifically, a layer called Troy VI, with n grand, imposing city wall surrounding a stately central city of broad avenues.

What I found most interesting, though, was the discussion of historical accounts from the various major powers of the day - the linear B tablets from the Greek city states, the diplomatic archives of the Hittite empire in what is now Turkey, and accounts from the Egypt of Rameses II and III. To me, these really brought to life the late bronze age civilization of the Eastern Mediterranean - arguably a higher civilization than the early iron age civilization that followed.

Overall, this book does a terrific job of not only showing when and how the Trojan War actually occurred, but also why, in terms of the dynamics between the 'great powers' of the day.

Here's the thing I like about Wood; he gets excited about the little things. It comes through best on the BBC/PBS specials, but when going through the book, you see it shine through as well. He absolutely *loves* what he writes about, and as a result, he's one of the most entertaining authors I've come across.

I read this book for one of my mythology classes, and it's one of the few that I kept. It's very well-written, and just utterly fascinating. It's interesting to know just how sophisticated Bronze Age civilizations really were, and that we're not that superior to them after all. Reading about the Hittites made me want to visit Turkey (after hitting Hissarlik, of course!).

The best part, though, was an anecdote about a clay tablet found still in an oven, composed by a king calling for assistance from his overlord. Reading the emotions of the writer between the lines, thousands of years after this tablet was made, was incredibly moving.

Darn, I love this book.

I first purchased this book when it was first published, and to give you an idea how much I enjoyed it I also purchased the new edition. While I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Kenny's review it should be noted that to the small royal citadel of only 5 or so acres described in the first editon there should be added a lower fortified town encompassing a further 45 acres. These new finds, showing Troy to be significantly larger in scale than even Mycenae and thus a major Anatolian citadel even more in keeping with Homer's descriptions are addressed in the new edition.

A fascinating book that covers not only the major archaeological events that have led to our current understanding of Troy; where it was and what it was like, but also the Homeric legend, the many disciples and followers a period of history that is so often seen as a Golden Age. Michael Wood combines a very clear and discriptive writing style with a very obvious attraction to his subject, producing a book that is both a delightful read, and highly imformative. He captures both the reality of Troy (probably no more than a couple of hundred yards by a couple of hundred yards, and windy) with all the majesty and romanticism of Homer. He describes the work and results of the great characters of the archaeology of the period; Calvert, Evans, and of course the larger-than-life Heinrich Schliemann. The arguments, the egos and the finds. He brings together the effects that the of story of Troy has had through the ages and across many cultures; it's legendary characters and great deeds, as well as their very human failings. For a fascinating account of the history, archaeology, legends and personalities of Troy, and of the Homeric story, I would recommend Mr Wood's book.

I was first intrigued by M. Wood through his BBC programs, but i am more impressed with his book. In comparison to the BBC programs, the book is able to give much greater detail and thus continuity to the whole story of Greece, Troy and the immortal sacking of Troy. Mr Wood is a true historian in that his analysis is exhaustive, intellectual and above all--objective. Moreover, his passion can bring the reader to the windswept plain of Troy itself.

Wood takes this question to its final conclusion although the answer is somewhat confusing. Possibly the most interesting find of the search are the Linear B tablets. Containing the actual script of the ancient Greeks, these stone writing tablets contain actual lists of a farmers flock. Etc, of a king's troops. If you've ever been curious about Troy, this book is for you.

Wood takes this question to its final conclusion although the answer is somewhat confusing. Possibly the most interesting find of the search are the Linear B tablets. Containing the actual script of the ancient Greeks, these stone writing tablets contain actual lists of a farmers flock. Etc, of a king's troops. If you've ever been curious about Troy, this book is for you. Equally interesting are the stories about Heinrich Schlieman the self-proclaimed archaeologist who claimed to have found "Troy 1" and really dug up and destroyed anything of value in those old remains. Thanks to his selfish efforts it is doubtful if the real truth about Troy will ever be known for sure.

The Trojan War holds a grip on the imagination like few other events in mythology. Part of the modern interest in the myth is due to the startling confirmation over the past century that Troy was a real place, located exactly where the legend puts it, with even minor details of topography from Homer's text backed up by archaeological evidence. This makes Troy a fascinating subject to discuss, but also a dangerous one: it's too easy to let the imagination run riot and conclude that perhaps the legend is a true story, that Agamemnon and Achilles were real people, and the survivors of Troy did go on to found Rome.

