Just Do It

Troy — Myth or Fact? Recent Excavations at Troy

by Alli Katz

Wed., Jan. 7, 6 p.m., $5 (free for museum members), University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 3260 South St., 215-898-4000, museum.upenn.edu

Homer only got it half right. The lecture "Troy — Myth or Fact? Recent Excavations at Troy" sorts through the legend and the artifact record to try to sort out just what — not to mention where, when and if — this epic literary battle actually existed.

In 1873, a German businessman named Heinrich Schliemann excavated a site in modern-day Turkey that he said proved that the Illiad-style Trojan War went down. He deemed the tons of coins, jewelry and awesome Afghani-made axes he found the "Treasure of Priam," after the Trojan king. The discovery made Schliemann famous — until he realized the chronology didn't fit. Dr. C. Brian Rose, deputy director of the Penn Museum, will present a whole new haul contemporary with Schliemann's discovery — and the opportunity to hear how your high school Latin teacher tried to pull a fast one on you.