J. Lesley Fitton

A guide to the exhibition at the British Museum in 2019/20 that I was fortunate enough to visit. This is both an excellent reminder of the exhibition, but also provides copious details of:
1. The original story as most famously recorded in Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey, but also other ancient Greek and Latin texts. Ancient vase paintings, sculptures and other works of art illustrate the story.
2. The archaeological rediscovery of Troy/Illium/Hissarlik, most famously by Heinrich Schliemann, but also explaining his predecessors and the largely forgotten assistance provided by Frank Calvert to Schliemann, and the more academic rigour provided by subsequent archaeologists.
3. The continuing use of different aspects of the story by artists throughout the ages, with plenty of illustrations and references to and excerpts from literary works. Although I was aware of many of these artistic works, bringing them together makes me realise how much art has used and reused this story as a framework for contemporary concerns. In the book, it is this section that I found most interesting.

An excellent book, well worth reading even if you didn’t attend the exhibition.… (mer)