The Greek Treasure

Author: Irving Stone
Published: 1975

An easily read biography on the lives of Henry and Sophia Schliemann, the 'discoverers' of Troy, my mother thought that this was right up my ally. I have never been big on biographies, but I read it to make sure that I could give her a decent reason why I didn't like it. I knew, in other words, that I was not going to like it.

The book lacks, to a modern audience, an in depth treatment of the relationship of Henry and Sophia Schliemann for a start. It is very innocently played out, almost sickening at times, the way that Sophia appears to accommodate her husband while he tramples over their lives with his ambitions.

This perhaps is because the real meat of the biography is given not to those characters, but to their work - the uncovering of 'Homer's' Troy and their related struggles. Schliemann's determination to uncover Troy extended from his private life (his determination to have a Greek wife and therefore a Greek son by her) to his professional (spending any amount on his pursuit). This determination and zealousness was the reason why he was negligent to his wife and often confrontational to the authorities. The biography sometimes lists in depth the kind of finds the Schliemanns uncovered, the sheer scale of their operations and the logistical struggles of accomplishing it. More in depth is the continual back and forth between the Schliemanns and the countless toes they seemed to tread on while accomplishing their task.

I found this tiring for two reasons. The author made no attempt to be critical of the Schliemanns' approach to their work or to the people around them. It was clearly a one sided story in favour of the Schliemanns' approach when it was clearly flawed and selfish. The second reason is that the author seems to take the side of their archaeological approach as well, which was the equivalent of treasure finding and tomb robbing. When this book was published, archaeology had advanced considerably. I would have definitely appreciated a more educated reflection upon their actions. Archaeology suffers from a fantastical image provided by the likes of Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, and this book can be added to that list that fails to inform the public that history, all elements of it, should be saved for posterity without bias to its period, prettiness, and to who it will be shown in the future.

Overall, though Irving Stone provides a very pretty and easy to read biography of the Schliemanns, it lacks a proper engagement of the real topics and clearly demonstrates the author's admiration without reservation.