Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - In Search of Ancient Troy

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. My name is Thomas and I'm your host. It's a pleasure as always to have your company. Tonight's story that I'll be reading was written by Leila. We'll be exploring the ancient Greek legend of the Trojan War, looking into modern efforts to uncover the truth of this mythical place. And in doing so, we'll walk the line between myth and history. Following along as archaeologists, historians and scholars, try to extract the truth from

Starting point is 00:00:53 the dust of years gone by. Don't forget you can now listen to this episode and all of our Monday and Wednesday releases on our Get Sleepy YouTube channel. Each episode there is accompanied by soothing visuals designed to help you unwind and relax. Plus, you can vote on our polls, comment on your favourite episodes, and be a part of our Get Sleepy YouTube community. We love hearing from all of you. Just go to youtube.com slash Get SleepyPod or simply follow the link in the show notes. When you're there please hit subscribe and check out one of our videos.

Starting point is 00:01:43 I'd like to say a big thank you to Rocket Money for sponsoring the show tonight. Did you know the average person has around 12 paid subscriptions? Which seems a lot right? If you think you're only subscribed to a handful of services, you might want to double check. Rocket Money, formerly known as TrueBill, is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you lower bills all in one place. Simply find the subscription you don't want, press cancel, and Rocket money will do the rest. Over 3 million people have used rocket money, saving the average person up to $720 per

Starting point is 00:02:31 year. So stop throwing your money away. the easy way by going to rocketmoney.com slash get sleepy. That's r-o-c-k-e-t-m-o-n-e-y.com slash get sleepy. rocketmoney.com slash get sleepy. Okay my friends, it's nearly time for our story, so give yourself a few moments to transition away from the day, getting some distance from the level of activity and responsibility that it held. Allow thoughts to come and go as they naturally do. But each time you notice one, just reassure yourself that you can let it go. Now minds are always seeking out thoughts, problems, worries, anything to occupy our attention. And of course, it's incredibly difficult to shut that off completely.

Starting point is 00:04:01 That's one reason why listening to this show is effective and helpful because our stories offer a calm and gentle spot for your attention to rest on when you come to bed. And while you listen, I want you to be gentle on yourself too. Remember that we're all different and the time it takes for each of us to transition into rest can vary greatly. Just trust that your process of transition will lead you into a deep, nourishing sleep when the time is right. Now that you're hopefully feeling more relaxed and settled, let's begin our story and delve into a little history, a little literature, a little archaeology, and more than a bit of wonder as we seek to understand the tale of Troy. Have you ever heard the expression, the face that launched a thousand ships? Have you heard of the Trojan horse, or maybe about someone's Achilles heel.

Starting point is 00:06:07 These are all references to the legend of the Trojan War, a mythical clash between ancient Greeks and a great warred city called Troy whose residents were known as Trojans. According to the legend, a Trojan prince fell in love with the most beautiful woman in the world, whose name was Helen. Unfortunately, she was already married to a Greek king. But that didn't stop the Trojan prince. He carried Helen away with him on his ship, across the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, and back to his home in Troy.

Starting point is 00:07:07 The Greek king wasn't about to let that stand. Evalid other kings and great warriors of Greece, and together they set sail with a fleet of ships, intent upon recovering Helen. They sailed through the rolling of Gian waves until they reached the shore of Troy. The Greek slayed siege to Troy, but the city was protected by huge walls, and the Trojans held out against the attack. The battles raged in and out of years, and the siege went on for a decade, but still no winner emerged from the fray. The Greeks could not take the city and the Trojans could not throw off their attackers from across the sea. The war was a stalemate, that is, until the Greeks employed a theatrical ruse.

Starting point is 00:08:29 As the legend goes, one of them, a master carpenter, finally built an enormous wooden horse. This huge horse statue was not made of solid wood however, it was hollow inside. And there was a good reason why it was hollow. The wooden horse the Greek carpenter made was so big that people could actually ride inside of it. And that was just what the Greek warriors intended to do. With the horse complete, the Greeks made a great show of abandoning their camp and sailing their ships away. They didn't actually head back across the sea

Starting point is 00:09:29 though. Instead, the fleet hid behind an island just off shore. But they left behind one man who was charged with convincing the Trojans to bring this enormous wooden horse inside the city walls. The leaders of Troy examined the horse and hesitated over it. hesitated over it. Some of them favored destroying it, and the Trojan kings misunderstood daughter who could see the future, gave dire warnings about its danger. But the group didn't listen to the warnings. After a time, the lone Greek was able to convince the Trojans to keep the horse as a gift for the goddess of war. And that was their downfall. That night, the townspeople indulged in a wine-soaked celebration of what they thought was their victory. Then, worn out, they went off to their beds.

Starting point is 00:11:00 They were sure that their attackers were beaten and gone, so sure that they didn't even leave any guards on duty. But unbeknownst to the Trojans, a group of the best Greek warriors were hidden inside the giant wooden horse. And at night, those warriors emerged from the statue. Under cover of the dark and silent night as the Trojan slumbered, the Greek warriors climbed out of the towering wooden horse. They stole through the quiet city, umbought the gates, and threw them open wide. The waiting Greek armies came in through the open gates. They routed the sleepy and wine befuddled Trojans and set fire to the city. And, with that, the Great Troy was no more.

