Name

The word ‘Troia’ has different writing and pronunciation versions in different languages. In Turkish Language it is known as ‘Troya’ and also as ‘Truva’ like the French pronunciation since the 19th century. In Iliad, it was called both Troia and Ilios. The name ‘Troia’ was used for 49 times, whereas Ilios for 106 times. Although the name ‘Holy Ilios’ occurs very often in the Iliad, the name ‘Troia’ is used less frequently. The latter appears together with adjectives like ‘surrounded by strong walls’, ‘has strong towers’, ‘has wide streets’ and ‘windy’. These two names used for the city go back to the times much earlier than Homer. The legend reaches to Homer by oral tradition.

Location

Troia is close to the valley of Karamenderes (Skamander), where the river falls into the Aegean Sea on the Asian side of the Dardanel. It is the biggest and the most important prehistoric settlement in this region. The mound of Troia is located on a plateau, which is 20-25m higher than Karamenderes Valley made of alluvium. The plateau has a triangular shape and had a strategic defensive position around 3000 B.C. In this period the sea was reaching the northern side of the mound. In the Bronze Age, which lasted 2000 years, the cultural fill is up to 15m high. Troia was settled through thousands of years and thus experienced many battles and destructions due to its strategic position between the two continents (Asia & Europe) and two seas (the Aegean and the Black Sea).