Heinrich Schliemann

Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeological excavator of Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad reflects historical events. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains has been criticized as destructive of significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy. Schliemann was born in 1822 in Neubukow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin (part of the German Confederation) to a poor pastor's family. He developed a passion for Homer's epics from an early age and dreamed of finding the legendary city of Troy. He left school at 14 and became an apprentice at a grocery store. He later worked as a messenger, accountant, and bookkeeper in various countries. He learned several languages and became a successful merchant and trader. In 1852, he married Ekaterina Petrovna Lyschin, a Russian woman with whom he had three children. He moved to California during the Gold Rush and made a fortune. He returned to Russia in 1858 and continued his business ventures. He also studied archaeology and classical literature in his spare time. He divorced his first wife in 1869 and married Sophia Engastromenos, a Greek woman who shared his interest in Homer. They had two more children. Schliemann retired from business in 1863 and devoted himself to his lifelong dream of finding Troy. He visited Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and other places in search of clues. He hired Frank Calvert, a British diplomat and amateur archaeologist who had identified a mound at Hisarlik as the possible site of Troy. Schliemann began digging there in 1871 with Calvert's permission. He discovered a series of settlements dating from the Bronze Age to the Roman period. He believed that the second lowest level (Troy II) was the Homeric Troy and claimed to have found the treasure of King Priam. However, later scholars have argued that Troy VIIa is more likely to be the historical Troy. Schliemann also excavated at Mycenae, where he uncovered the shaft graves of the royal cemetery and found gold masks, jewelry, weapons, and other artifacts. He named one of the masks as the Mask of Agamemnon, although it predates the Trojan War by several centuries. He also dug at Tiryns, Orchomenus, and Ithaca. He published his findings and theories in several books, such as Troy and its Remains (1875), Mycenae (1878), Ilios (1880), and Tiryns (1885). He also donated many of his discoveries to museums in Germany and Greece. Schliemann died in 1890 in Naples from an ear infection that he contracted during his excavations. He was initially buried there but later reburied in Athens at his request. His wife Sophia continued his work after his death and also became an archaeologist. Schliemann is regarded as one of the founders of modern archaeology and a pioneer of the study of ancient Greek civilization. He also inspired generations of archaeologists and adventurers to explore the past.