Starting point is 00:12:31 That is the gist of the legend, give or take a few details, such as the role of numerous ancient Greek gods and goddesses along the way. According to the myth, these pesky divinities took sides and played key roles in the drama. They instigated trouble, egged on the humans, and generally contributed to the mayhem at key points throughout the whole affair. But at any rate, those are the main plotlines of the tale. It's a story that has beguiled listeners for nearly 3,000 years, since it was first told long ago throughout the land of Greece. The tale of the Trojan War fascinated the people of ancient Greece who heard it from traveling story tellers. as ancient Rome came to power, it captivated the Romans as well.

Starting point is 00:13:52 The tale was recounted in poetic form written down and inscribed on pottery. Its images were engraved on winejucks and silver cups, cast in plaster and carved into stone. stone immortalized in statues and paintings and emblazoned on walls. Many hundreds of years later it continued to rivet listeners and readers from across Europe and then beyond during the Middle Ages and into modern times. Along the way it has inspired countless retellings. It's been told and re-told in poetry and prose, on parchment and in books, on the stage and finally the screen. As it passed down through the years, the tale's mythical st, grew. Yet it was widely seen as nothing more than a legend. A fictional story told for entertainment akin to a popular fantasy tale of today. Most people thought that Troy, the place, had never really existed, that it was simply an invention born in the imagination of the poet Homer or of some unnamed storyteller

Starting point is 00:15:59 long ago. And yet, is the story of Troy purely legend, or could it be based on fact? Could it be a kind of history, masked under the layers of poetry, mythology, and retellings until it was no longer recognized as anything other than fiction. That was the proposition that led a couple of explorers just over a century and a half ago, to a windy plane at the north-western tip of Turkey in what was once known as Asia Minor. There, the remains of a ruined city lay buried in the earth. buried in the earth. Buried that is, until one amateur archaeologist convinced another amateur, who also happened to be a wealthy businessman, to investigate a mound that welled up in the grassy plains. This large mound lay a few miles inland from the sea, in an area once called the Trood,

Starting point is 00:17:35 and it was understood to contain the remnants of some ancient town. These amateur archaeologists were on a hunt for the mythical Troy. Like the general public, most scholars believed the legendary city had never really existed, or if it did, that it certainly wasn't lurking under this remote mound. But these two amateurs disagreed. They were enamoured of the Trojan legend, and they were determined to prove that it was actually rooted in real history. They believed that the mound was in just the right spot to hide what they were seeking. In fact, there was a city built there in the archaic period, where people paid tribute to the mythological heroes of the Trojan War

Starting point is 00:18:48 and others. That turned the area into something of a tourist destination in the Classical Era. This knowledge of the Classical Era site is one reason they were convinced it was the site of the mythical Troy. So it was that they came to this Turkish plain prepared to dig deep into the grassy earth. into the grassy earth. Eagally, they dug a giant trench straight down through the hilly mound. And there, beneath millennia of dirt and debris, they found the remains of a city and fortress from long, long ago. They also found earrings, bracelets, diadems, and thousands of rings all made of solid gold. Plus rich objects of silver, bronze, and precious lapis lazuli stones.

Starting point is 00:20:12 To the astonishment of observers the world over, the wealthy businessman declared victory in the search for Troy. in the search for Troy. He announced that the gold and precious items were the treasure of the Trojan King from the legend. People around the world were indeed from very long ago, they were in fact from too long ago, far too long ago. Eventually, modern dating methods show them to date from about a thousand years earlier than the time the legendary story could have taken place if any of it were true. Nevertheless, excavations continued at the site, often done over the years. often done over the years. And the digging uncovered layers of ruins on top of ruins.

Starting point is 00:21:34 The deeper layers were the oldest, but a more recent layer of ruins proved to be from just the right era. According to tests, that more recent layer dated to the estimated time period of the legend. And that layer of ruins contained the remains of a powerful, ward city that was destroyed right at the time when the legendary Trojan War was said to have taken place. The excavators found wrecked walls and burned Earth, indicating possible widespread fire. It's now widely accepted that this fortress city was the Troy described in the legend. And there's something magical about discovering that a mythical story actually had a basis in reality. And therein lies a big part of the Enchantment of the modern story of Troy. The age old tale of love and war had held such power it captured imaginations for thousands of years. It was enthralling to discover that the city so long thought to be no more real

Starting point is 00:23:22 than a fairy tale, truly existed. Troy was a real place, and we can now visit it, or at last from under the Turkish dust. And we can study its ruins for clues to its true story. But the question remains, how much of the rest of the legend was based in reality, if any? Did the Trojan War itself really take place? If so, was a beautiful woman involved and was she named Helen. Did a wooden horse seal the city's fate? At least for now, we just don't know. It's believed there was a war that happened based on archaeological findings, but many unanswered questions still linger. True scientific inquiry is nothing less than the pursuit of truth. And in that endeavour, little is ever simple or certain. And so it is with the search for the truth

