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WHEN Heinrich Schliemann was a little boy his
father told him the story of Troy。 He liked that story
better than anything else he had ever heard and he made
up his mind； that as soon as he was big enough to leave home；
he would travel to Greece and ‘‘find Troy。'' That he was the
son of a poor country parson in a Mecklenburg village did
not bother him。 He knew that he would need money but
he decided to gather a fortune first and do the digging afterwards。
As a matter of fact； he managed to get a large fortune
within a very short time； and as soon as he had enough money to
equip an expedition； he went to the northwest corner of Asia
Minor； where he supposed that Troy had been situated。
In that particular nook of old Asia Minor； stood a high
mound covered with grainfields。 According to tradition it had
been the home of Priamus the king of Troy。 Schliemann；
whose enthusiasm was somewhat greater than his knowledge；
wasted no time in preliminary explorations。 At once he began
to dig。 And he dug with such zeal and such speed that his
trench went straight through the heart of the city for which he
was looking and carried him to the ruins of another buried
town which was at least a thousand years older than the Troy
of which Homer had written。 Then something very interesting
occurred。 If Schliemann had found a few polished stone
hammers and perhaps a few pieces of crude pottery； no one
would have been surprised。 Instead of discovering such objects；
which people had generally associated with the prehistoric
men who had lived in these regions before the coming of
the Greeks； Schliemann found beautiful statuettes and very
costly jewelry and ornamented vases of a pattern that was
unknown to the Greeks。 He ventured the suggestion that
fully ten centuries before the great Trojan war； the coast of
the AEgean had been inhabited by a mysterious race of men
who in many ways had been the superiors of the wild Greek
tribes who had invaded their country and had destroyed their
civilisation or absorbed it until it had lost all trace of originality。
And this proved to be the case。 In the late seventies of
the last century； Schliemann visited the ruins of Mycenae； ruins
which were so old that Roman guide…books marvelled at their
antiquity。 There again； beneath the flat slabs of stone of a
small round enclosure； Schliemann stumbled upon a wonderful
treasure…trove； which had been left behind by those mysterious
people who had covered the Greek coast with their cities and
who had built walls； so big and so heavy and so strong； that
the Greeks called them the work of the Titans； those god…like
giants who in very olden days had used to play ball with
mountain peaks。
A very careful study of these many relics has done away
with some of the romantic features of the story。 The makers
of these early works of art and the builders of these strong
fortresses were no sorcerers； but simple sailors and traders。
They had lived in Crete； and on the many small islands of the
AEgean Sea。 They had been hardy mariners and they had
turned the AEgean into a center of commerce for the exchange
of goods between the highly civilised east and the slowly
developing wilderness of the European mainland。
For more than a thousand years they had maintained an
island empire which had developed a very high form of art。
Indeed their most important city； Cnossus； on the northern
coast of Crete； had been entirely modern in its insistence upon
hygiene and comfort。 The palace had been properly drained
and the houses had been provided with stoves and the Cnossians
had been the first people to make a daily use of the hitherto
unknown bathtub。 The palace of their King had been famous
for its winding staircases and its large banqueting hall。 The
cellars underneath this palace； where the wine and the grain
and the olive…oil were stored； had been so vast and had so
greatly impressed the first Greek visitors； that they had given
rise to the story of the ‘‘labyrinth；'' the name which we give
to a structure with so many complicated passages that it is
almost impossible to find our way out； once the front door has
closed upon our frightened selves。
But what finally became of this great AEgean Empire and
what caused its sudden downfall； that I can not tell。
The Cretans were familiar with the art of writing； but no
one has yet been able to decipher their inscriptions。 Their
history therefore is unknown to us。 We have to reconstruct
the record of their adventures from the ruins which the
AEgeans have left behind。 These ruins make it clear that the
AEgean world was suddenly conquered by a less civilised race
which had recently come from the plains of northern Europe。
Unless we are very much mistaken； the savages who were
responsible for the destruction of the Cretan and the AEgean
civilisation were none other than certain tribes of wandering
shepherds who had just taken possession of the rocky peninsula
between the Adriatic and the AEgean seas and who are
known to us as Greeks。
THE GREEKS
MEANWHILE THE INDO…EUROPEAN TRIBE
OF THE HELLENES WAS TAKING
POSSESSION OF GREECE
THE Pyramids were a thousand years old and were beginning
to show the first signs of decay； and Hammurabi； the
wise king of Babylon； had been dead and buried several centuries；
when a small tribe of shepherds left their homes along
the banks of the River Danube and wandered southward in
search of fresh pastures。 They called themselves Hellenes；
after Hellen； the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha。 According
to the old myths these were the only two human beings who
had escaped the great flood； which countless years before had
destroyed all the people of the world； when they had grown
so wicked that they disgusted Zeus； the mighty God； who lived
on Mount Olympus。
Of these early Hellenes we know nothing。 Thucydides；
the historian of the fall of Athens； describing his earliest
ancestors； said that they ‘‘did not amount to very much；'' and
this was probably true。 They were very ill…mannered。 They
lived like pigs and threw the bodies of their enemies to the wild
dogs who guarded their sheep。 They had very little respect
for other people's rights； and they killed the natives of the
Greek peninsula （who were called the Pelasgians） and stole
their farms and took their cattle and made their wives and
daughters slaves and wrote endless songs praising the courage
of the clan of the Achaeans； who had led the Hellenic advance…
guard into the mountains of Thessaly and the Peloponnesus。
But here and there； on the tops of high rocks； they saw
the castles of the AEgeans and those they did not attack for
they feared the metal swords and the spears of the AEgean
soldiers and knew that they could not hope to defeat them with
their clumsy stone axes。
For many centuries they continued to wander from valley
to valley and from mountain side to mountain sid