Heinrich Schliemann

Lore & Background

Schliemann was born into a poor family, the fifth of nine children. His father, a Lutheran minister, encouraged his early interest in Homer. After his mother died when he was nine, he lived with an uncle. Poverty prevented a university education; at 14 he became a grocery apprentice. He later worked as a cabin boy, messenger, and bookkeeper before joining an import/export firm in 1844. Sent to St. Petersburg in 1846, he learned multiple languages and became wealthy through gold speculation in California and trade in indigo dye. By 1858 he retired to pursue archaeology.

In 1868 he visited Greek sites and published a book asserting that Hisarlık was Troy. He received a PhD in absentia from the University of Rostock for that work. Beginning in 1870, he excavated at Hisarlık, uncovering nine buried cities. In 1873 he discovered gold he called Priam's Treasure, though he later admitted fabricating the story that his wife helped carry it away. The Ottoman Empire sued him, and he paid a fine. His collections eventually went to Berlin.

Reader's Guide

Schliemann's work was pivotal in linking Homeric epic to physical sites, though his methods have been criticized. His excavation of nine layers at Hisarlık destroyed significant historical artefacts, including the layer believed to be Homeric Troy. Modern research shows that layer dates to 3000–2000 BCE, too early for the Trojan War as described by Homer. Despite disputes over his accuracy—such as his claim of dining with President Fillmore and his eyewitness account of the San Francisco Fire, both contradicted by evidence—his discoveries at Mycenae and Tiryns helped establish pre-Hellenistic archaeology. He is often called the 'father of pre-Hellenistic archaeology,' though his amateur status and occasional fabrications have drawn scrutiny. His legacy remains complex: he popularized Homeric archaeology but also destroyed key evidence.

Did You Know?

• Schliemann claimed he could learn a language in six weeks and wrote his diary in the language of whatever country he was in.
• He acquired U.S. citizenship in 1869, not 1850 as he claimed in his autobiography.
• The gold he called Priam's Treasure was smuggled out of the Ottoman Empire; his story of his wife carrying it in her shawl was fabricated.
• He was awarded a PhD in absentia from the University of Rostock in 1869 for a book that some scholars say included translated or poetic passages from another author.