Greek Origins from Homer's Iliad

About the Project

Project Overview

This project creates an interactive map visualization of the Greek contingents mentioned in the Catalog of Ships from Book 2 of Homer's Iliad. The map shows the geographical origins of the Greek forces that sailed to Troy, their leaders, and the number of ships each contingent contributed to the war effort.

The Catalog of Ships is a significant section in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad that lists the contingents of the Achaean (Greek) forces that sailed to Troy. It provides detailed information about the origins of the Greeks, their leaders, and the number of ships each contingent contributed to the war effort.

Historical Context

The Catalog of Ships is believed to reflect the geopolitical situation of Greece during the Late Bronze Age (approximately 1200 BCE), though the Iliad itself was composed several centuries later. The catalog lists 29 contingents, 175 towns or localities, 44 leaders, and a total of 1,186 ships.

This visualization helps to understand the geographical distribution of power in Mycenaean Greece and illustrates which regions contributed the most forces to the Trojan War according to Homer's account.

Ancient map of Greece

Representation of Homeric Greece showing the regions mentioned in the Catalog of Ships

Project Methodology

The creation of this interactive map involved several key steps:

  1. Research and Data Extraction: Comprehensive extraction of data from the Catalog of Ships in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad, identifying all Greek contingents, their leaders, regions, and ship counts.
  2. Geographical Mapping: Identification of modern locations that correspond to the ancient Greek regions mentioned in the Catalog.
  3. Coordinate Mapping: Assignment of geographical coordinates to each location based on archaeological and historical evidence.
  4. Interactive Visualization: Development of a web-based interactive map using Leaflet.js that allows users to explore the data.

Technical Implementation

The interactive map was created using the following technologies:

  • Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
  • Mapping Library: Leaflet.js
  • Data Processing: Python
  • Data Format: JSON

The map features color-coded markers by region with size indicating the number of ships, popup information showing location details, and filtering options to view specific contingents.

References

  • Homer's Iliad, Book 2 (the Catalog of Ships)
  • Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University)
  • Wikipedia: Catalogue of Ships
  • Various academic sources on ancient Greek geography