Korfmann Thesis

Korfmann’s main thesis is that scholars could make a valid argument for the Trojan War having a historical basis. First, he addresses the issue of Troy’s size. Some scholars have argued that the site of Troy was small and insignificant in the Late Bronze Age, making it unlikely to be Homer’s Troy from the Iliad (Korfmann). Recently, however, scholars have found that Troy was large and important as a gateway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Further evidence to support Troy’s large size is the U-shaped fortification ditch around the lower city area, pottery confirming the city had several large buildings, and the presence of a cemetery (Korfmann). Troy also faced attacks from the outside shown by repairs to the citadel (Korfmann). These factors prove that Troy had a decent population size and a need to defend the city. Next, Korfmann writes about Troy being a setting for the Iliad. Troy was in ruins during Homer’s time in 8th century B.C., but the outlines of Troy VI/VIIa were still visible to the

The Rose article was more focused on examining the archaeological evidence of Troy than definitively trying to prove of the Trojan War’s existence. Meanwhile, the Korfmann article used evidence to show that scholars could make a valid argument for the Trojan War. But, I think that the Korfmann article was weak because the true argument was only within the last section of the article. Korfmann focused more on giving individual points that could support a real Trojan War. There was also not much detail about the evidence Korfmann uses to support a possible Trojan War. For example, he mentions in the Hittite Connection section that they found pottery to show Troy was more aligned with Anatolian culture, but he does not mention any specific examples of Anatolian culture (Korfmann). Nonetheless, Korfmann’s article was more argumentative than the Rose article on