HEINRICH SCHLIEMANN
Born in Germany in 1822, Heinrich Schliemann grew up entranced by stories from the Iliad and the Odyssey. After a career in business that brought him a massive fortune, Schliemann set out to pursue his life’s goal—excavating the mighty city of Troy. Dubbed a madman by the professional community, Schliemann roamed the coast of Turkey for years with copies of Homer as his guide, hoping to find the exact spot where mighty Troy once stood. In 1871, Schliemann found the spot that he posited to be the site of the city.
After two years of excavations, Schliemann unearthed the site of an ancient citadel, and some of the most magnificent finds in archaeological history, dubbing them “Priam’s Treasure.” Although Schliemann’s methods were primitive for the time, he nonetheless made significant contributions to the science of archaeology and showed that the Homeric poems did have some elements of truth based on actual events. In this selection, Schliemann describes the great lengths he took to pursue his leisure interests, and how rewarding it was.
Great as was my wish to learn Greek, I did not venture upon its study till I had acquired a moderate fortune; for I was afraid that this language would exercise too great a fascination upon me and estrange me from my commercial business. When, however, I could no longer restrain my desire for learning, I at last set vigorously to work at Greek in January 1856; first with Mr. N. Pappadakes, and then with Mr. Th. Vimpos of Athens, always following my old method. It did not take me more than six weeks to master the difficulties of modern Greek, and I then applied myself to the ancient language, of which in three months I learned sufficient to understand some of the ancient authors, and especially Homer, whom I read and re-read with the most lively enthusiasm.
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I then occupied myself for two years exclusively with the ancient Greek literature; and during this time I read almost all the old authors cursorily, and the Iliad and Odyssey several times.
In the year 1858 I travelled to Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Italy and Egypt, where I sailed up the Nile as far as the second cataract in Nubia. I availed myself of this opportunity to learn Arabic, and I afterwards travelled across the desert from Cairo to Jerusalem. I visited Petra, traversed the whole of Syria, and in this manner I had abundant opportunity of acquiring a practical knowledge of Arabic, the deeper study of which I afterwards continued in St. Petersburg. After leaving Syria, I visited Athens in the summer of 1859, and I was on the point of starting for the island of Ithaca when I was seized with an illness which obliged me to return to St. Petersburg.
Heaven had blessed my mercantile undertakings in a wonderful manner, so that at the end of 1863 I found myself in possession of a fortune such as my ambition had never ventured to aspire to. I therefore retired from business, in order to devote myself exclusively to the studies which have the greatest fascination for me.
In the year 1864 I was on the road to visit the native island of Ulysses and the Plain of Troy, when I allowed myself to be persuaded to visit India, China and Japan, and to travel round the world. I spent two years on this journey, and on my return in 1866 I settled in Paris, with the purpose of devoting the rest of my life to study, and especially to archaeology, which has the greatest charm for me.
At last I was able to realize the dream of my whole life, and to visit at my leisure the scene of those events which had such an intense interest for me, and the country of the heroes whose adventures had delighted and comforted my childhood. I started, therefore, last summer, and visited in succession the places which still possess such living poetic memorials of antiquity.
I had not, however, the ambition of publishing a work on the subject; this I only decided upon doing when I found what errors almost all archaeologists had spread about the site once occupied by the Homeric capital of Ithaca, about the stables of Eumaeus, the Island of Asteris, ancient Troy, the sepulchral mounds of Batiea and of Esyetes, the tomb of Hector, and so forth.
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Apart from the hope of correcting opinions which I hold to be erroneous, I should consider myself fortunate could I aid in diffusing among the intelligent public a taste for the beautiful and noble studies which have sustained my courage during the hard trials of my life, and which will sweeten the days yet left me to live.