Sage Roman Visitors to Ilium revised (original) (raw)

During the empire and into late antiquity, Ilium was an important destination for Roman and provincial travelers. Troy was a richly symbolic site,. Its associations with the Homeric poems and Alexander the Great were important incentives for eastern travelers. For western travelers, the legendary associations of Ilium with the founding of Rome supplied further inducements to undertake the journey. In Late Antiquity the continuing dominance of classical education and the sites closeness to Constantinople kept its appeal alive.