IN SEARCH OF THE TROJAN WAR
Michael Wood
BBC DVD
Long before he travelled in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, journalist, author and historian Michael Wood investigated the so-called myth of the Trojan War. But is it a myth, or do the legends told about the city and the heroes who fought there have some basis in reality?
In this six part series filmed in the early 1980s, Wood looks at Homer's Iliad and other classical accounts of the conflict between Troy and a confederation of early Greek kingdoms under Agamemnon. These include some little known but important Hittite sources discovered in Anatolia in Turkey.
In addition to visiting the sites associated with Troy - the ruins of the city itself on the hill called Hisarlik in Turkey - Mycenae in Greece, and numerous others where Agamemnon's allies were based, In Search of the Trojan War follows the treasure hunters who pioneered archaeological field work. Sadly their techniques sometimes resulted in more destruction than excavation.
Wood particularly focuses on the work of Heinrich Schliemann, who made the search for ancient Troy his great quest, and later went on to unearth royal tombs at Mycenae. He also found treasure - the so-called 'jewels of Helen' with which he bedecked his wife, and the golden funeral masks of Mycenae, one of which he considered to be of Agamemnon himself.
A bonus addition on this double DVD set is a recent interview with Wood about new discoveries at Troy, and what he would have done differently if he had the series to film over again!
In Search of the Trojan War is landmark television that has lost none of its appeal despite later technological advances in documentary filmmaking and Wood's considerable accomplishments since this series was made.
At present In Search of the Trojan War is available in Australia only as a UK import which is compatible with both Region 2 and Region 4 players. Hopefully an Australian release will soon be available.
Review by Kerry Hennigan
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