Syngenes. The city of Ilion (Troy) as a place of cultural memory in the Roman empire from the second century BCE until the second century CE.

Abstract

Homer's mythical story about the fall of Troy lived constantly through antiquity. Ancient societies incorporated elements from Homer's world into their own history, it became part of their cultural memory. The Romans were one of these societies. The Trojan hero Aeneas, who fled the city of Troy during the siege, supposedly founded the city of Rome. The Romans had ancestral links with Troy. This idea was later propagated by Caesar and Augustus, who traced their family lineage back to Aeneas. The existing city of Ilion in Asia Minor was in anqituity considered to be the mythical city of Troy. Ilion gained attentionto a great extent by the Romans after the region was incorporated in their empire, raising opportunities for both sides. This thesis examines the relationship between the Romans and the city of Ilion. The central question is: How did the city of Ilion develop into a cultural memory place in the Roman empire from the second century BC until the end of the second century CE?