Starting point is 00:25:11 of the Trojan story. Scholars aren't certain what calamity flattened the Trojan Wars. The legend claims it was an attack by Greek troops, and that it was they who set a fire that scorched the earth. But there is also evidence indicating an earthquake may have destroyed the city at that time. And in fact, earthquakes seem to have levelled settlements at the location many times over the millennia. Still, there are tantalizing clues buried in the evidence that's been uncovered so far. Slingshots and stones amongst the rubble, and even embedded in the old walls, bronze arrowheads and spear tips. And there are other hints in literature and historical records. Ancient writings from an empire in Turkey refer to fighting with the story of the Trojan War contained startling detail that made it seem

Starting point is 00:26:51 sometimes more like a historical account than pure fantasy. For example, its description of Troy's location was geographically precise and conforms accurately to its real life position. Of course, even if the legend contains kernels of historical truth, there are many elements of the story that are certainly mythical. For example, the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology played crucial roles in it from start to finish. In the legendary tale, the trouble first began when three goddesses quarreled. They disagreed over which of them was the most beautiful. Each believed at wishee, naturally.

Starting point is 00:28:01 The Greek deities were not noted for their humility. The Prince of Troy was appointed as judge to determine which of the goddesses was the most beautiful and so to settle their dispute. According to the legend, the prince chose the goddess of love, Aphrodite, but only because she promised him the loveliest woman on earth, Queen Helen. Never mind that Helen was already married to a Greek king. Then, when the Greeks sailed off to recover the Queen, the legend states that various gods and goddesses championed the Trojans, and others supported the Greeks during the long years of the battle.

Starting point is 00:29:07 What's more, the story declared that one of the best Greek warriors was the son of a sea goddess. If it seems surprising that a goddess should have a mortal son, it's important to know that in Greek mythology, deities were said to regularly have romantic attachments to humans. And so, the sea goddess had married a mortal man, and the pair had a son named Achilles. It's this legendary warrior, Achilles, who gave his name to the term Achilles heel, and to the Achilles tendon in your ankle.

Starting point is 00:30:06 And here's why. According to legend, the warriors Godess mother wanted to protect him from harm. So, when he was just a baby, she dipped him into a divine river whose waters would make him invincible. The only trouble was that she held the baby by his heel when she dipped him in. And so, his heel wasn't submerged in the divine waters. This left him with one weak spot, and it was this that ultimately led to his death during the Trojan War. Still, up to that point, the killis was untouchable in battle until the Trojan Prince at last found his weakness. Then the prince slayed a killis with an arrow to the heel.

Starting point is 00:31:20 And that is why, to this day, we refer to a person's weakness as their Achilles heel. The roles of the gods and goddesses, and the story of Achilles and his vulnerable heel, are just a few parts of the legend that we can summarize a more myth than history. Despite those embellishments of the story, scholars are working to this day to identify what else in the legend may be essentially true? Carefully, slowly, they are extracting the secrets of Troy, artifact by artifact. And with time, perhaps more evidence will come to light. But for now, we must continue to wonder if there really was a great war in which Greek

Starting point is 00:32:34 attackers levelled the famed city. At a minimum, we can't rule that out. Which leads us to ponder another question? If there was such a war, what was its cause? Was there also a Helen of Troy whose face launched the Greek ships as in the famous quotation. Looking at the evidence, there are many things that could have sparked a Trojan war, besides the love and loss of a beautiful Greek queen. That's because the city of Troy is located in a strategic spot.

Starting point is 00:33:35 It lies near a narrow waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Eugenia Sea, which in turn flows out into the great Mediterranean. And in ancient times, the shoreline lay even closer to the city than it does today. This meant that Troy sat overlooking the waterway. It also oversaw a key land route on its other side. Thus, the Trojan metropolis commanded both major routes between Greek and Eastern civilizations. As such, the Trojans were perfectly positioned to trade widely and extensively. They probably also had a captive market to sell goods to, because ships would have to wait nearby for the right winds to sail through the waterway.

Starting point is 00:34:53 They even would have had the ability to control traffic along the routes if they so chose. They could have imposed tolls or taxes on anyone travelling past. All those scholars haven't found evidence to tell whether they took advantage of this opportunity or not. Their location would have meant the Trojaners could have hampered trade, impeded travel, taxed merchants, and stood as obstacles to exploration or military adventures. Their location also would have given them access to great wealth and commerce. Such riches alone could have presented a tempting prize for marauding princes. Yes, war could certainly have broken out between the Greeks and the Trojans over many things, other than love and revenge.

Starting point is 00:36:14 But then again, who knows? Stranger things have come to pass than a powerful love that influenced world events than a lost city emerging from a windy plane, than a legend coming to life. Perhaps a lovely face did launch a fleet of ships across the Aegean Sea some 3,000 years ago. Perhaps we'll never know. But as long as we can wander and dream and imagine, we can continue to learn to explore

Starting point is 00:37:14 and discover. just maybe one day someone among us will uncover the full truth or myth of the mysterious Helen of Troy. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing.

Starting point is 00:38:17 I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. ... ... ... I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. ... ... ... you you ... ... ... ... you ... ... you you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - In Search of Ancient Troy

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