Heinrich Schliemann

Few suspected what he was really. The idealist in him to live with a pragmatist, dreaming of a quiet happiness Burger - with a desperate, ambitious. Heinrich Schliemann, who believed in the reality of his Ilium as parishioners of his father's belief in the Lord's Prayer, he decided to finally see the city of Priam - still a child, he vowed to someday dig Troy.
. 28 November 1841 off the coast of Holland shipwrecked brig "Dorothea", which went to Venezuela with a cargo of Rhine wine
. Dead of night, the moon, were fighting their way through the overcast sky, rain and snow, severe storm: long wave threw the ship, and then one of them was hit by wheel. There was a crack, brig shuddered, stopped, and the passengers spilled out into the careening deck - the launching of the boat, the sailors have struggled.

. Cuddy cabin boy hesitated, - when he got up, the waves have afflicted the deck and the boat was not visible
. Young jumped overboard, the water threw him like a huge swing, poured into his mouth and nose, flooded the eyes - he knew that he was dying, but behind him there was the sound of oars, and leaning over the side of the sailor grabbed the guy's hair. On the Dutch coast Heinrich Schliemann went half-naked: it was only an old blanket and torn, thoroughly soaked pants.

. His companions have lost everything, but he has, and so there was nothing, but traveled to the bottom of the Baltic Sea pants, jackets inferior but accidentally received letter of recommendation to the owner of the Venezuelan trade house
. Mother he lost as a child, married a servant girl's father has appropriated his inheritance. Relatives did not want to do with him, education and profession he had no. Now, half-naked and chilled, he found himself in Holland - was shestigradusny frost, alms in Amsterdam served poorly. Narrow, like a pencil box room - no stove, no table, no chairs, only a broken bed so washstand with frozen water. Schliemann took her to the money that was sent to collect declared in favor of victims of shipwreck countrymen. In the evening he went up to his shattered the creaking stairs, flung shoes, threw himself on the bed and closed his eyes - aching legs, pricked in his temples, in front of his eyes floated past.

. ... Jingle bells, thatched house in a pastoral Ankershagene: a mother bent over her needlework, puff at his father sitting in his office - in front of him lay a thick book bound in leather
. It's "Iliad", two weeks ago, Herr Schliemann paid for it forty-five marks (the family farmer could live on that money per month) - after lunch, he recite his son two hundred lines.

. Where he was born and raised Heinrich Schliemann, nothing ever happened
. All interesting happened in the past: on the hill stood the castle, . where once there was a robber knights Brandenkirl, . alive toasting people at large skillet; ankershagenskoy at the altar of the church lay board - the legend, . under her feet rested bewitched, . one day sprouted from the grave of chivalry,
. The pond was a mound - said that there was buried the leader of the Huns, passed through this region a thousand years ago. Now Ankershagene there was no knight, nor nomads heir of Baron Brandenkirla wore pince-nez and fascinated by archeology. On weekdays the parishioners of St. Schliemann ate potato soup and herring with apples and slaughtered a pig for Christmas - they are hard savings, diligently prayed and nothing dreamed. When he grew up, Henry was to become a pastor or a merchant: the life was predetermined from the first cry to our last breath, the place for free choice in her to do.
Little Schliemann was a strange, sickly, dreamy boy. Stories about the merciless Brandenkirle took him more, . What Catechism, . Every Sunday he tried to dig a huge, . piny hill: say, . there, . bottom, . is the king emerged from the Mongolian steppes on horseback Barbarians - a golden crown, . with a gold sword at his hip, . sheltered forged from pure gold shield.,
. The pastor Schliemann had his own fantasies
. He loved good company, maps and the receiver, juniper vodka and strong rural girls. In the village long whispered that sixteen maid Fiken Behnke too much time on the pastor's loft - Ernst Schliemann liked to rest there stifling summer nights. That happens between the pastor and Fiken, knew everything, including Frau Schliemann. The peasants looked at reading the Sunday sermon the priest, like wild animals, whispered and waited for misfortune. When Louise Schliemann died in childbirth and Fiken came to church in her best satin dress, no one doubted that the poor woman simply poisoned. In the consistory flew denunciations, pastor Schliemann was removed from office: signs of the murder investigation has not revealed, but it opened up in the church more cash shortage. Ernst Schliemann in disgrace has left the place, married Fiken (she was much younger than his twenty-plus years), awarded the money that the late wife bequeathed to children, and opened to them a small inn. Heinrich Schliemann was not needed nor father, nor his new wife - and it got rid of by hand, sending into the service of a merchant in the small town of Furstenberg. There he spent five years and has mastered the subtleties of the craft steward: Now the young man knew how to use Bezmenov, could prepack sugar, wrap the fish and smiling customers. When he was eighteen, he went for a better share - across the Atlantic Ocean to the distant Venezuela. Lord thought otherwise. Now Heinrich Schliemann felt that his life will be over in Amsterdam and this winter he will not survive.

