ILION-4

The city of Troy is an ancient place, and a modern one. Heinrich Schleimann, the German archaeologist, Homer, the mythical blind poet, and Achilles, the Greek hero, are each passionately trying to find their way into it. Imagining Troy, they begin recreating the city and its people. As Schliemann investigates ruins, and Homer sings his poetry, the legends and stories grow and come to life between them. Gradually, the ghosts of Greek armies and the shadows of Trojan walls become alive and solid. As Homer and Schliemann struggle to enter the re-imagined Troy, their lives and their quests are woven together. But what, and where, really, is the city? Each summer, second year students from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture, located in Cambridge, Ontario, stage a play as the major term project for their Cultural History course. This year, we are presenting Ilion, our version of the legend of the siege of Troy. The play was created by the Cultural History class of Professor Tracey Eve Winton.