A newly deciphered Hittite clay tablet has challenged traditional notions of the Trojan epic, suggesting the existence of a local epic tradition that was lost to time.
Scientists have uncovered an ancient Hittite clay tablet dating back to the Bronze Age, containing fascinating information about the Trojan epic. The tablet, found in Türkiye, predates Homer's famous poem, the Iliad, by several centuries.
The tablet mentions correspondence between the Hittite king and a local ruler of the city of Tarwisa (believed to be Troy), a character named Atarsia and his sons who attacked Troy, and an ancient poem in the Luwian language of the Indo-Eurasian language family describing the fall of Troy.
Scientific research has proven that the Trojan epic was known long before Homer, providing new evidence of a real historical conflict that may have been the source of the epic, and confirming the region's importance in the Bronze Age.
For centuries, scholars doubted the existence of Troy until Heinrich Schliemann's excavations in 1873 confirmed its existence, but the debate over whether the war actually happened continues to this day.
This painting may be new evidence supporting the occurrence of a conflict.
It is noteworthy that the conflict between the Greeks and Troy, located in northwestern present-day Türkiye, lasted, according to Homer, for 10 years.
The Greeks were led by King Agamemnon and the Trojans by King Priam, and this discovery opens a new door to understanding one of the most famous epics in history!