Ancient Greek History Page 8

I saw a PBS special in which forensic pathologists reconstructed some skulls found in one of the Royal Mycenaean tombs.

They didn't look anything like these death masks and weren't blonde and blue eyed either. In fact the pathologist himself said they looked like "thugs". You'll see many modern Greeks with these same type of features; police officers mostly.

Fact is, there were many racial stocks coming into ancient Greece, either emigrating/conquering or as slaves. Fling those stereotypes aside! Here's an excavated Mycenaean grave left and a pretty bronze sword tip from a Mycenaean grave below.

As mentioned, The Trojans, threatened by Greek expansion into Asia Minor, would levy large tolls to pass the straits. Agamemnon used the scandal of Helen as an excuse to make war on the Trojans and ease his trade problems. Since this affected all Greek Kingdoms foreign trade...they went along with it. That was about the only thing anyone could get them to agree on at all besides their common language. So, after 10 years and the stratagem of the Trojan Horse, the Greeks won by subterfuge. Some of the Trojans escaped to subsequently found Rome (Aenais)... which then turned around and conquered Greece.... proving once again that.... Paris wasn't gay, better weapons were needed, violence does solve things and to beware of Greeks bearing gifts?

Lions Gate Mycenae

Well, whatever it proves, I personally think the Iliad is difficult to read unless in prose form, while the Odyssey is a heck of a lot of fun depending on the translator.

Hard to believe they are both by Homer, circa 750 BC, who supposed to be blind. More likely he carried on the bardic memorization tradition from his predecessors. No one really knows much about Homer and the whole Trojan War was considered a mythical epic until Heinrich Schlieman and his wife set out to prove its existence and that of Mycenae as well. Modern Archeology owes them a great debt. I read The Greek Treasure by Irving Stone the other day and it was pretty good too. Its about all the red tape and BS they had to go through to excavate and how incredibly dumb Greek and Turkish officials among others were/are. The Trojan stuff has recently turned up in Russia at their Hermitage museum as WW2 plunder. "To the victor go the spoils"

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