Review of The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction by Eric Cline

Eric Cline has done all Trojan War enthusiasts a favor by writing The Trojan War: A Very Short Introduction, part of an excellent series by Oxford University Press. This little book is an up to date (2013) summary of the evidence for a Trojan War. Cline opens with the story as we received it from Homer and the Epic Cycle. Then he examines the literary evidence, delving into the question of historical accuracy in Homer, and perhaps more importantly, discussing the extant references in the Hittite texts of anything relevant to Troy. I’d read all these references in Hittite letters and treaties before, but this compact presentation gave these complicated sources a refreshing clarity. Cline’s appraisal will be very welcome to the general reader of history who doesn’t want to sort out all those obscure sources but really wants to know what we have in the record. Cline’s third part reviews the archaeological evidence from Schliemann’s early work through the contemporary finds under Korfmann and those carrying on at Troy today. There’s also an excellent bibliography.

So was there indeed a Trojan War? Well, a few wars suggest themselves as possible candidates. Unfortunately for the romantics among Homer fans, the literary and physical evidence don’t align to confirm any one historically identifiable event as “The Trojan War.” We’re left remembering that there were oral bards involved in the transmission of the Iliadic tradition and their goal was not history but storytelling. Be glad historians are confirming the reality of so much of what we treasure. Yes, the world of Homer is a reflection of a real place and time, just don’t take it too literally. And read wonderful historians like Eric Cline. This is a great read for anyone interested in Troy.