In Search of the Trojan War facts for kids
Quick facts for kids In Search of the Trojan War |
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|---|---|
| Genre | History documentary |
| Written by | Michael Wood |
| Directed by | Bill Lyons |
| Presented by | Michael Wood |
| Composer(s) | Terry Oldfield David Pash |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Colin Adams |
| Producer(s) | Bill Lyons |
| Running time | approximately 345 minutes in total |
| Production company(s) | BBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC2 |
| Original release | 24 February – 31 March 1985 |
In Search of the Trojan War is an exciting six-part TV show from the BBC. It was first shown in 1985. The series was written and presented by [[Michael Wood (historian)|Michael Wood)], a famous historian. This show explores whether the ancient story of the Trojan War is true. It looks at historical clues and archaeological finds. The series compares these discoveries with the famous tale told by Homer in his epic poem, The Iliad.
Searching for the Real Trojan War
In Search of the Trojan War was a follow-up to Michael Wood's earlier popular series, In Search of the Dark Ages. That show looked for real historical people from the past. This new series expanded on that idea. Instead of searching for one person in each episode, all six episodes focused on finding the true story behind one famous figure: Helen of Troy.
Michael Wood wanted to see if the historical and archaeological evidence matched the legendary story of the Trojan War. Many cities named Troy have existed throughout history in a region called Asia Minor. Wood searched for clues about each of these cities. He then analyzed if their details matched Homer's description of the ancient city.
Wood's main goal was to find evidence for a legend. He wanted to explore a character as well-known as King Arthur. He searched for Helen, often called the face that launched a thousand ships. However, he noted that romance itself doesn't leave traces in the ground for archaeologists to find.
Episodes of the Series
The series had six episodes, each exploring a different part of the mystery surrounding the Trojan War.
- 1985-02-24: Episode 1: The Age of the Heroes - This episode introduced the story of the Trojan War. It also showed the important work of Heinrich Schliemann, an early archaeologist.
- 1985-03-03: Episode 2: The Legend Under Siege - This part looked at the work of other archaeologists. These included Wilhelm Dörpfeld, Arthur Evans, and Carl Blegen. They followed up on Schliemann's discoveries.
- 1985-03-10: Episode 3: The Singer of Tales - This episode discussed Homer, the ancient Greek poet. It explored how stories were passed down through generations by bards, or storytellers.
- 1985-03-17: Episode 4: The Women of Troy - This episode focused on the female characters in the Trojan War story.
- 1985-03-24: Episode 5: Empire of the Hittites - This part explored the powerful Hittite Empire. This empire existed in the same region as ancient Troy.
- 1985-03-31: Episode 6: The Fall of Troy - The final episode looked at the possible historical events behind the famous fall of the city of Troy.
The Companion Book
Michael Wood also wrote a book based on the television series. This book provides even more details about the search for Troy. Experts like C. Brian Rose have praised the book. The 1996 edition was called "the best overall treatment in English of the evidence for the Trojan War." A later 1998 edition included a new chapter. This chapter covered the most recent discoveries in the ongoing search for the real Troy.
