Drift off to the complete history of the Trojan War — one of history's most captivating questions. Homer's Iliad describes a 10-year siege of the city of Troy by the Greeks. But did it really happen? Modern archaeology has found a city at Hisarlik, Turkey — but separating myth from history is one of the great challenges of classical scholarship.

Covered: Homer and the Iliad, the legendary story (Paris, Helen, Achilles, Hector, the Trojan Horse), Heinrich Schliemann and the discovery of Troy, the archaeological layers of Hisarlik (Troy VIIa as the probable site), Linear B tablets and Hittite records that mention Wilusa (Troy), the Mycenaean world and Bronze Age warfare, and what we can actually say with confidence.

✦ 2-hour deep dive ✦ Calm narration for sleep ✦ Ancient history and archaeology for sleep

Sleepless History is an educational sleep podcast covering ancient civilizations, archaeology, and historical mysteries — made to help you fall asleep.