The young man tried to enlist as soldiers. The doctor, dressed in the form of Dutch colonial troops, listened and tapped his chest, saying that the consumptive military service do not take.

. Schliemann began to explain melancholy sucking long tubes Dutch officers, that in Amsterdam, its consumption was
. He was sick at home - a year ago, . when he managed to move to Hamburg, . for copper pennies to learn accounting and settle in good company, . He poured throat blood in the director's office - and the career clerk in the trading house was broken, . before it started,
. And now he is quite well: after a shipwreck and swim in the icy water of cough and hemoptysis disappeared without a trace ... The Dutch took out of their mouths tube, looked at each other and frowned; Major Henry offered a cup of hot tea, the captain handed him a guilder, the servant to the door. Thus ended the day. Henry fell asleep remembering the person wearing the blue uniform of officers and, as always, kept repeating to himself the Homeric line.

. Day after day he read from memory "Iliad" and today came to a duel between Hector and Achilles: a thick head of Major crowned brass helmet with a plume of horsehair, . on the shoulders of captain glittered heavy bronze armor - and Heinrich Schliemann fell asleep,
. There he waited for the Trojan and Greek heroes, beautiful Yelena and standing on a high hill krepkostenny Ilion - a city which since childhood dreamed nobody wanted, left to their own child.

. Adulthood, Heinrich Schliemann began to consider themselves the elect of Fortune
. And through her smile, he led from that dank, soaked in a hopeless longing of Amsterdam in the evening: candle candle flickered and went out, sailed the endless agonizing yesterday, disappeared heroes of the Iliad "- and here he was awakened by a knock at the door. The hostess brought the letter and postal order form - a man many years ago to propose to his late mother, sent him dozens of guilders and recommendatory note in one of Amsterdam's firm. A day Heinrich Schliemann resounded through correspondence Amsterdam trading house Quin - fate gave him a chance, and he had to use it.

Schliemann worked messenger gets pennies and spend them on textbooks. His room is still no stove, Schliemann fed stale bread, do not buy clothes - but he walks around the city with English grammar in the hands. On the run, torn between the houses of customers, warehouses and port, he taught foreign languages - a clumsy young man from a provincial Ankershagena found an excellent memory and linguistic abilities are phenomenal. He was memorizing whole pages of phrasebooks, at night, reciting passages from the novels of Walter Scott and Moliere's play - at the same language he had spent six weeks. Less than a year Schliemann masters in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish. Business owners, who took him out of mercy, does not really matter: the messenger must fly through the streets, and not to wander, her nose buried in a book - and Henry fired. But a week later he was already working with their competitors, and messenger, and the clerk: Gentlemen Schroeder can understand people and know that it speaks six languages employee may be treasure. Schliemann spent whole days in port, and the evening raised in his closet (there appeared an iron stove - but it is no innovation there) and begins to grind. He already knows about fifteen languages and is now trying to learn Russian - his new owners are a big trade with St. Petersburg. Language of the Great Northern Empire in the Netherlands nobody knows, and Schliemann sure that he will need it very soon.

. He struggled for survival and can not afford unnecessary emotions: a minimum of expenditure and unnecessary actions, all thought over and appropriate
. The only outlet - Homer, which he bought after the first salary, the only pleasant memory - about the girl he left in Ankershagene many years ago.

. Gradually, children began to seem to love him the love of his life - the years went on, and he was confident that his homeland is still waiting for plump blue-Minna
. A childhood dream of Troy gradually turned into a passion of an adult - he is constantly re-read Homer and the heroes of the Iliad were to him far more real than the owners of firms, commission agents, ship brokers and sales agents. During the day he survived the evening picked up Homer and begin to live - so the years passed, which Heinrich Schliemann spent in the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
. Meanwhile, his position in the company becoming stronger, and finally came to him a real success
. Russian language was still rescued: Schroeder company needed a representative in Russia, and Schliemann traveled to St. Petersburg - from the clerk, he became a partner. There, his tenacity, acumen, agile mind and acquired business experience serve him well - Heinrich Schliemann became a millionaire in just a few years.

. He took on all, . that brought profits: sell in Amsterdam and Russian grain imports to Russia nitrate, . from which the imperial factories made gunpowder, . took contracts for the forest for a burned-out port of Kronstadt, . made excellent money for the supply of indigo, . caught conjuncture, . speculated, . in two moves ahead of competitors,
. He is incredibly lucky: during the famous Memele fire when four hours have burnt out and the city and port, the fire did not touch only the barns, which housed shlimanskoe indigo (the value of goods exceeded 150 thousand guilders).

