On August 1, 2018, the Turkish Post issued a small sheet dedicated to Troy, an ancient city in Turkey, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Troy or Ilion is a legendary ancient city with an epic history. Tales of the Trojan War, its heroes and battles have come down to us thanks to the ancient Greek poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", the author of which is believed to be the blind poet Homer. It is assumed that the Trojan War described by the poet took place at the turn of the 13th-12th centuries BC. In ancient legends, history and myths, the exploits of people and the will of the gods were bizarrely mixed. After so many centuries, Troy seemed to many to be a mythical city, a well-known colorful fairy tale that had nothing to do with real history.

However, there were other people who firmly believed in the reality of the legendary city. Among them was the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who after many years of searching in the late 1860s, as a result of archaeological excavations of the Hisarlik hill near the town of Canakkale (in modern Turkey), found the ruins of Troy.

Time has preserved for us in the famous Troy fragments of the eastern wall and gates, the citadel stairs, a partially reconstructed Megaron, the majestic temple of Athena, the mysterious sanctuaries of Cybele and Demeter with a tribune and altar, an impressive concert hall odeon, as well as ancient houses of the rich and famous Trojans. Excavations and archaeological research continue to this day; researchers have found traces of the Roman water supply system and the very road leading outside the city at Hisarlik.

In 1998, Troy was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, and 20 years later, UNESCO declared 2018 the year of Troy, the legendary ancient city.

Trojan War

The discovery of the ancient city confirmed the historical events associated with Troy, and the Trojan War became a reality. The only mystery that remained was the existence of the famous Trojan Horse. Was it a real military trick or a fiction of ancient storytellers will remain a mystery to us.

According to legend, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, the Achaeans and their Danaans allies resorted to trickery - they built a huge wooden horse and, having hidden warriors in it, rolled it up to the gates of Troy, supposedly as a gift to the gods. And they pretended to sail away on their ships. The naive Trojans dragged the horse inside, and the sad ending is known to all - the warriors got out of the hiding place inside the horse at night, opened the city gates and the city was captured.

Today, on the site of the mighty Troy, a city-museum has been opened, at the entrance to which a "real" Trojan horse rises and tourists from different countries can climb into it and feel like Danaan warriors who are waiting for the moment to decide the outcome of the great war of antiquity. It is this monumental building that can be seen on the central stamp of the small sheet, surrounded by preserved ancient buildings.

On the left, on the field of the block, you can see a mirrored image of the Trojan horse. This is a fragment of the relief "Trojan Horse and Warriors" on the neck of a clay amphora, dating back to 675-650 BC (kept in the Archaeological Museum of Mycenae in Greece).

By the way, this is not the first Turkish stamp with the image of the Trojan Horse. In 1956, a series of 3 postage stamps dedicated to Troy was issued. On the stamp with a face value of 30 kurus, a wooden horse majestically rises against the backdrop of the city walls. It is based on the 1877 engraving of the same name by Henri Paul Motte.

I must say that I like the image of the Trojan Horse on the 1956 stamp much more than the modern version on the small sheet of 2018.

The myth of the Trojan Horse is one of the most famous in history, and even today, after 3 thousand years, the saying lives on: "beware of the Greeks - those who bring gifts", the name of the prophetess Cassandra has not been forgotten, and "Trojans" periodically appear in our computers - malicious viruses that have made their way there under the guise of harmless programs. Events from ancient history continue to inspire artists and sculptors today, Hollywood is making spectacular films about the Trojan War, and the word "Trojan horse" has quickly become a common phrase.