Author(s): Jess Hershey

Presentation: oral

Centuries of scholars have attempted to summarize the drive behind the man who went down in history as the founder of Troy, Heinrich Schliemann. He has been placed under many roles, including a knowledgeable archeologist, a man driven by his lust for riches, and an amateur with a childlike fascination for Homer. A cloud of controversy has surrounded Schliemann since the 20th century when scholars began the first real critical analysis of his dairies, revealing lies that had remained masked for nearly a hundred years. In the midst of this exposure, Schliemann was dragged off of his pedestal, where his achievements were laid to rest without significant acknowledgement. Although critics have continued to provide useful interpretations of Schliemann, the criticisms presented largely fail to take into account the cultural context of Schliemann’s own time. The danger of this type of analysis needs to be brought to attention and thoroughly examined. I will be doing a critical analysis of Schliemann’s works while carefully observing his 18th century mindset in order to discover what the true drive was behind his public and private life.

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