Heinrich Schliemann was a complex character, part dreamer and part genius in disguise. Many of his contemporaries regarded him as somewhat of a fantasist, as he traveled around in Turkey equipped with little but a beat-up edition of Homer's Iliad. Schliemann was determined to discover the site of ancient Troy — and so he is believed by many to have done.
For the longest time, the German public used to make light of Schliemann's achievements. His biggest rival, the top archaeological expert Ernst Curtius, for one, repeatedly mocked him in a bid to polish his own professional profile. Schliemann was, however, much more appreciated in Britain, where the German researcher has always been celebrated as the man who discovered the location of a place that up to that point had been shrouded in mystery.
In the late 19th century, Schliemann went on to invent research methods that are still in use today. His work helped shape the face of archaeology unlike any other.
A businessman and adventurer
From his early childhood, the world of antiquity always fascinated Schliemann. Yet his career path had initially pointed him in a different direction. Raised alongside eight other siblings in a pastor's family in the eastern part of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schliemann started out as a tradesman, as his family could not afford to send him to higher education.
He ended up in Amsterdam, where within one year, he learned to speak not only Dutch but also Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, to be complemented by Russian later on. His extraordinary gift for foreign languages paved the way for a different career prospect: archaeology.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
A golden portrait for eternity
In 1876, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovered spectacular golden masks in a grave. One of them became known as the "Mask of Agamemnon," even though later research determined that the masks were some 400 years older than the king. The masks are highlights of the exhibition "Mycenaean Greece: The legendary world of Agamemnon."
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
A crown or a helmet?
The Tholos Tombs of Routsi were fortunately untouched by grave robbers. This piece, known as the "Crown of Routsi" dates back to the 15th - 16th century BC and still puzzles experts: "Its scientific interpretation has just begun; some believe it's a priest's crown, others rather think it's a precious helmet," said the exhibition's co-curator Bernhard Steinmann.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Stepping into an Ancient Greek palace
The center of power of a Mycenaean palace is a great hall known as the megaron, along with the throne room. The ruler, or wanax, held political and religious ceremonies there. Visitors of the exhibition in Karlsruhe can walk through impressive replicas of these palaces displaying elaborately decorated vases, amphorae, frescoes, swords as well as stone and gold jewelry from that era.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Work of precision
Mycenaean artists were renowned for their intricate gold art. This button from the 16th century BC was found in 1876 in the Mycenaean shaft graves excavated by Heinrich Schliemann. It is made of bone that was then covered with gold foil. The spiral ornamentation is typical of the art of the early Mycenaean period.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Everyday tools
Homeric heroes also took personal hygiene seriously. Along with the ceramics, jewelry and weapons, the graves also contained razors and bronze mirrors from the early 12th century BC. This razor displayed at the exhibition demonstrates that men also shaved at the time.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Beauties of Antiquity
A mysterious smile and a determined gaze: This fresco fragment depicts the so-called "White Goddess" from the Pylos palace and dates back to the 13th century BC. Mycenaean tile paintings reveal impressive details, and this piece is one of the highlights of the exhibition.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Last resting places
A larnax is a chest made of wood or clay, which also served for the burial of the dead. Idols, miniatures and glass jewelry were often added to the tomb. This larnax from the 13th century BC is made of clay and comes from Tanagra in Boeotia, north of Athens. It shows a procession of four mourning women holding their hair, a funeral ritual at the time.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Glowing into the hereafter
Precious possessions accompanied the wealthy deceased on their journey to eternity. This gold cup was found by Heinrich Schliemann in one of the shaft graves of Mycenae. It shows dolphins swimming in an underwater landscape.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Artful treasures
Luxurious jewelry made of gold and glass beads has always fascinated humanity. Such noble pieces were however reserved to the elite. This necklace from the 14th century BC is made of rosettes covered in gold leaf.
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The legendary world of Agamemnon
Sacrificial offering or toy?
Bull figurines such as the ones shown above were not uncommon in Mycenaean settlements. However, it remains unclear to this day whether they were an expression of popular piety and served as sacrificial offerings to the gods or if children used them as toys.
Author: Isabel Surges (eg)
After then moving to Russia, Schliemann became rich dealing with raw materials for the production of ammunition. He used his fortune to study Ancient Greek and Latin in Paris.
In 1868, he went on a trip to the Greek island of Ithaka, where he decided to look for the palace of Ulysses. From there, he traveled to the Marmaris Sea to make his way inland and start the quest for Troy. During his entire journey, Homer's Iliad was Schliemann's one and only true companion — the one book he considered his indispensable guide to discovering Troy.
Following Homer's footsteps
The search for the ancient city of Troy had never ceased over thousands of years. But in all that time, no one had ever been able to prove that the city described in Homer's saga had really existed — until 1871, when Heinrich Schliemann, then 49 years old, discovered the ruins of what is now presumed to be the city under the Hisarlik hill in the Troas region in the northwest of present-day Turkey.
