troy (redirected from Troy (Asia Minor))

Troy, ancient city, Asian Turkey

Troy, ancient city made famous by Homer's account of the Trojan War. It is also called Ilion or, in Latin, Ilium. Its site is almost universally accepted as the mound now named Hissarlik, in Asian Turkey, c.4 mi (6.4 km) from the mouth of the Dardanelles. Accepting Greek tradition and details in Homeric poems as reliable, Heinrich Schliemann identified the site and conducted excavations there beginning in 1871. Nine successive cities or villages have occupied the site, the earliest dating from the Neolithic period. Attempting to determine which stratum of the mound was the Troy of the Trojan War, Schliemann first gave this distinction to the third stratum and then to the second. Excavations conducted by Wilhelm Dörpfeld in the 1890s indicated that the sixth stratum, representing the sixth settlement of the city, was the Homeric Troy. However, later discoveries by the Univ. of Cincinnati expedition under C. W. Blegen indicated that the seventh level was the Troy of Homer's period. At any rate, it has been definitely established that the Troy of the Trojan War was a Phrygian city and the center of a region known as Troas. The culture of the Trojans dates from the Bronze Age. The Romans, believing that they themselves were descendants of Aeneas and other Trojans, favored the city, and the ninth of the settlements on the site was of some importance in Roman times.

Bibliography

See H. Schliemann, Troy and Its Remains (1875) and Ilios: The City and the Country of the Trojans (1881, repr. 1968); J. L. Angel, Troy (1951); C. W. Blegen, ed., Troy (4 vol., 1950–58; supplementary monographs, 1961–63) and Troy and the Trojans (1963).

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Troy, cities, United States

Troy.

1 City (1990 pop. 13,051), seat of Pike co., SE Ala., on the Conecuh River; inc. 1843. Products include lumber and wood items, textiles, truck bodies, feed, plastics, and pecans. Troy Univ. and the county museum are there.

2 City (1990 pop. 72,884), Oakland co., SE Mich., a suburb of Detroit; settled 1821, inc. 1955. Major suburban development and residential growth occurred in the city after 1975, as urban migration from Detroit became extensive. Its varied manufactures include automobiles and automobile parts, electronics, chemicals, and door systems. Troy contains many historic buildings and is the site of Walsh College.

3 City (1990 pop. 54,269), seat of Rensselaer co., E N.Y., on the east bank of the Hudson River; inc. 1816. Once known especially for its manufacture of collars and shirts, it now produces motor vehicle parts, garden tillers, instruments, and railroad supplies. Henry Hudson explored (1609) the area near Troy, and the site was included in the patroonship given to Kiliaen Van Rensselaer by the Dutch West India Company. The town was laid out in 1786. From 1812 to 1920 it was industrially prosperous and many inventions were made there. In the second half of the 20th cent. Troy suffered from the urban blight of many river towns and lost a large number of its industries. It is the seat of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Russell Sage College, and the Emma Willard School. Samuel Wilson of Troy, who was concerned with army beef supply in the War of 1812, is said to have been the original "Uncle Sam." Many buildings of architectural and historic interest are preserved.

4 City (1990 pop. 19,478), seat of Miami co., W central Ohio, on the Great Miami River, in a farm area; inc. 1814. Welding machinery, food-processing equipment, motor generators, paper products, and tools are manufactured. Growth and industrialization came with the arrival of the Miami and Erie Canal in 1837. A disastrous flood in 1913 resulted in the creation of the first flood protection district in the United States.

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Troy

 or Ilium

Ancient city in Troas, northwestern Anatolia. It holds an enduring place in both literature and archaeology. In literature, it is well known as the location of the Trojan War. The archaeological site, a huge mound at modern Hisarlik, Tur., on the Menderes (Scamander) River, was first excavated by archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1870–90). It consists of nine major layers dating from the early Bronze Age to Roman times (c. 3000 BC–4th century AD). In Greek legend, the city was besieged by the Greeks for 10 years and finally destroyed. Its story is told in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and in Virgil's Aeneid. Whether the site is the actual city of these works is still debated, but the archaeological evidence indicates that a city (Troy VIIa) was destroyed at that location c. 1260–40 BC and likely was the Homeric Troy. The ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1998.

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Troy

any of nine ancient cities in NW Asia Minor, each of which was built on the ruins of its predecessor. The seventh was the site of the Trojan War (mid-13th century bc)