The Archaeology

While the myth of the Locrian Women states that the Opuntian Locrians were forced to send their maidens as a result of Ajax's sacrilegious actions and subsequent plague on the city of Locris, the archaeological evidence at Troy suggests another chronology. The site of Ilion on the western coast of Asia Minor was uninhabited between Troy VIIIB2 and VIII. These stratigraphic levels correspond dates between 1100 and 750 B.C.1

Trojan walls VII and IX

The city of New Ilion was founded by Greek colonists at the time Troy who settled the northern coast of Asia Minor. This suggests that the custom of sending maidens to Troy could not have begun until the eighth century when these colonists would have begun the practice.

The archaeology of the site also suggests that the practice of sending women was not in continual practice throughout its its history. During the seventh century there is archaeological evidence for suspension in the practice due to foreign invasion. Stratum VII.2 confirms this break in practice at New Ilion. It is possible that invasion came from the north, as the Treres, a barbaric people who occupied the Troad, may have taken residency in the city. As a result local practice would have been suspended until these foreign people were forced from the site.2

During the fifth century there is also evidence for a suspension in practice of sending maidens, although evidence for this event comes primarily from literary evidence. The earliest record for the practice of sending a maiden to Troy comes from a passage in Herodotus which states that Xerxes stopped the practice of sacrificing to Athena at Troy. With the exception of the Iliad's description of the Temple of Athena, there is no earlier literary evidence for the sacrifice before 480 B.C. This date corresponds with Xerxes occupation of the site during the Persian Wars. The practice would have been reinstated only after his failed invasion and abandonment of Troy.

^{1. [Redfield, 84.]}↩
^{2. [Leaf, .]}↩