Background
Schliemann, Heinrich was born on January 6, 1822 in New Buckow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany.
Schliemann, Heinrich was born on January 6, 1822 in New Buckow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany.
His family's poverty made a university education impossible, so it was Schliemann's early academic experiences that influenced the course of his education as an adult. In his archaeological career, however, there was often a division between Schliemann and the educated professionals.
Accumulated a fortune in the indigo trade and as a military contractor and retired from business in 1863 Schliemann dedicated himself to finding Troy and other Homeric sites. After several years of study and travel, in 1871 he undertook at his own expense excavations at Hissarlik that resulted in the discovery of four superimposed towns. Schliemann's research at Hissarlik represented the archaeological discovery of a Homeric civilization, previously considered by many experts to be legendary. Schliemann related every object he found to the verses of Homer, which he knew by heart. He made other notable excavations at Mycenae (1876-78), Ithaca (1878), Orchomenus, Boeotia (1881-82), and Tiryns (1884-85). His work in Greece demonstrated the existence of the previously unknown civilization of the Greek Bronze Age. Schliemann made two of the most spectacular discoveries in the history of archaeology, finding the "Treasure of Priam" at Hissarlik in 1873 (a trove that included two gold diadems, thousands of pieces of gold jewelry, bronze weapons, and silver and copper vessels) and an even larger treasure of gold, silver, and copper ornaments, masks, and swords at the Shaft Graves at Mycenae in 1876-77. Schliemann's work, widely reported by the international press, captured the public imagination and dramatically revealed the great potential of archaeological research. Schliemann wrote several books describing his discoveries and an autobiography (published posthumously in 1892) and left a vast collection of personal papers and records,
Ithaka
Der Peloponnes und Troja (1869)
Trojanische Altertuemer (1874)
Troja und seine Ruinen (1875)
Mykenae (1878)
Ilios (1881)
Orchomenos (1881)
Troja (1884)
Tiryns (1886)
Autobiography (Selbstbiographie, completed by A. Brückner, educated by S. Schliemann, 1892)
Schliemann had a great love for history.
In 1831 she died. For Heinrich this traumatic event resulted in his fetish for women named Sophie.
Ekaterina and Heinrich's child
Ekaterina and Heinrich's child
Ekaterina and Heinrich's child
He and his brother Agamemnon were Heinrich's sons of the second marriage.
He and his brother Andromache were were Heinrich's sons of the second marriage.
