The reality was that Heinrich Schliemann was an incredible con man, a generally unlikable braggart who succeeded only because of his queer mix of genius and fraudulence. He had a shylock's conscience whe

Schliemann sank several shafts near the compound's Lion Gate, and found a grave circle within the citadel. Overjoyed, he quickly had the five shaft graves uncovered, and within the first lay a golden mask. Schliemann believed that he held in his hands the burial mask of King Agamemnon (Duchêne 74). Later that month, the remaining death masks would be uncovered, along with golden chalices, seals, vessels, and daggers. "I have the greatest joy," he cabled to the King of Greece, "to announce to your majesty that I have discovered the tombs... of Agamemnon, Cassandra, Eurymedon, and their companions... In the sepulchers I have found immense treasure in archaic objects and pure gold. By themselves alone these treasures are enough to fill a great museum, which will be the world's most wonderful and which for centuries to come will draw thousands of foreigners from all countries to Greece" (qtd. in Duchêne 75).

In 1866 Schliemann took up residence in Paris and began to study archaeology at Sorbonne. He also took courses in Asian languages, Egyptology, and Sanskrit. In the beginning of 1868 he began attending the meetings of scientific societies, and in May took a pleasure trip to Italy in order to closely study the work of other archaeologists (Duchêne 38). He traveled to the Troad after meeting fellow German Ernst Ziller, who told him of the excavations there and the differing theories related to where Troy actually sat. Schliemann first surveyed the site of Bunarbashi. With a translation of Homer's works in his hand, he decided that Bunarbashi did not fit the description of the ancient city of Troy. Bunarbashi was fourteen kilometers from the sea, and according to Homer the city could not have been separated from the port of Hellespont by more than an hour's walk (Burg 68). Also, two springs were to have existed just outside the city, one frigid and one steaming. Schliemann found over forty springs there (Duchêne 43, Burg 69).

Schliemann's excavations had begun at the legendary palace-fortress of Agamemnon in February of 1874 (Burg 124), and he was once again using Homer as his guide. He also used the work of the 2nd century Greek geographer Pausanias, which led him inside the Mycenaean acropolis to find the royal tombs of Agamemnon (Duchêne 72). Once again, scholars were skeptical of Schliemann's method. The Times of London reported, "no one will find tombs within citadel walls, unless the man who destroyed Troy dug graves there under the cover of night" (qtd. in Duchêne 72-73). Under pressure, the Greek government had called off Schliemann's excavations (Burg 122). After two years of bickering and bargaining, Schliemann was able to secure a permit to excavate (Duchêne 73).

Early in 1878, Mycenae was published, and it detailed in a blend of fact and romantic fiction Schliemann's excavations and finds. The book impacted Greek studies greatly, and opened up the new field of Mycenaean studies (Duchêne 80). But Schliemann did not stop there.

Schliemann began his travels in Asia, and began the habit of keeping a wanderer's journal. He wrote an account of his journey, China and Japan Today, for a St. Peterburg newspaper. The odyssey ended six months later in San Francisco, which he had visited ten years earlier following the death of his brother in California (Duchêne 36).

Schliemann's work continues to be carried on at the Troy site, funded by several German automakers. His assistant, Dorpfield, would later prove that Troy VI was too early to have been Homer's Troy; the debate over which layer holds the fabled city, if any indeed do, continues to rage on today (Duchêne 108-109). At the 100th anniversary of Schliemann's death, a conference was held by Calder and Traill, which sparked the debate over Schliemann's embellishments of the truth, and the integrity of his finds (Calder 17-18). Unfortunately, the controversies can not be satisfactorily resolved at this time. Thu

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