Historicity Of The Iliad
The extent of the historical basis of the Iliad has been a topic of scholarly debate in classical studies since the 19th century. While the Age of Enlightenment had rejected the story of the Trojan War as fable, the discoveries made by Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik reopened the question in modern terms, and the subsequent excavation of Troy VIIa and the discovery of the toponym "Wilusa" in Hittite correspondence has made it plausible that the Trojan War cycle was at least remotely based on a historical conflict of the 12th century BC, even if the poems of Homer are removed from the event by more than four centuries of oral tradition.
Read more about Historicity Of The Iliad: History, Status of The Iliad, The Iliad As Essentially Legendary, The Iliad As Essentially Historical, The Iliad As Partly Historical
Famous quotes containing the word iliad:
“The genuine remains of Ossian, or those ancient poems which bear his name, though of less fame and extent, are, in many respects, of the same stamp with the Iliad itself. He asserts the dignity of the bard no less than Homer, and in his era, we hear of no other priest than he.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)