. He went to America to pursue his final journey to the goldfields deceased brother, and returned to Russia, doubling his fortune
. During the gold rush amassing fortunes for a few months, and Schliemann immediately opened his bank in California. He looked peculiar. In the saloon was a great game, clanked shots and flying chairs, and in the next room Heinrich Schliemann apothecary's scales to weigh on gold dust and gave him paper dollars. He continued to work even when ill with typhus, buy gold, half delirious, and never allowed himself to be cheated. Returning to Russia, Schliemann was one of the richest people in the trade of St. Petersburg. .. Now he could live as he wanted - but live it was nothing.

The great love that he invented many years ago, burst like a soap bubble. Get Rich, Schliemann sent in Mecklenburg-laws and learned that Minna had long since married. In thirty years, he married the sister of one of the richest Russian merchants, eighteen Kate Lyzhin. She bore him three children, but the happiness did not give. Ekaterina Petrovna did not wish for the hundredth time to listen to verses from the Iliad, ancient Greek and learn to listen to the arguments of her husband on ancient history. She had a hard character - a scandal followed the scandal, after the work of Heinrich Schliemann did not want to go home. He had a well-established business, great condition, but enrichment has never seemed to him an end in itself. Minna had forgotten him, the children were drawn to his mother ... In fact he was nothing but an old, worn out, bought at the copper money Homer's "Iliad."

When Heinrich Schliemann abolished the case and left St. Petersburg, his former companion only raised their eyebrows. The town survived by his wife and children, whom he appointed good content, the old servant, former clerks who receive generous award. None of them would never see him: Heinrich Schliemann left St. Petersburg in order to realize his dream home. Those who knew the former Schliemann, he in his new life would not let her.

In order to achieve the cherished goal, he had to get an education, and forty-six millionaire began attending the Sorbonne - where he attended lectures on archeology. Study was not limited to: Schliemann decided to change myself completely. Everyone needs a wife, decided Schliemann and began her quest with his characteristic thoroughness and acumen. Wealthy people can afford to marry young, reasoned Schliemann, but the old merchant's sourdough demanded the maximum return on invested capital. His chosen one must embody the ancient Greece - let it be young, beautiful, like a statue of Praxiteles, knows Greek, like Homer ... Schliemann try on the coming popularity - the wife of a famous scientist should give him extra shine - and wrote a letter to his friend Archbishop Vimposu request meets the above requirements to find a young Greek girl.

.
. That, . What happened next, . resembles the plot of Moliere's comedies about aging and groom excessively naive young bride: Vimpos betrothed Schliemann her cousin, . excellent and well-mannered Sophia Engastromenos, . Schliemann and subjected her to a strict examination,
. She knew what year the Emperor Hadrian visited Athens, expressively recited several passages from "The Odyssey", and then suffered a big embarrassment. To the question "Why do you want to marry me zamuzhN" Sophia said: "Parents have told me that you are very wealthy man, and we are so poor," and red as a lobster Schliemann fled from the house Engastromenosov in horror and dismay. He thought that by entering into a transaction, buying not only the girl, but love, and decided to immediately terminate the agreement. First Schliemann wanted to leave immediately from Athens, and then - to marry the one who swore to him in the eternal and unchanging passion (wishing it was rife - the status of Schliemann in Greece was legendary). He did neither the one nor the other: Heinrich Schliemann, a balding, weak-eyed, round-shouldered, never knowing how to care for the ladies, to the ears in love with a young Sophia Engastromenos. He marries her and try to make her happy. Sophia will buy luxury clothes and force her to teach foreign languages, will carry with him to the excavations, and have destroyed its constant, furious and irrational jealousy - she's prettier, and Schliemann grew old, and come to terms with that was not in his power. In any case, he secured her place in history, and it was a lot more of what parents expected of Sophia, daughter of requests in the price of diamonds in a hundred and fifty thousand francs.

. While all was well: a young wife followed him around and loved Homer, and he could take her to museums and to read her a lecture on ancient history
. Now they are waiting for Troy to the existence of which the professional scientists treated with great skepticism.

. The main advantages of the archeologist Heinrich Schliemann, have no doubt, almost religious faith in their own right and wonderful, barbaric self-confidence
. He was a childhood dream of Troy, hence, it must have existed if it had once existed, he will certainly find it. He has already had to perform the impossible, and it - out of spite crowned academic pedants highbrow titles - will be able to insist on his ... Heinrich Schliemann stocked up on letters of recommendation, bought a batch of British picks and shovels, he ordered the French advanced carts to transport earth and went to Turkey. There, on the Mediterranean coast, the hill Hissarlik, according to his calculations had to be Troy.

.
. Mediterranean heat, alternated with cold autumn rain, the crumbling walls of the pits, mosquitoes, poisonous snakes, greedy and ignorant workers, piles of stones and broken clay shards, which Schliemann knew absolutely nothing.