Schlieman was, however, by no means been the first person to believe that the city was hidden under this particular location. Before Schliemann, the British archaeologist Frank Calvert had already begun excavations in the very same region. The two Troy-obsessed researchers ran into each other by sheer coincidence. Calvert had actually acquired the land around Hisarlik so he could continue with his work, but he lacked the funds to continue with his excavation attempts, which, at that point, had come to a dead end.
Calvert persuaded Schliemann to continue where he himself had stopped working. After running into a number of initial impasses, Schliemann stubbornly went on with the excavations until in 1872 he hit meter-high (just over 3-foot-high) ruins belonging to a prehistoric city. Schliemann came to the conclusion that these walls had once formed part of the fortifications of Troy.
It had been a difficult journey for both men, as the precise identification of the findings was rendered all the more difficult by the long history of the city, which had first surfaced in records in 3000 BC.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Female statues keep watch
The most recent finding at the Amphipolis excavation site in northern Greece were two female statues, known as caryatids. Wearing long robes and thick curly hair, they guard the second entrance to the tomb, which dates back to 300-325 BC - the era of Alexander the Great. The interior of the tomb has not yet been explored, but experts suspect the contents may still be intact.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Nearly intact
One of the two female figures discovered on September 6 was missing its face. "The left arm of one and the right arm of the other are raised in a symbolic gesture to refuse entry to the tomb," said Greece's ministry of culture in a statement. The two figures were similar in style to the two other statues found several weeks earlier: sphinxes at the main entrance to the tomb.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Headless pair
These two marble sphinxes stand watch at the main entrance to the tomb and were uncovered in August by archeologists. They would've been over 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall with their heads and wings, pieces of which were found nearby. A wide path and 13 steps lead to the entrance of the tomb, which is the largest ever discovered in Greece. The burial mound alone measures 1,500 feet (457 meters).
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Royal roar
This marble lion, over 17 feet (5 meters) tall, supposedly stood atop the tomb. It was discovered by the Greek army in the bed of the Strymónas River back in 1912. While experts can't be sure that the tomb was left undisturbed until it is fully excavated, expectations are high that it belonged to an ancient celebrity, possibly one of Alexander the Great's high-ranking officials or family members.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Tedious process
Excavation work on the tomb in Amphipolis began in 2012 under the direction of chief archeologist Katerina Peristeri. "We are like surgeons, making slow progress," she told Greek media. The tomb, located in the Macedonian region of Greece on the Aegean Sea, dwarfs that of Alexander the Great's father. The legendary ruler is thought to be buried in Egypt, though the exact location is unknown.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Attention to detail
This intricate marble panel was found in what appears to be the antechamber of the main room of the tomb. The quality of the work is evidence of the wealth and significance of its owner. Alexander the Great's wife and son are said to have been murdered in Amphipolis when Macedonian general Cassander conquered the territory in the 4th century BC. It's possible the tomb was made for them.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
Miles of marble
This marble-faced stretch of wall was uncovered at the tomb site in August. Experts have said the structure bears the handprint of Alexander the Great's chief architect, Deinocrates of Rhones, who was employed to build the city of Alexandria.
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Greece's largest ancient tomb: Amphipolis
High expectations
Pictured is an aerial view of the Amphipolis site, located south of the Greek city of Serres. Anticipation is high as archeologists make their way deeper into the chambers of the tomb, which the Greek government has called a "monument of great importance." The mystery of its inhabitant will likely be solved in the coming weeks, though Alexander the Great's burial site may forever remain a secret.
Author: Kate Müser
Errors in classification
Among his most significant discoveries in Troy, Schliemann struck a cache of gold and other artifacts, which he subsequently baptized "Priam's Treasure" — Priam having been the legendary king of Troy mentioned in Homer's work — in 1873. But when the Ottomans got wind of it, the Turkish government sued Schliemann in a Greek court and demanded that half of the findings be given to Turkey.
Only a few pieces were left with him after the trial ended, and he was also asked to pay a fine of 10,000 gold francs. He offered the treasures to the Louvre in Paris and the Eremitage in St. Petersberg, with little success. Finally, he gifted it to the Germans and was named honorary member of the Berlin Society for Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory.
It later turned out that Schliemann's claim to the treasure had been wrong all along. His findings were not the treasure of Priam, but were, rather, a relic from an unknown culture that had flourished 1,250 years before the ancient Troy of Homer's saga.
This wasn't the only time that the German explorer erred: At the Greek archaeological site of Mycenae, where Schliemann carried out excavations from 1874 to 1876, he drew a number of wrong conclusions based on his work. Among other things, Schliemann wrongfully identified a golden mask as having belonged to the ancient Greek military leader Agamemnon.
Despite his errors and wrong conclusions, the world has continued to consider Heinrich Schliemann as one of the most significant archaeologists of all time.
He died in Naples, Italy, on December 26, 1890.
This article has been adapted from German.