Troy and Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery

by Joachim Latacz

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In this book Joachim Latacz, turns the spotlight of modern research on the much-debated question of whether the wealthy city of Troy described by Homer in the "Iliad" was a poetic fiction or a memory of historical reality. Earlier excavations at the hill of Hisarlik, in Turkey, on the Dardanelles, brought no answer, but in 1988 a new archaeological enterprise, under the direction of Manfred Korfmann, led to a radical shift in understanding. Latacz, one of Korfmann's closest collaborators, show more traces the course of these excavations, and the renewed investigation of the imperial Hittite archives they have inspired. As he demonstrates, it is now clear that the background against which the plot of the "Iliad" is acted out is the historical reality of the thirteenth century BC. The Troy story as a whole must have arisen in this period, and we can detect traces of it in Homer's great poem. show less

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1 review
Bisweilen (vor allem am Anfang) etwas zu enthusiastisch, was das Lesen ein wenig erschwert, sonst aber eine gute Einführung in die Problematik.
Die häufigen Wiederholungen sorgen einerseits dafür, dass man die Aufmerksamkeit verliert und anfängt zu gähnen, andererseits aber dafür, dass man trotz der stumm vorbeiziehenden Buchstabenreihen etwas vermittelt bekommt.
Was mir gefehlt hat, war die Abwesenheit eines Kapitels zur Frage, wer Homer war. Dass man dies nicht wissen kann, ist keine Ausrede, denn eine gute Hälfte des Buchs berichtet trotz Enthusiasmus über Sachen, die man nicht mehr erfahren könne.

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Antigua Grecia
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15+ Works 219 Members

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Gil Bera, Eduardo (Translator)

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Common Knowledge

Important places
Anatolia; Troy

Classifications

Genres
Nonfiction, History, Literature Studies and Criticism
DDC/MDS
939.21History & geographyHistory of ancient world (to ca. 499)Other parts of ancient worldWestern Asia MinorMysia, Troas
LCC
DF221 .T8 .L27History of Europe, Asia, Africa and OceaniaGreeceHistory of GreeceHistoryBy periodBronze Age, Minoan, and Mycenaean ages
BISAC

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104
Popularity
310,921
Reviews
1
Rating
½ (4.42)
Languages
English, German, Greek, Spanish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
7
ASINs
1