Back in the mid-1980s Michael Wood produced a TV documentary for the BBC based on the premise that the Trojan War was a real even that took place approximately in the 12th Century BC. This accompanying book and its later second and third editions expanded on the idea: Wood proposes that Troy was a client-state of the Hittite Empire that fell prey to a series of incursions into Asia Minor by the Greeks, at that time dominated by Mycenae. Mycenae was reaching the zenith of its power and in fact would soon face a rapid decline and collapse. In one of its last expansions of power it tried to expand its empire into the Near East whilst the Hittites were distracted by clashes with the Egyptians, Assyrians and other neighbouring powers, and Troy was one of the cities destroyed in the process.

Wood outlines the 'discovery' of the site of Troy (a hill in Turkey a few miles from the Dardanelles called Hisarlik) by the early archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the mid-19th Century and the work by Schliemann and others in uncovering the site and other notable contemporary locations, including Mycena. Wood describes the problems associated with these digs, which tended to be rushed and even destructive ("Schliemann has left us with the ruin of a ruin," he laments at one point) before later, more careful archaeologists could work on the sites. Accompanied by illustrations and numerous photographs of the site (some modern, some from Schliemann's time), Wood describes in clear detail the problems presented by the fact that Troy is divided into 'layers', with the city inhabited both before and after the time of the alleged Trojan War, and dating the war to the correct layer is problematic (both the sixth and seventh layers have been proposed as 'Homer's Troy', and both have issues fitting that conclusion).

After this, Wood expands the scope to incorporate the entire Eastern Mediterranean at the time of the 12th-13th centuries BC. This was a time of surprisingly frequent international relations: the Hittite, Egyptian and Assyrian rulers tended to correspond with one another directly (and, less frequently with their more distant Mycenaean neighbours) and trade flourished between their nations (with wars - even large ones - put down as minor and temporary disagreements, soon mended). Amusingly, there are even surviving tablets featuring the Hittite queen exchanging minor court gossip with Ramses II, one of the greatest Egyptian pharaohs. Unfortunately, the record is frustratingly incomplete, and Greek-Hittite discussions over a troublesome matter in the west which resulted in military activity (a clash over the city of Wilusa, and notably the Greek of Homer's time doesn't use the 'W', meaning he would have called it 'Ilusa', which is close to 'Ilium') are particularly fragmented.

Wood describes the situation well, first exploring the archaeological unearthing of Troy and other important sites. He describes the work and research done that uncovered the Hittites, a mighty empire of the ancient world that had fallen so completely that evidence of its existence was only uncovered a century ago, and how they provided a 'missing link' that explained the balance of power of the time. Sites contemporaneous with Troy are explored and shared pottery remnants and tablets written in the same languages are used to trace a network of trade and political relations between cities and nations. Pottery and pictures of the time depicting siege engines as stylised giant wooden horses smashing down city walls provide clues as to the origin of the Trojan Horse legend. But every time a conclusion seems to drift into view, it's frustratingly snatched away by a gap in the records.

Woods' solution to this is to present 'scenarios' which he acknowledges are highly speculative but nevertheless credible. The problem is a lack of specific mentions or references to Troy in the historical record of the time. Wood suggests that the evidence supports a more widespread incursion into Asia Minor by the Greeks, with Troy as a minor sideshow at best, and this is supported by strong evidence that the Greeks had an enclave on the shores of south-western Anatolia around the city of Miletus. However, the evidence that the Greeks launched attacks in north-western Asia Minor is much more limited.

This is the book's greatest weakness: whilst discoveries at Troy, Mycenae and in the old Hittite ruins have resulted in some spectacular revelations over the last century, and expose a fascinating and more complex world than Homer suggests, they also stop short of giving us enough data to draw solid conclusions about the Trojan War. Wood seems to reluctantly agree with this in the final assessment: that having gone in search of the Trojan War, he can only prove that it could have happened, but no more than that. But the uncertainty allows for the myth of the Trojan War to live on, awaiting more archaeological discoveries to illuminate the time.

In Search of the Trojan War (****) is a well-researched book that succinctly (in less than 300 pages) provides an overview of the archaeological history of the region and allows Wood to present the evidence for his broad conclusions about the period. Occasionally he gets drawn a little too far down the path of 'speculative' musings rather than sticking strictly with the evidence, but these musings are well-signposted in advance.

This is the up-dated edition of Michael Wood's classic work on the Trojan War. The new material is important in light of recent excavations at Troy. As always, Wood's books are exceptionally interesting to anyone keen on history, archaeology and travel. But, as good as the book is, the DVD of the original television series that the book accompanied is even better. I wouldn't be without either.