Troy
Hisarlik in Turkey is the archaeological site identified as Homer's Troy — multiple cities layered upon each other across four thousand years.
The Story of Troy
Heinrich Schliemann began excavating Hisarlik in 1870, identifying it as Troy. He found multiple layers: Troy I-IX, spanning from 3000 BC to Roman times. Troy II contained gold jewellery Schliemann called "Priam's treasure" (actually a thousand years too early). Troy VIIa, destroyed by fire around 1180 BC, is the most likely candidate for Homer's Troy. The debate about which Troy is Homer's continues. UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site in 1998.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Schliemann smuggled "Priam's treasure" out of Turkey. It ended up in Berlin, was seized by the Soviets in 1945, and is now in Moscow — still contested.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Orchomenus
🏛 placecity, Boeotia
An ancient Boeotian city that was one of the wealthiest in Bronze Age Greece, rivalling Thebes and associated with the Minyans.
Mycenae
🏛 placeCitadel of Agamemnon
Mycenae was the great Bronze Age citadel in the Argolid, seat of King Agamemnon who led the Greek expedition against Troy — its Lion Gate still stands after 3,200 years.
Knossos
🏛 placePalace of Minos and the Labyrinth
Knossos was the vast Bronze Age palace complex in Crete — seat of King Minos and the mythological site of the Labyrinth.
Sicyon
🏛 placeGeography
An ancient city near Corinth claiming to be one of the oldest in Greece and site of Prometheus's sacrifice trick
Minoa
🏛 placegeography
A name given to several cities across the Greek world, all claiming legendary foundation by or connection to King Minos of Crete.
Ilium
🏛 placeGeography
The citadel of Troy, site of the legendary ten-year siege by the Greek forces
Grave Circle A at Mycenae
🏛 placeburial, treasure
The royal burial ground at Mycenae where Schliemann discovered the golden death masks, connecting Homeric mythology to archaeological reality.
Crisa
🏛 placegeography
A Phocian city below Delphi, sometimes confused with Cirrha, associated with Apollo's arrival in central Greece.
Corinth
🏛 placeCity of Sisyphus and Medea
Corinth was a wealthy trading city on the narrow isthmus connecting mainland Greece to the Peloponnese, associated with Sisyphus, Medea, Bellerophon, and Pegasus.
Tegea
🏛 placegeography
An Arcadian city with a great temple of Athena Alea, and possessor of the tusks of the Calydonian Boar and the bones of Orestes.
Argos
🏛 placecity-state, Peloponnese
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and a major power in the Peloponnese, closely associated with the goddess Hera.
Chalcis
🏛 placeGeography
A major city on the island of Euboea renowned for its metalworking and its role in Greek colonisation