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Sophia Schliemann | |
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.jpg) Portrait of Schliemann wearingPriam's Treasure (1873) | |
| Born | Sophia Engastromenou 12 January 1852 Athens, Greece |
| Died | 27 October 1932(1932-10-27) (aged 80) Athens, Greece |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 (incl.Agamemnon) |
Sophia Schliemann, bornSophia Engastromenou (Σοφία Εγκαστρωμένου) (12 January 1852 – 28 October 1932) was the Greek second wife of the businessman and amateur archaeologistHeinrich Schliemann. She is known for posing for a photo while draped in gold jewelry from theTreasure of Priam.
Sofia Engastromenou was born inAthens to a wealthy mercantile family. Her father was a "well-known Greek banker who at one time was the largest individual shareholder of thePennsylvania Railroad".[1]
Her uncle, Bishop Theokletos Vimpos, was hired byHeinrich Schliemann to tutor him inGreek[2] and later tasked with finding a "black-haired Greek woman in the Homeric spirit" to become his wife.[3] Presented with photos of three women, Schliemann selected the seventeen-year-old Sofia. They were married on 24 September 1869, and would go on to have two children: Andromache (1871–1962) andAgamemnon (1878–1954).
Sophia was only briefly present during the 1873 excavations ofHisarlik, during which she was assaulted by a foreman. She departed the site after a month due to the unexpected death of her father. Schliemann later falsified the records to exaggerate Sophia's role in the excavations, and the story that the Treasure of Priam had been smuggled away from the site in Sophia's shawl.[4]
After her husband's death in 1890 Sophia continued to give lectures on his work and hosted gatherings in her Athenian residence, theIliou Melathron. She edited Schliemann's autobiography and published it in 1892.[citation needed]
Sophia spent the rest of her life as a member of Athenian high society and sponsor of charitable endeavors. In 1902, after witnessing the sufferings of Greek soldiers of therecent war with Turkey, she and a group of society ladies sponsored the construction of a sanatorium fortuberculosis patients inGoudi. She served on its board of directors from 1919 until her death in 1932.[5]
The institution has since become the Sotiria Thoracic Disease Hospital, the largest pulmonary center in Greece.[6]
Sophia died on 27 October 1932 at the age of 80, 13 days after suffering a heart attack. She was buried with state honors in the family tomb at theFirst Cemetery of Athens next to her husband, whom she outlived by 42 years.[7][8]
Sophia was a central character inIrving Stone's 1975 historical novelThe Greek Treasure. In the 2007 German television filmThe Hunt for Troy [de], Sophia Engastromenou was portrayed by the French actressMélanie Doutey. She inspired the 2013 novelSophia: A Woman's Search for Troy by Nancy Joaquim.
Media related toSophia Schliemann at Wikimedia Commons
