Page:Van Loon--The Story of Mankind.djvu/84

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THE ÆGEAN SEA


THE PEOPLE OF THE ÆGEAN SEA CARRIED
THE CIVILISATION OF OLD ASIA INTO
THE WILDERNESS OF EUROPE


THE TROJAN HORSE
When Heinrich Schliemann was a little boy his father told him the story of Troy. He liked that story better than anything else he had ever heard and he made up his mind, that as soon as he was big enough to leave home, he would travel to Greece and "find Troy." That he was the son of a poor country parson in a Mecklenburg village did not bother him. He knew that he would need money but he decided to gather a fortune first and do the digging afterwards. As a matter of fact, he managed to get a large fortune within a very short time, and as soon as he had enough money to equip an expedition, he went to the northwest corner of Asia Minor, where he supposed that Troy had been situated.

In that particular nook of old Asia Minor, stood a high mound covered with grainfields. According to tradition it had been the home of Priamus the king of Troy. Schliemann,

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