Editing Trojan War (section)

==Dates of the Trojan War==

Since this war was considered among the ancient Greeks as either the last event of the mythical age or the first event of the historical age, several dates are given for the fall of Troy. They usually derive from genealogies of kings. [[Ephorus]] gives 1135 BC,<ref>FGrHist 70 F 223</ref> [[Sosibius]] 1172 BC,<ref>FGrHist 595 F 1</ref> Eratosthenes 1184 BC/1183 BC,<ref>Chronographiai FGrHist 241 F 1d</ref> [[Timaeus (historian)|Timaeus]] 1193 BC,<ref>FGrHist 566 F 125</ref> the [[Parian Chronicle|Parian marble]] 1209 BC/1208 BC,<ref>FGrHist 239, §24</ref> [[Dicaearchus]] 1212 BC,<ref>Bios Hellados</ref> Herodotus around 1250 BC,<ref>Histories 2,145</ref> Eretes 1291 BC,<ref>FGrHist 242 F 1</ref> while [[Douris (tyrant)|Douris]] gives 1334 BC.<ref>FGrHist 76 F 41</ref> As for the exact day Ephorus gives 23/24 Thargelion (6 or 7 May), [[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]] 12 Thargelion (26 May)<ref>FGrHist 4 F 152</ref> while others give the 23rd of Sciroforion (7 July) or the 23rd of Ponamos (7 October).

The glorious and rich city Homer describes was believed to be [[Troy#Troy VI–VII|Troy VI]] by many twentieth century AD authors, and destroyed about 1275 BC, probably by an earthquake. Its successor, [[Late Bronze Age Troy#Troy VIIa|Troy VIIa]], was destroyed around 1180 BC; it was long considered a poorer city, and dismissed as a candidate for Homeric Troy, but since the excavation campaign of 1988, it has come to be regarded as the most likely candidate.<ref>Latacz, ''Troy and Homer'', p. 286.</ref><ref>Strauss, ''The Trojan War'', p. 10.</ref><ref>Wood, ''In Search of the Trojan War'', pp. 114–116.</ref>