Troy Revisted

One of the benefits of membership of the Friends of the British Museum is that you can visit the high profile exhibitions without paying - as often as you wish (Though may be worth getting in touch beforehand for days when high levels of visitors are expected). So last week I took the opportunity to revisit the Troy Exhibition. I've described the layout of the exhibition in my previous post. This time I concentrated on specific details - particularly the major stories about the conflict, the various deities and humans involved, and the archaeology of the period that the Trojan War may relate to (Troy VI - VII)

My favourite exhibit is the Sophilos Dinos - it's a wine mixing bowl which portrays the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, the King of Aegina - a mortal who took part in the expedition of the Argonauts and various other adventures. His bride was the sea-goddess Thetis. Zeus was very interested in her, but he had heard from Prometheus that her son was to be greater than its father (a worry for a god who had toppled his own father (Cronos - who had himself overthrown his father, Ouranos))!  So Zeus sought to marry Thetis off to a mortal. The bowl shows in its top frames, the procession at the wedding led by Zeus and his (long suffering) wife, Hera. Many of the other gods are portrayed and identified on the bowl. This event was held on Mount Pelion.The wedding was disrupted by Eris, goddess of discord (see below) - who had not been invited. She threw into the celebrations a golden apple inscribed with the words, "for the fairest". The goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all claimed it - which led to a dispute which Paris, the son of the King of Troy was called upon to resolve. Bribes were offered to him by each of the three contestants. Aphrodite "won" by promising Paris the most beautiful woman in the world - Helen. Unfortunately she was already the wife of the King of Sparta.. Paris took Helen (depending on the source, this was a story of two lovers running away together, or Paris' forcible abduction of the lady) back to Troy.

It was this which sparked the Trojan War! The "gods" were themselves divided. Poseidon; Hera, Hephaestus and Athena backed the Greeks - while Ares; Apollo; Aphrodite and Artemis aided the Trojans.

Thetis and Peleus had one son, Achilles - a major character in the Trojan War. His rage and brutality is depicted in many of the exhibits at the British Museum exhibition. Helen is also another major subject of the exhibition (and in a number of books on sale in the attached bookshop).

The variety and beauty of so many exhibits is breathtaking.

The only timeframe for the conflict is 1400 - 1200 BC - but Troy had a much longer history. It was first settled around 3000 BCE. The levels found at Hissarlik are

Level 1                 3000 - 2550 BCE          early Bronze Age (3000 - 2000 BCE)
Level II                 2550 - 2300 BCE
Level III                2300 - 2200 BCE
Level IV                2200 - 2000 BCE
Level V                 2000 - 1750 BCE        Middle Bronze Age (2000 - 1600 BCE)
Level VI               1750 - 1300 BCE         Middle/Late Bronze Age (1600 to 1180 BCE)
Level VIIa            1300 - 1180 BCE
Level VIIb            1180 - 900 BCE           Iron Age
Level VIII              900 - 85 BCE             Geometric, Archaic, Classical & Hellenistic
Level IX                  85 BCE - 600 CE      Roman

Schliemann identified "Priam's Treasure" - and there are many exhibits on show at this exhibition. Sadly, these date back to the early Bronze Age (2550 - 2300 BCE), more than a thousand years before the time that the Trojan War is associated with.

Personally, I'm more interested in the mythology and the archaeology, but there is an excellent section on how the stories of the conflict have inspired writers and artists in the centuries that followed. My favourite painting is Herbert Draper's "Ulysses and the Sirens". The agony of Ulysses - tied to the ship's mast to stop him succumbing to the sirens is so powerfully portrayed.

As I wrote in my earlier post - I intend to revisit the exhibition before it closes on March 8th - a few hours isn't enough.

Ahead of the Chinese New Year - this weekend - I made a visit to one of my favourite permanent galleries in the Museum. This covers  21,000 years of Chinese history - and what a history! - more on that soon...

Troy - The Exhibition in "New Troy"

There is an old British myth, repeated (or invented) by Geoffrey Of Monmouth for his book "History of the Kings of Britain" that London was founded by Brutus (the grandson of Aeneas - who escaped from Troy, and founded Rome) and was first called "Troy Novant" (New Troy). [While archaeological evidence suggests that London was first built as a "new city" by the Romans, it was close to the area inhabited by the Trinovantes tribe]

Earlier this week I made my first trip to London since before the election was called, to finally visit the exhibition currently on at the British Museum. It was well worth visiting - and if you can make it to the British Museum before it closes on 8th March - I would thoroughly encourage you to go. It tells the stories of the "myths", the archaeology and the impact of the story in later literature and art. I intend to make at least another visit before it closes. For further information and to book tickets click here.

