I cannot conclude without mentioning an exceedingly remarkable person, Konstantinos Kolobos, the owner of a shop in the village of Neo-Chorion in the Plain of Troy, who, although born without feet, has nevertheless made a considerable fortune in a retail business. But his talents are not confined to business; they include a knowledge of languages; and although Kolobos has grown up among the rough and ignorant village lads and has never had a master, yet by self-tuition he has succeeded in acquiring the Italian and French languages, and writes and speaks both of them perfectly. He is also wonderfully expert in ancient Greek, from having several times copied and learnt by heart a large etymological dictionary, as well as from having read all the classic authors, and he can repeat whole rhapsodies from the Iliad by heart. What a pity it is that such a genius has to spend his days in a wretched village in the Troad, useless to the world, and in the constant company of the most uneducated and ignorant people, all of whom gaze at him in admiration, but none of whom understand him!
CHAPTER XII.
Discovery of an ancient wall on the northern slope—Discovery of a Tower on the south side—Its position and construction—It is Homer’s Great Tower of Ilium—Manner of building with stones and earth—A Greek inscription—Remarkable medal of the age of Commodus—Whorls found just below the surface—Terra-cottas found at small depths—Various objects found at the various depths—A skeleton, with ornaments of gold, which have been exposed to a great heat—Paucity of human remains, as the Trojans burnt their dead—No trace of pillars—Naming of the site as “Ilium” and the “Pergamus of Troy.”
Pergamus of Troy, August 4th, 1872.