Heinrich Schliemann (Neubukow, Mecklembourg, January 6th 1822 - Naples, December 26th 1890), German archeologist , discoverer of Troy and Mycènes.

Biography

Wire of poor Pasteur, Schliemann must stop his studies at 14 years to become made of a grocer. It sells herrings and candles during 5 years. After an accident, it decides to change life. It embarks then for the Venezuela. The boat makes shipwreck with broad Holland. Survivor, it enters as assistant-accountant a house of trade of Amsterdam. He connects several trades before being sent in 1846 to Saint-Pétersbourg, where he succeeds so that he decides to be established on his account as wholesale trader. In 1851, it opens an office of purchase and gold powder resale. Its fortune is built quickly.

In 1852, it marries a Russian aristocrat, of which it will have three children. Between 1858 and 1859, it travels for its business, the California seems a ground with a future, it settles time there to speculate in gold (it is the Rush), it is done banking, ready with the minors with 12% the month, becomes even richer, returns to Russia, benefits from the blockade and the Crimean War to make trade of weapons, ammunition, provisioning, the money runs with floods. It settles with Paris. In 1866, it is registered with the Sorbonne in sciences of Antiquity and languages Eastern. It parallel to continues to develop its business (for example by buying grounds with cane with sugar with Cuba).

Its voyages continue, tourism and businesses: the Egypt, the India in the second-class coaches, the Japan, the China. Such Phileas Fogg, it observes, takes notes, piles up documents. With the return, it writes its accounts of voyage, the fact of publishing. He visits Rome and especially the excavations of Pompéi. This vision upsets it and makes return to its spirit a very old dilection: his/her father told him the Catch of Troy, the forwarding of the Greeks to take again Helene…

In 1868, it visits the Greece for the first time. The same year, it meets Frank Calvert, the vice-consul of the the United States in Dardanelles. This one bought half of the hill of Hissarlik, in Turkey, where the Old ones located the ruins of Troy. In 1869, Schliemann divorces and marries Greek, which him will give a girl, Andromaque (born in 1871), and a son, Agamemnon (born in 1878). The same year, it obtains American nationality and a doctorate in archeology.

In 1870, Schliemann decides to begin excavations. Autodidact, it learned several old and Eastern languages. Persuaded, like the Old ones, that the poems of Homère describe a historical reality, he undertakes excavations in Greece and minor Asia to find the places which are described there.

On the hillock of Hissarlik, it puts at the day the ruins of a city which it very quickly identifies in Troy. The excavations of great width start by destroying all that does not appear contemporary with the Trojan War to the eyes of Schliemann. On the whole, seven excavation campaigns take place. It puts at the day nine superimposed cities and 2  000 vase, objets d'art mainly. It engaged in particular a young archeologist, Wilhelm Dörpfeld, of which some said that it was his more beautiful lucky find and who became later the director of the German archaeological Mission in Greece.

The scandal arrives soon. Whereas in 1874, Schlieman claims to have exhumed the treasure of Priam and the jewels of Helene, the Turkish government shows it flight of national goods, lie and falsification. Schliemann escapes from the lawsuit only while making play its relations and the price of a strong fine. The archeologist then makes discreetly leave Turkey the fragments of jewels discovered. The second scandal is scientist: Schliemann is shown to be itself misled in the dating of the found objects. In 1889, the archeologist must admit his error. Following these businesses, Schliemann is interdict of stay in Turkey.

He discovers then the ruins of Mycènes (1874), Orchomène (1880) and Tirynthe (1884), and excavates with Ithaque. Very quickly, one thinks of having proven the validity of descriptions of Homère: Schliemann finds a gold mask which one thinks of being that of Agamemnon, the king of the kings, a large shield of ox skins covered with bronze, described in Iliade like pertaining to Ajax large the, or a cut decorated with gold nails, allotted in the poem to Nestor. One thus compares the civilization of Mycènes to that described by Homère.

Later work, like those of Ventris and Chadwick on the Linear B, shows later that the thesis is not bearable. In addition, taking into consideration current requirement of the archaeological techniques, the excavations of Schliemann were not made according to the rules of Article Despite everything, there remains the pioneer of the Greek archeology, and opened the way with research on civilization mycénienne.

Works

• China and Japan at time present , Paris, central Bookstore, 1867.