. He dug, guided by their own intuition and perceptions of three children: it was supposed to be a great and magnificent city, and Schliemann ruthlessly smashed the contrary to the ideal of building
. From the land were the foundations of walls and the foundation of the towers, the city would go lower and lower, and he walked around his head - miserable villages, who found his work did not resemble the city of Priam. Excavations continued in the second year, and the third, in the lower layers revealed strong foundation with traces of fire ... And then Schliemann discovered the treasure made him famous: he was buried in a corner of the structure, which he promptly dubbed "the house of Priam."

. One and a half kilograms of gold: twenty-four necklaces, six bracelets, eight hundred and seventy rings, four thousand and sixty-six brooches shestisotgrammovaya gold bottle, two magnificent diadems, rings, chains, many small ornaments
. Under the contract concluded with the Ottoman Government, half of the finds Schliemann was to hand over Turkey, but he was not going to do. Schliemann and Sophia hid the treasure and brought it to Europe, the best evidence that he had found a real, Homer Troy, was not present.

. Heinrich Schliemann got mad, European-wide popularity: for sensation seized upon by reporters, newspaper readers believe in the success of the common man, a beggar who became a millionaire, too clever by half the professors do not put it not to care
. Schliemann became one of the creators of the myth of "selfmeydmene", people from the lower classes, conquering adversity mind and will. He knew what his strength: to advertising boom has not abated, Schliemann got a special agent, the world's first specialist in the "public relations".

. His success was a triumph of archeology: it is fast becoming a fashionable, prestigious science - all over the world grew provision for excavation and competitions for the archaeological departments increased in geometric progression
. Schliemann, who yesterday unknown amateur, professional scientists have elicited only scorn, became maitre: second success made his reputation for unshakable.

. He dug up the treasure, which he called "a treasure of Agamemnon," - from the Mycenaean tombs of the kings were recovered several kilograms of gold: death masks, crowns, bracelets, rings, goblets for wine, diadems, gold buttons
. Enriched the exhibition Treasures of the Athens Museum, Schliemann was one of the national heroes of Greece - its popularity has gained fantastic proportions, and all subsequent archaeological discoveries general public attributed only to him.
. Sophia gave birth to wonderful children, whom he gave the ancient Greek names - Mecklenburg elderly aunt trembled calling shlimanskuyu daughter Andromache
. In the morning, Schliemann led them on a flat roof of his house, and meditated, looking at the mountain peaks, among modeled from plaster copies of antique statues - he was never able to bring myself to invest in real marble. In London, it was worn on the hands, the Germanic Emperor offered him a medal, hereditary nobility, or the title of honorary citizen of the city of Berlin ... Initially Schliemann took it for granted, but over the years it became assailed by doubts.

Professional archaeologists did not have his phenomenal flair, a lively mind, a bulldog grip, and yet their work, they appear to have known. Gradually, the scientific world came to the conclusion that this Troy was in those layers, which Schliemann demolished, dokapyvayas to his imaginary Ilium. "Treasure of Priam" was hidden for hundreds of years before Priam, Troy was genuine, thus unprepossessing village, which Schliemann did not pay any attention. A treasure trove of Agamemnon "is likely belonged to a distant primogenitor Achaean leader - Mycenaean burials were a few centuries older than Homeric Troy.
. Schliemann was revered throughout the world, but the serious science of it slipped away: new excavations were professional archaeologists, the methods by which it is to reach their treasures, they seemed barbaric
. He felt increasingly lonely, . soured relations with his wife: Sophia matured, . knew his worth (now it was famous Frau Schliemann, . companion man-legends) and do not want to listen to lectures, . that her husband treated the broken night,
. Sometimes Heinrich Schliemann attacked spleen, and he began to think that life, in fact, ended. Schliemann often thought of that winter, when he was hungry and desperate, I wandered to Amsterdam: had not thought about it a stranger, he probably would have died in some hospital for the poor. Schliemann thought that fate had long been his, but in the end he did pereupryamil ... He did not know that soon she'll play the same, only the forty-odd years, pending the final.
... December 26, 1890. Round-shouldered old man, had fallen in the dust on the streets of Naples, was dressed modestly, and inconspicuously, so that passers-by took him to the hospital for the poor, put on a dirty sidewalk in a locked entrance and a long time knocking on the heavy oak door. If there were no instruments, and the doctor on duty has attached bedolagu on the hard wooden bench, stood in the hallway. The patient was unconscious - closed eyes, sunken mouth, thin hands helplessly fallen. Time passed, no one was engaged, and only when hanging from his neck accidentally unleashed the bag of gold coins poured around the old man moved about doctors. By evening the poor fellow began to wander: he remembered some shipwreck, spoke about the chilly (in Naples at that time was tridtsatigradusnaya heat), that he is still young and he will certainly be lucky. That same night he died, and news agencies alerted the world that the great Heinrich Schliemann, who had come to Italy for treatment, died in a Naples hospital.