Was the Trojan War Real or Not?
- Submitted by: musicalcats
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- Category: History: European
- Date Submitted: 11/16/2014 10:53 PM
- Pages: 7
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Evaluate the role of particular pieces of written evidence in assisting our understanding of the Trojan War
The Trojan War is one of the most legendary stories about warfare of all time. There has been much debate regarding the historical accuracy of sources about the war, leading many historians to disagree about whether the war actually occurred or not. Due to the lack of primary sources, the likelihood of some of the sources being untrue is very high, however there is too much uncovered evidence that supports the Trojan War’s existence to extinguish the idea that it did occur. The Linear B Tablets gave historians information on the lifestyle and the fall of the Mycenaean Empire. Euripides’ Women of Troy gave a detailed account of the aftermath of the war on the women involved. The Hittite Diplomatic Archives offer information about the location of Troy and suggestions about the circumstances surrounding the Trojan War. One of the most famous recounts of the Trojan War, The Iliad, clearly narrates the events that occurred during the war. By investigating the archaeological evidence from each source, we can draw conclusions and consider the usefulness of sources in assisting our understanding of the Trojan War.
The discovery of Source A, the Linear B Tablets, opened an entire new world of information to scholars. After extensive examination of the source, Ventris concluded that the inscriptions were Greek, leading to the conclusion that the Mycenaean were the ancestors of later Greeks. Upon further deciphering of Source A, historians discovered that the tablets catalogue twenty-nine contingents of ships that were involved in the attack on the City of Troy. Each contingent featured the name of their region, the name of their commanders and the number of ships and crew members in that particular unit. The list featured 178 geographical names, which were used to recognise locations in Greece. None of the geographical names have proved to be fictitious, which is...
The Trojan War is one of the most legendary stories about warfare of all time. There has been much debate regarding the historical accuracy of sources about the war, leading many historians to disagree about whether the war actually occurred or not. Due to the lack of primary sources, the likelihood of some of the sources being untrue is very high, however there is too much uncovered evidence that supports the Trojan War’s existence to extinguish the idea that it did occur. The Linear B Tablets gave historians information on the lifestyle and the fall of the Mycenaean Empire. Euripides’ Women of Troy gave a detailed account of the aftermath of the war on the women involved. The Hittite Diplomatic Archives offer information about the location of Troy and suggestions about the circumstances surrounding the Trojan War. One of the most famous recounts of the Trojan War, The Iliad, clearly narrates the events that occurred during the war. By investigating the archaeological evidence from each source, we can draw conclusions and consider the usefulness of sources in assisting our understanding of the Trojan War.
The discovery of Source A, the Linear B Tablets, opened an entire new world of information to scholars. After extensive examination of the source, Ventris concluded that the inscriptions were Greek, leading to the conclusion that the Mycenaean were the ancestors of later Greeks. Upon further deciphering of Source A, historians discovered that the tablets catalogue twenty-nine contingents of ships that were involved in the attack on the City of Troy. Each contingent featured the name of their region, the name of their commanders and the number of ships and crew members in that particular unit. The list featured 178 geographical names, which were used to recognise locations in Greece. None of the geographical names have proved to be fictitious, which is...