During the period when the brilliant Mycenaean civilization flourished in Greece, Asia Minor was dominated by another empire, that of the Hittites. However, after the battle of Qades (Hittites against Egyptians) in the 13th century B.C. the power of this state began to decline. Thus, at the western end of Asia Minor, two state formations were created, that of Assuwa in the North and that of Arzawa in the South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having escaped from the “guardianship” of the Hittites, these two states or alliances of states, developed and evolved into strong naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean area, challenging the primacy of the Greeks of the western coast of the Aegean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gradually the northern state of Assouva became the center of the “Western Asia Minor” Greek confederation. Its capital was not recognized as Troy, the Homeric Ilion. From its position, Troy controlled some of the most important trade routes of the time, as a result of which it quickly turned into a powerful metropolis of the Greeks of Asia Minor (Troy was a colony of Greeks who passed across Lemnos, which is why Trojans and Achaeans spoke same language and worshiped these gods).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gradually its influence extended to the European coast. The Kikones and Paeones \u2013 Thracian Greek tribes \u2013 appear in the Epics as allies of the Trojans. In fact, Herodotus in his seventh book mentions, comparing the campaign of Xerxes with that of the Trojans, that the latter had not only extended their influence in Europe, but had also brought under their control the whole of Thrace and Macedonia and had arrived as the Ionian Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this way the Achaeans were even excluded from the land trade routes to the North and were threatened with economic suffocation. It is easy to see that such a situation could not be tolerated by the powerful Mycenaean Empire. The Mycenaean anaktes \u2013 local governors in fact \u2013 sided with the emperor Agamemnon and attacked their own sex. One of the largest and bloodiest civil wars was just beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mycenae and Troy, the two great rival cities, like Athens and Sparta, led parallel lives. Both were for a time considered mythological places, existing only in Homer’s imagination. The persistence of some romantics, however, brought them back to the light, resurrected them in the great book of History.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two cities were built around the same time, with Troy appearing slightly older. According to the famous archaeologist Blegen, Troy was founded in 3200 BC. And all the archaeological evidence agrees with the acceptance of the opinion that it was founded by Lemnian settlers, from the famous Poliochni. Accordingly, Mycenae, the traces of the first habitation in which were previously dated around 3000 BC. they also appear “older”, after the dates of the professor and academician Ioannou Lyrintzis, with the method of thermoluminescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on this method, the cyclopean walls of the acropolis date back to around 3000 BC. instead of ~1400 BC, which is also the popular opinion. Both cities went through a series of residential phases. These phases are nine for Troy, which “lived” longer than its rival, which was completely destroyed by the Argives in the 5th century BC. However, an important difference that arose was that related to the identification of the Homeric cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regarding Mycenae, no one expressed doubts that the city that came to light after the excavations was the Homeric one. On the contrary, for Troy, the opinions of scientists are ambivalent to this day. Most identify the Troy of the residential phase VIIa with the Troy of the Trojan period, which was destroyed by the Achaeans. But there are those who question it. It is no coincidence that most of the challengers are Germans and supporters of the Indo-European theory. H.Derpfeld, for example, has identified Troy VI with Iliadic Troy, which, however, according to him, was destroyed by Thracian raids which took place in the context of the “Illyrian and Dorian migration”. But the evidence refutes him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Troy VI was destroyed by a strong earthquake and not by an enemy raid. After all, it is also archeologically documented that Thracian races passed into the area of Troad only between 1100 and 1000 BC. and not earlier. Another archaeologist, F.Sachermeyer, supported the opinion that although the destruction of Troy VI was caused by an earthquake, the Achaeans took advantage of this very earthquake to capture it. For this, he argues, they also built the Trojan Horse, as a tribute to Poseidon, the ruler of the world. This opinion is not based on archaeological evidence. No signs of fire and human destruction were found in layer VI of Troy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, Herodotus’ description (G’ 20, 2-5) is the best answer to the question of why the Trojan War took place. Herodotus writes: \u00ab\u2026\u03bc\u03ae\u03c4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03ac \u03c4\u03b1 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0391\u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03ad\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c2 \u03af\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03bc\u03ae\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u039c\u03cd\u03c3\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03a4\u03b5\u03cd\u03ba\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03cc \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03a4\u03c1\u03c9\u03b9\u03ba\u03ce\u03bd \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, \u03bf\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u0395\u03c5\u03c1\u03ce\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03ac \u0392\u03cc\u03c3\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b5 \u0398\u03c1\u03ae\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03c1\u03ad\u03c8\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c0\u03af \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0399\u03cc\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03ad\u03b2\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03bc\u03ad\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b5 \u03a0\u03b7\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bf\u03cd \u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1\u03bc\u03bf\u03cd \u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03c1\u03af\u03b7\u03c2 \u03ae\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u00bb. translation<\/em> (“\u2026neither according to the sayings of Atreideon nor of Ilion nor of Mysons and Teucrons born before the Trojans, the divans in Europe against the Bosphorus and Thrace destroyed everything and on the Ionian sea they went down to the Pineus river towards mesambrian they came”).<\/p>\n\n\n\n After its independence from the Hittite Empire, the city of Priam became a great power. It developed itself into a great empire, occupying all the northern Greek lands, up to the Pinios river. This is also why Homer in the Catalog of Ships does not mention Mycenaean detachments from those regions taking part in the great campaign. The same can be assumed for the Cyclades and the islands of the Eastern Aegean, which should also have been occupied by the Trojans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The coming conflict would therefore not take place for any Helen, but for purely economic reasons, between the two strongest coalitions at the time, that of the Greeks of Mycenae and that of the Greek colony of Troy. After all, didn’t reasons of economic competition lead Athens and Sparta to annihilate each other during the Peloponnesian War eight centuries later? And why does the ten-year duration of the Trojan War seem like a fairy tale, when the Peloponnesian War, which was conducted with clearly more sophisticated means and tactics, lasted a full 27 years?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" During the period when the brilliant Mycenaean civilization flourished in Greece, Asia Minor was dominated by another empire, that of the Hittites. 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