Date of inclusion on the World Heritage List: 02/02/1998

List reference: 849 Criteria: Cultural

CITY OF MYTHOLOGIES
The ancient city of Troy, famous as the site of the Trojan War described by Homer in his epic poem The Iliad, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1998.

With its four thousand year history, it is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. It is located on the lower slopes of Mount Ida of ancient times, within the boundaries of Canakkale Province. The first mention of Troy was made by Homer in his epic poem The Iliad, where it is the ancient site of the Trojan War.

According to Trojan legend, the sea goddess Thetys and the Titan of the Atlantic Ocean had a daughter named Electra. Electra would become Zeus’ wife and give birth to Dardanus. Dardanus would found the city of Dardania. Dardanus ‘son Tros died in the Turas lands and Darnanus’ grandson llus founded the city of Troy. The infamous beauty pageant that started the Trojan War took place near Mount Ida. The three beauties in the competition were Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, and the judge was Paris. Paris chose Aphrodite when Aphrodite Paris promised the love of Helen of Sparta, the wife of King Menelaus. Paris kidnapped Helen and brought her to Troy, which provoked the war.

Troy is known to have 9 archaeological layers and to this day foundations of houses, theaters, a sewage system indicating quite advanced technology, public bathhouses and various artifacts have been found in the different layers.

After the excavations in Troy, the city was founded and devastated several times in its history. As a result, layers of settlement marked 1 to 9 can be seen at the same time. The Trojans replaced the Sardis satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire and ruled Anatolia for 505 years until the Lydian king Candaules ruled (735-718 BC). During the excavations of the archaeologist Schllemann, which began in 1871, 9 ruins of ancient cities and 42 houses were uncovered. King Priam’s treasure was also found during these excavations.

Troy is waiting for those who want to trace the stories of ancient cultures.