[tied] Re: Uni (was: Odin as a Trojan Prince)

Tor


There are a number of Classical period traditions about wars against
Illum There is archaeological evidence of LH III destruction
events found in Troy VIh and VIIa Recent work has identified a
lower city surrounded by a rock cut ditch and remains of a timber-
earthen fortification with gates. This enclosed an area eight times
larger than the citadel packed with timber houses. A Luwian seal was
recently found as well.

According to one tradition Telephus(?) is a semi-divine personage
that was active in northwestern Anatolia for about four generations.
In one tradition he is mentioned as the ruler of Mysia and another
Meii, the formative Lydian state. In the Hellenistic period he was
somehow associated with the Heraclides cult or society, which appears
to be associated with near invincibility in battle.

Regardless, during one of the wars against Troy or Wilion, the
Achaean fleet mistakenly landed and sacked the coastal fortress town
of Teuthras, south of Mt Ida. Telephus, who ruled Mysia or Meii
responded by marshaling the local militia. They apparently caught the
looting Achaeans off guard and drove them to their beached ships,
were total disaster was averted by a heroic last-stand. Apparently,
undercover of darkness as the Achaean fleet set sail for Wilion and
was caught in a horrific storm that scattered and/or damaged it to
where the expedition breaks up as individual squadrons return home.

Another tradition indicates that eight years later Telephus made
peace with the Achaean confederation and actually helped them reach
Wilion. Initially, Telephus remained neutral and does not aid the
Trojans or Achaeans. However, late in the war a small troop of
Mysians lead by Eurypylus was sent to Wilion and quickly wiped out.

The Telephus story was placed one to three generations before
Tyrrhenu. Tyrrhenus is associated with an early Luwian dynasty of
Lydia that includes Manes, Atys, and Lydus. However, another
tradition claims that before Atys the Mysians, also called Meii,
controlled northwest Anatolia south of Troad.

Mysi appears to be the Hellenic form of the Assyrian Mushki. This is
strange because the Mushki, possibly from the Thracian muka (seed,
clan, posterity) were the Phyrgians; mentioned separately in the
Iliad, as were the Mysians. The Telephus, Hittite/Luwian Telipinu(s),
and Atys, a Phrygian god Attis, characters are interesting as well.
Both Telephus/Telipinus and Atys/Attis appear to be associated with
the formation of the Lydian state. In the traditional sense this
Lydian state is expressed in terms of two consecutive dynasties that
cover a period of 22 generations. This coupled with king names like
Mursilon, Hittite Mursili, make it clear the Classical sources were
referring to a Hittite and not a Lydian/Luwian state. In this light,
the Telephus/Telipinus character is more interesting as this story
appears to reflect a tradition of intervention followed by alliance
with agents of the Hittite Empire in western Anatolia. Unfortunately,
the fragment way these traditions are related its difficult to
determine at what stage the Telephus/Telipinus and Tyrrhenu
personages appear.

Returning to the Atys/Attis and Telephus/Telipinus characters and
their association with the Mushki. It has been argued that the
Phyrgians didn't enter Anatolia until after Troy VII. However, the
Urnfield cemetery and the dominance of Phyrgian-like gray wares at
Troy VIh suggests the Mushki/Phyrgians were well established by LH
III. In fact, the use of Hittite and Phyrgian names for a group of
early Lydian rulers may reflect a tradition that at some point the
Lydian state was independent then controlled by Hittite followed by
Phyrgian rulers.

Finally, when viewed from the context of founding Phoenician, Ionic,
and Hellenic settlements throughout the central Mediterranean, the
Lydian tradition of Tyrrhenus does not seem strange. This is because
Anatolia had a much larger demographic base from which to draw. The
only problem seems to be the chronology, which may turn out to be
more apparent than real.



JS Crary