The Judgment of Paris: Beauty Contest That Sparked a War

Priam's Treasure: The Gold That Rewrote Troy's Story

Heinrich Schliemann's discovery of Priam's Treasure in 1873 at Hisarlik remains one of archaeology's most controversial moments. This episode examines the treasure's contents—gold diadems, earrings, and copper ingots—and the ethical questions surrounding Schliemann's excavation methods. Did he really find King Priam's possessions, or did he misdate Troy II, the layer where the treasure was found? We discuss the smuggling of the artifacts out of the Ottoman Empire, the lawsuit with the Ottoman government, and the treasure's journey to Berlin's Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, where it was displayed until World War II. After the war, the treasure vanished, rumored lost in the Berlin flak tower fire or taken as war booty by the Red Army. Decades later, in the 1990s, it resurfaced in Moscow's Pushkin Museum, where it remains today. The episode also touches on modern scientific studies—trace element analysis of the gold, comparisons with contemporaneous artifacts from Poliochni and Alaca Höyük—and the ongoing debate over repatriation between Russia, Germany, and Turkey. We ask: what does Priam's Treasure actually tell us about Bronze Age Troy, and what does Schliemann's legacy mean for archaeology today? #Priam'sTreasure #HeinrichSchliemann #Troy #Hisarlik #BronzeAge #Archaeology #Gold #OttomanEmpire #Berlin #PushkinMuseum #Repatriation #TrojanWar #Looting #Mycenaean #Poliochni #AlacaHöyük #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Trojan War: The Calchas Prophecy and Greek Strategy

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the role of the seer Calchas in the Trojan War. They discuss how Calchas interpreted omens, including the sign of the sparrow and the snake at Aulis, which delayed the Greek fleet and demanded the sacrifice of Iphigenia. The conversation covers the prophecy of the ten-year war, the oracular advice that led to the recruitment of Neoptolemus and Philoctetes, and the strategic use of divination in Greek military planning. They touch on the historical parallels with Near Eastern divination practices, such as the Hittite augurs and the Assyrian extispicy. The episode also examines the tension between fate and free will in the Iliad, and how Calchas' prophecies shaped key decisions, from the plague in the Greek camp to the building of the Trojan Horse. #TrojanWar #Calchas #GreekMythology #Divination #Iliad #Homer #Iphigenia #Aulis #Prophecy #Omen #Augury #Hittites #NearEast #Philoctetes #Neoptolemus #TrojanHorse #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rhesus of Thrace: The Illiad's Lost King and the Doloneia

After more than a hundred episodes exploring the Trojan War from every angle, we finally turn our attention to one of the Iliad's most enigmatic figures: King Rhesus of Thrace. In this episode, Lucas and Luna untangle a story that appears only in Book 10 of Homer's epic — the so-called Doloneia, which many scholars believe was a later addition. Rhesus arrives on the Trojan plain just before the decisive battle, bringing snow-white horses and unmatched gold armor, but he never fights. Odysseus and Diomedes slip into his camp at night, kill him and his men, and steal his horses before Thrace can turn the tide. But why does this episode feel different from the rest of the Iliad? Linguistic and structural analyses suggest Book 10 may have been composed separately. We'll trace the historical Thracians — the gold hoards discovered at Panagyurishte and Rogozen, their links to Anatolia, and the possibility that Rhesus's white horses were more than myth. Then there's the lost tragedy Rhesus, attributed to Euripides, which gives the king a backstory: he is the son of a Muse, fated to be invincible if he could survive one day at Troy. We'll weigh the evidence, from archaeological burial mounds in southern Bulgaria to linguistic connections with the Hittite word for 'king' — rēš — and ask: was Rhesus a real Bronze Age warlord, or a literary invention to showcase Odysseus's cunning? #RhesusOfThrace #Doloneia #IliadBook10 #Odysseus #Diomedes #Thracians #PanagyurishteTreasure #EuripidesRhesus #TrojanWar #Homer #Schliemann #Hisarlik #BronzeAge #Mythology #Archaeology #Anatolia #AncientGreece #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Euneus of Lemnos: The Wine Merchant Who Saved the Greek Army

In this episode of The Trojan War: Myth, Reality, or Both?, Lucas and Luna explore the obscure but fascinating figure of Euneus, son of Jason and Hypsipyle, king of Lemnos. While Homer's Iliad focuses on heroes and battles, it was Euneus who supplied the Greek army with wine from his island, a vital commodity that kept morale high and troops hydrated. We delve into the archaeology of Lemnos, the cult of the Kabeiroi, and the historical reality of the Greek 'wine-dark sea.' We also examine Euneus's role as a mediator between the Greeks and the non-Greek peoples of the northern Aegean, and his connection to the Argonautic myth cycle. Discover how this shadowy king—barely mentioned in the Iliad—may have been a key logistical player in the Trojan War, and how the wine trade shaped Bronze Age geopolitics. References include Minyan ware, Lemnian earth, the Kabeirion, and the Hittite texts mentioning Ahhiyawa and Lazpa (Lesbos). #Euneus #Lemnos #TrojanWar #BronzeAge #Homer #Iliad #Jason #Argonauts #Hypsipyle #Kabeiroi #WineTrade #MinyanWare #Ahhiyawa #Lazpa #Hittites #Aegean #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Homer's Iliad: Oral Poetry and the Trojan War

Did the Trojan War really happen, or is it just a story? In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the oral tradition behind Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, examining how bards like Homer composed epic poems without writing, using formulaic language and stock scenes. They discuss the work of Milman Parry and Albert Lord, who studied living oral poets in Yugoslavia to understand how this tradition worked. The episode also looks at what the Iliad's descriptions of places and artifacts — like the boar's tusk helmet in Book 10 — can tell us about the Bronze Age, and how the epic might preserve memories of Mycenaean-era warfare filtered through centuries of oral transmission. From the Catalogue of Ships to the archaeology of Troy VI and VIIa, we consider how myth and history intertwine in these ancient poems. #Homer #Iliad #OralTradition #MilmanParry #AlbertLord #Mycenaean #Troy #BronzeAge #EpicPoetry #FormulaicLanguage #CatalogueOfShips #BoarsTuskHelmet #OralFormulaicTheory #AegeanArchaeology #Hisarlik #AncientPoetry #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]