Didn’t Schliemann discover that there were seven layers of ruins at the site of Troy, not just those of one city?
My favorite Iliad moment: the gullible citizens of Troy have dragged the wooden horse past the city gates. A man named Laocoon shouts “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!” and hurls his spear at the horse. Its impact makes the hidden Greeks’ weapons rattle. That night, for attempting to thwart the will of the gods, Zeus sends giant serpents to strangle Laocoon and his sons.
Maybe Laocoon should have shouted,
“Beware of gifts bearing Greeks!”
;^)
Yeah, there’s at *least* 7 layers of ruins.
Not exactly unexpected - many current European capitals have a similar “foundation”. The inhabitants would annoy someone, the city would get torched, someone would rebuild the place, and the cycle would repeat.
Athens got burned, what, five times that we know of?