Troy and the Trojans

Ancient Peoples and Places

by Carl William Blegen

Book by Blegen, Carl W.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

1887-1971

Reviews

[Fred Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blegen remains the authority on this. He was still a palpable presence when I was an undergraduate at Cincinnati in the 70s. He died in 1971, but two of his students who had excavated at Troy with him were still teaching in the department (Jack Caskey and Cedric Boulter). An original Dörpfeld plan of Troy was on display around the corner from the classics reading room. Troy and the Trojans is much more accessible than the big four-volume publication of the excavations. There are times when the lists of finds and descriptions of walls get tedious, but readers are also rewarded with a chapter on Homer and Troy, reconstructions of what Trojan life may have been like, and an account of the Troy of the Trojan War (TroyVIIa/VIi). While later excavations and studies have refined some details, Blegen's narrative largely remains valid and is well worth reading in conjunction with the Iliad.

[Bruce Brocka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discusses the finds of the University of Cincinnati excavations from the 1930s by the lead investigator. A bit dry, but provides some insights into the mysterious Trojans, or more likely, several groups of Tojans.