Homer is an epic poet, and not an historian: so it is quite natural that he should have exaggerated everything with poetic licence. Moreover, the events which he describes are so marvellous, that many scholars have long doubted the very existence of Troy, and have considered the city to be a mere invention of the poet’s fancy. I venture to hope that the civilized world will not only not be disappointed that the city of Priam has shown itself to be scarcely a twentieth part as large as was to be expected from the statements of the Iliad, but that, on the contrary, it will accept with delight and enthusiasm the certainty that Ilium did really exist, that a large portion of it has now been brought to light, and that Homer, even although he exaggerates, nevertheless sings of events that actually happened. Besides, it ought to be remembered that the area of Troy, now reduced to this small hill, is still as large as, or even larger than, the royal city of Athens, which was confined to the Acropolis, and did not extend beyond it, till the time when Theseus added the twelve villages, and the city was consequently named in the plural Ἀθῆναι. It is very likely that the same happened to the town of Mycenæ (Μυκῆναι), which Homer describes as being rich in gold, and which is also spoken of in the singular,εὐρυάγυια Μυκήνη.[302]
But this little Troy was immensely rich for the circumstances of those times, since I find here a treasure of gold and silver articles, such as is now scarcely to be found in an emperor’s palace; and as the town was wealthy, so was it also powerful, and ruled over a large territory.
The houses of Troy were all very high and had several storeys, as is obvious from the thickness of the walls and the colossal heaps of débris. But even if we assume the houses to have been of three storeys, and standing close by the side of one another, the town can nevertheless not have contained more than 5000 inhabitants, and cannot have mustered more than 500 soldiers; but it could always raise a considerable army from among its subjects, and as it was rich and powerful, it could obtain mercenaries from all quarters.
As I do not find in my shafts (that is, beyond the hill itself) a trace of earthenware belonging to the successors of the Trojans up to the time of the Greek colony, it may with certainty be assumed that Troy had increased in size at Homer’s time only to the small amount of what was added through the heaps of rubbish caused by the destruction of the city. Homer can never have seen Ilium’s Great Tower, the surrounding wall of Poseidon and Apollo, the Scæan Gate or the Palace of King Priam, for all these monuments lay buried deep in heaps of rubbish, and he made no excavations to bring them to light. He knew of these monuments of immortal fame only from hearsay, for the tragic fate of ancient Troy was then still in fresh remembrance, and had already been for centuries in the mouth of all minstrels.[303]
Homer rarely mentions temples, and, although he speaks of the temple of Athena, yet, considering the smallness of the city, it is very doubtful whether it actually existed. It is probable that the tutelar goddess at that time possessed only the sacrificial altar which I discovered, and the crescent form of which greatly resembles the upper portion of the ivory idol found in the lowest strata,[304] as well as the one end of the six talents contained among the Treasure.
The position, size, and depth of all my shafts will be found most accurately specified on my plan of the Ilium of the Greek colony;[305] I therefore refrain from repeating these statements here, so as not to weary the reader. I also add an accurate plan of my excavations,[306] a plan of the Scæan Gate and of the Great Tower of Ilium,[307] and lastly, a plan of the city of Troy at the time of the great destruction ([Plan IV].).