There are a number of excellent books on sale in the shop attached to the exhibition hall. One that caught my eye was  "Enraged" by Emily Katz Anhalt. It seeks to argue 'Why violent times need Ancient Greek myths'. It was published in 2017 - and makes some very modern points - "History shows that the transition from tribalism to civil society and the maintenance of civil society both require individuals to restrain their own rage and to stop admiring rage in others. Ancient Greek myths encourage us to reject the primitive, tribal view of rage as a marker of the correctness of our cause."...."From the eighth through the fifth century BCE, Greek myths accompanied and promoted the Greeks' historically unprecedented movement away from autocracy toward broader forms of political participation"..."Performed publicly as epic songs or tragic plays, ancient Greek myths exposed tyranny and violence as universal toxins capable of destroying perpetrator and victim alike."..."Ancient Greek myths emphasise the self-destructiveness of rage and undermine the traditional equation of vengeance with justice" (these are just a few comments now underlined in pencil in my own copy of the book). Anhalt chapters explain and apply the Iliad books 6, 9, 10-24 Sophocles' 'Ajax', and Euripides' 'Hecuba'. I'm finding the book to be useful in developing my own thinking. The book is published by Yale University Press.

Do let me (and 'Washminster Blog') what you think of the book.

Troy

Nearly half a century ago we started "classical studies" as I began secondary school. It was a prelude to a (not very successful) attempt to teach us Latin. I enjoyed some of the stories, but gave them little thought during the following decades.

My interest in Greek history and mythology was sparked again when we decided to take a holiday in Crete. Since that decision two years ago - I've been getting deeper and deeper into the subject. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading (and listening to) Stephen Fry's books "Mythos" and "Heroes" - and spent a lot of time in the British Museum in the Greek galleries.

Ahead of the current exhibition at the British Museum - "Troy: Myth and Reality" I bought the book written for the exhibition - well worth a read, and I have found it fascinating. I had intended to visit the exhibition soon after it opened in November - but the General Election, in which I stood as a candidate - put an end to that hope. I am intending to go to the British Museum very shortly. Over the recent holidays I've been reading the book and other background material. I'm hooked - I've even started on (an English translation) of Homer's "Iliad"

2020 has arrived - and Washminster has returned!

It takes a long time for a New Year to arrive - It first arrived in Samoa & Christmas Island at 10h00 GMT - Tuesday 31st December. New Zealand saw the New Year in at 11h00. China saw 2020 in at 16h00, and a large part of the European Union at 23h00.

London - which includes Greenwich - where the "Prime Meridian" runs through, welcomed the New Year in, five minutes before this was posted.

However it still has a long journey to go. It will reach the USA at 05h00 but the final welcoming of 2020 will be in parts of the US Minor outlying Islands at Noon on Wednesday (GMT).

Wherever you are reading this - and whether the New Year arrived many hours ago - or is still some time off, may I wish you a Happy New Year.

Washminster is back!

At first the posts may be separated by a few days - as I get back into the rhythm. It's been a long time since I was blogging on a regular basis. You can still look back at some of the earlier posts. The first was made on Wednesday 7th March 2007, and began as an exercise to get me writing on a regular basis, ahead of starting to study for a Ph.D. at the University of Hull. I was working at Westminster at the time , and was able to witness some of the key events of that decade. On the 27th June 2007 I posted a number of times from the Palace of Westminster - as Tony Blair stepped down and power passed to Gordon Brown.

I've posted about the various US Presidential Elections - and reported from Washington at the height of each one.

(Warning - this is me! But I'm pictured with a cardboard cutout of Hillary Clinton - taken in a Democrat campaign office in Fairfax County, Virginia)


Many of my posts were written with my students in mind. But time moves on - and some of the law may no longer be applicable. Certainly the British Constitution has seen many changes in recent months.

So what will the new Washminster look like? It will of course continue to bring news and insights about the British Parliament and the US Congress - but won't stop there. While I continue to follow both - I am also interested in what is happening elsewhere - do expect to read more about the French Parliament; the European Parliament; and politics across Europe (especially France, Greece and The EU), the United States and China.

Much of my time will be spent exploring History - so expect lots of posts about areas that I will have been researching. These will include the ancient history of the very modern city that I live in (Milton Keynes); British History from the re-population of Britain after the last Ice Age to the death on the Battlefield of Bosworth of Richard III; Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome - and China (plus anything else that attracts my interest). I'm looking forward to going to the Troy exhibition at the British Museum - I had intended to go a lot earlier - but was otherwise engaged as a candidate in the Parliamentary constituency of Buckingham. The British Museum is a great place to visit - and is now one of the most places that I visit most frequently in London.

As the year progresses, I also hope to visit a number of interesting places around the UK (and beyond?) - Ill be posting about those too.



Do subscribe to this blog - and send me your comments. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to invite some guests to post for a one-off or even a regular basis.

Just keeping watching this space.