Heinrich
Schliemann ΕΡΡΙΚΟΣ
ΣΛΗΜΑΝ
Born 1822 Died
1890
Section 4,
Number 581
Linguist,
multi-millionaire, believer in the literal truth of Homer and Pausanias: by 46,
Heinrich Schliemann had the money, the time, and the drive to find Troy and prove
his theories true. He moved to Greece, married a Greek girl, entered Greek
society, opened his opulent mansion to the Athenian elite, and became the most
famous archaeologist of all time. If the price was sloppy procedure, and claims
that did not ultimately hold true upon investigation, no matter. He made the
pursuit of Greece’s prehistoric past the dream of many and the study of archaeology
popular and exciting. Schliemann was a
self-made man in every sense of the
word. He first created his myth and then almost lived up to every bit of it. Amazing.
His Life
Born in Germany, and shipwrecked in Holland at age 19
before he had a chance to go to America, Schliemann found work in Amsterdam and
managed to get sent to Russia shortly
thereafter (1846). There his natural talent for languages and business made him
his first fortune not long after he had struck out on his own.
The young entrepreneur
1850 saw him in America
to settle his dead brother’s estate. While there he became a citizen and
made his second fortune dealing in gold rush gold, establishing a bank, and
investing heavily in railroads. Back in Russia in 1852, he married a Russian
woman and fathered three children all the while increasing his fortune by
supplying arms to the Russian army during the Crimean war.
Economically secure, he travelled: Egypt, Greece, the Near East, North Africa,
India, Singapore, China, Japan, North and South America. By 1863, with wealth
that, as he put it, surpassed even his own ambitions, he retired to pursue his fascination
with Homer and Greek prehistory.
Then he turned to Homer’s Troy. He first visited the area in 1868 and identified the hill at Hissarlik as the most likely spot for Troy. It was partially owned by Frank Calvert who had had the same idea but did not have the money to dig. Schliemann did and they entered into an agreement about excavating.
By 1869, Schliemann had decided to make Greece his home, took a trip to America in order to legally divorce his Russian wife and promptly married 17 year old Sophia Engastromenos, a girl chosen for him by the Archbishop of Mantinea. He was 30 years her senior.
By 1870 he had commissioned an opulent house; it was completed in1880. Built by Ziller in the Italian Renaissance style, no expense was spared inside or out. He named it the Iliou Melathron, the ‘Trojan palace’, although he himself was wont to refer to it as the palazzo! (1)
the perfect setting for his wife, his salon, and his artifacts.
Schliemann made several more trips to Troy, the last two seasons with the distinguished archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld whose more cautious excavating style did much to tame Schliemann’s haphazard ways.
On his last excursion, he realized himself that Priam’s treasure came from a stratum over a thousand years earlier than Homer’s Troy and that he had, in fact, himself destroyed some of it in his hurry to dig deeper. Dorpfeld recounted later, perhaps tongue in cheek, that when he was told of this error, Schliemann simply retreated to his tent for four days…
As for Mycenae, he had written to the king at the time:
With great joy I announce to Your Majesty that I have discovered the tombs which the tradition proclaimed by Pausanias indicates to be the graves of Agamemnon, Cassandra, Eurymedon and their companions, all slain at a banquet by Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthos.
His Legacy
It has become fashionable to tut tut Schliemann’s accomplishments because he was sometimes a sloppy excavator, something of a showman who could bend the truth for dramatic effect(2), and one who often rode roughshod over the feelings and accomplishments of those who had helped him.
He wasn’t perfect, that is for sure. But what a life! And remember, when he first set out in the footsteps of Homer, convinced of the literal truth of the Iliad and Odyssey, he was the first to do so and in that pursuit, he changed the world’s perception of Greece. All the subsequent great names in Greek archaeology have been very much in his shadow.
His Mausoleum
Schliemann’s mausoleum
in the First Cemetery is no mere grave marker. It is a personal testament in
stone.
Brigitte
Mannsperger called it “ Heinrich’s ultimate act of staging – climaxing in an
apotheosis”.
Built to order
by his friend, Ernst Ziller, Schliemann planned it all himself. He was too steeped
in ancient lore to think that a great man’s resting place should be left to
chance It’s
resemblance to the Acropolis’ temple of Nike (Victory) is not accidental.
Above the burial chamber, a bust of Schliemann still gazes
at the Philipappos Hill; back in 1891 it would have overlooked the ancient Acropolis
as well.
He was buried at public expense; the king himself
attended, and copies of the Iliad and Odyssey were placed on his coffin. On the
architrave above his bust, we can make
out the letters ΣΧΛΙΕΜΑΝ Θ ΗΡΩ, Schliemann
Hero. (3)
A narrow frieze winds around the base of the temple. It
is out of position. That is because Schliemann wanted it to be seen. Three
sides are what you might expect: battles from the Iliad, gods, a tripod and a
sacrifice (south side), a procession (east side). ends
west façade
south façade
east façade
The north façade is a little different. Here Schliemann in contemporary dress, pith helmet in place, wife by his side, and holding the Iliad in one hand, directs the digging as workmen uncover Homer’s Troy and haul off Priam’s vases.
Heady Stuff!
Why A
Classical Temple?
Given Schliemann’s love of Greek prehistory, why not a
tholos tomb or a cist grave with a suitable enclosure wall and monument? Either
might have been a romantic choice, but a classical temple was very ‘nineteenth
century’ and he was a man of his era
who wanted to be admired by the men of his era. A temple was grand, but not eccentric; it offered
the necessary gravitas not to mention the surface area needed to carve out his legacy
for future generations.
Map
Section 4, Number 581 Overlooking the Plaza
Footnotes
1. (1) Sayings from Homer adorned the walls,
drawings from Pompey were reproduced, the reception area could accommodate 600,
and it had central heating, quite a novelty in those days. It is now the Numismatic Museum and can be visited. The
Iliou Melathron deserves it own text. Wikipedia provides one.
2.
Schliemann could ‘gild the lily’ for
effect. One famous example would be the story that his wife was with him when
he found Priam’s treasure. This made her picture wearing the treasure all the
more dramatic. Schliemann was not unaware of his wife’s potential for
increasing his fame. Fame mattered to him and helped his cause. There are
moments when reading his story that Donald Trump comes to mind. What counters
that unfortunate comparison, are his real achievements!
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