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Schliemann’s journey starts in November 1858: two years after the Crimean War
(1853-1856). Business is going well but apparently the war placed much stress
on him and he had serious thoughts about retiring from commercial pursuits.
10
His marriage to the Russian Ekaterina Lyshina was in turmoil, and she is now 7
months pregnant with his second child.
His journey begins in Stockholm and from there Schliemann travels to Copenha-
gen, Berlin, Frankfurt, Baden-Baden and Rome. From Rome onwards he records
his journey in a diary, that is from 3rd November 1858 onwards. He travelled
through Italy and Egypt, and via Jerusalem, Petra, Damascus, Smyrna, Athens,
and Rhodes, to Budapest and finishes near Pressburg (Bratislava) on 24th July
1859 (Fig. 1).
In Rome, Schliemann visits amongst others the Vatican and travels on to Pompeii
and Vesuvius. In Syracuse he takes the boat to Malta and Egypt. From his first two
diaries
11
we know that Schliemann suffers badly from seasickness. Also on this
journey he gets terribly seasick and ends up in a slightly embarrassing situation:
[page 69, original text in Greek
12
] “We fell into a storm which lasted so long that it
seemed as if the steamboat itself was about to sink from time to time. I was in good
health, but just after dinner, I started feeling sick and as I went out through the door
heading towards the stairs to the upper deck, I vomited in front of the captain who
was standing by the door. I felt terribly bad for this unfortunate event thinking that
the captain himself probably felt offended and thought I had vomited on purpose.
After that I withdrew to my bunk bed. The beds, the rooms, the dormitories, the
food etc. everything was glorious in that steamboat. The following morning as I
was getting dressed I vomited many more times and I kept on vomiting at short
intervals until the moment we dropped anchor.”
Schliemann travels first class and enjoys the good food and the company of his
fellow passengers:
[page 70, Greek] “We were only fourteen passengers in the first cabin. The meal is
quite good. Today, around 7:30, we had a glass of black coffee (a dark black one),
while lunch was served around 9:30, accompanied by eggs, quality wine, slices
of bread (a loaf), young ostriches, baked chicken served with rice, and nuts such
as oranges, pears, apples, figs, dry grapes, Maltese butter and potatoes. There is a
10
Schliemann 1881 (1968): 16.
11
See Thanos & Arentzen 2012 and 2014.
12
Transcription and translation Greek text by Mrs K. Frazz, Greece.