Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann was a German businessman and an influential amateur archaeologist. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeological excavator of Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns. His work lent weight to the idea that Homer's Iliad reflects historical events. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains has been criticized as destructive of significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy.
Heinrich Schliemann
Schliemann as a young man
The 'Mask of Agamemnon', discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae now exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Sophia Schliemann (née Engastromenos) wearing treasures recovered at Hisarlik
Homer was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Marble terminal bust of Homer. Roman copy of a lost Hellenistic original of the 2nd c. BC.
Homer and His Guide (1874) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Part of an eleventh-century manuscript, "the Townley Homer". The writings on the top and right side are scholia.
Page from the first printed edition (editio princeps) of collected works by Homer edited by Demetrios Chalkokondyles. Florence, 1489. Bibliothèque Nationale de France
