Pre-order special offer £14.99 - From this website only!
Author John Crowe uses the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer’s epics about the Trojan War, as the foundation for his research. But where is the battlefield of the Trojan War as described in the Iliad? Whether or not Troy existed, the Iliad does exist. And whether or not the Trojan War actually took place, Homer describes the plain of Troy, upon which the battles took place, in great detail.
Schliemann claimed he found Troy at Hisarlik, and most people believed him. Others have found Troy near Cambridge in England, in Yugoslavia, and in the Baltic. Yet no-one has managed to provide their chosen Troy with the Trojan plain that was described in the Iliad. So it is widely believed that this plain was largely imagined by the poet.
John’s approach is different. First he shows in Part 1 that Hisarlik and the nearby valley fail to match Homer’s descriptions of Troy and the Trojan plain. Then, in Part 2, he aims first of all to find the Homeric Trojan plain. If this can be found, it will surely lead us to the acropolis of Ilios and Homer’s Troy.
A whole raft of evidence is introduced to help us in our search. Our star witness, Homer, told us long ago where to look. He said (Il. 24.543-6) that the lands of Priam, King of Troy, lay between Lesbos and ‘Phrygia in the uplands’. The capital of Phrygia was at Gordion, on the central Anatolian plateau, some 500km east of Lesbos. Another little known legend tells us that the Achaeans went to this valley by mistake before they went to Troy. Here, in what was once called Mysia, they captured and destroyed Teuthrania before realizing their mistake and returning home. In short, the legends tell us that the Achaeans really did once fight in this valley, and Homer tells us this was once part of the land of Troy. So around Pergamon is the obvious place to start looking for the plain of Troy.
John shows, beyond reasonable doubt, that the plain of Troy was around Teuthrania in ancient Mysia. It lies in the lower valley of the Bakir Çayi, due east of the island of Lesbos, between Pergamon and the sea. Here all the famous features of the Trojan plain, such as Kallikolone and the Wall of Herakles, the seats of the gods as they watched the war, are still there for all to see and enjoy.
John’s discoveries add a new and unexpected degree of integrity to Homer’s descriptions of the Trojan landscape. He presents knowledge that has been hidden from the world for over 2,500 years, giving Homeric scholars the opportunity to reappraise the historicity of both the Trojan War and Homer, perhaps the world’s greatest epic poet. John, who hopes his findings will enhance the credibility of Homer as a witness of ancient history, was inspired by John Lascelles who wrote Troy: The World Deceived – Homer’s Guide to Pergamum. The Troy Deception will appeal to all those interested in the origins of western culture and ancient Greek history, and to anyone who enjoys a good detective story.