Expert: Maria - 1/28/2007

Question
Apart from archaeological evidence, why do we think the Trojan War happened
around 1250 BC?

Answer
Hello,

Apart from archaeological evidence, we can say that the Trojan War, whose story  is contained in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, happened  around 1250 BC because we have some passages of the ancient Greek historian Thucydides (5th.century BC) who in his “The Peloponnesian War”, book I, chapter 6-9 and 11-12, says that the first Greek colonization in Ionia, Asia Minor (today Turkey), where Greek settlers established colonies before 1000 BC,  happened “subsequently to the war with Troy”.

Therefore the Trojan war, whose fundamental historicity Thucydides basically accepts, happened between 1250-1200  BC and 1184 BC, which is the  traditional date for the destruction of Troy after a war which lasted ten years, according to Homer.

Also Thucydides says that “Sixty years after the capture of Ilium the modern Boeotians were driven out of Arne by the Thessalians, and settled in the present Boeotia” (Book I, chapter 12) and then he confirms the above dates.

Hope this helps.
Best,
Maria