Troy 10
by CTCWeb Editors
The Trojan Horse
The Iliad does not tell the story of the destruction of Troy. Thus, it does not tell the story of the famous Trojan horse, which is central to the myth of the fall of Troy. The story of the Trojan horse is told in the Aeneid, an epic poem written by Virgil. In the Aeneid, Virgil tells how Odysseus hatched a plan that allowed the Greek warriors to infiltrate Troy and end the war by conquest of the city.
Odysseus proposed construction of a giant wooden horse. The horse was to be a ruse. Odysseus’ idea was to trick the Trojans into believing that the horse was an offering to the goddess Athena. The Greeks claimed that this supposed offering was to appease Athena for their theft of her sacred image from Troy. The Greeks constructed the horse and left it on the Trojan shore. Hidden in the belly of the great wooden beast were the mightiest of the Greek warriors. To complete the ruse, the rest of the Greek armies withdrew to their ships.
Reproduction of the Trojan Horse at the site of Troy
The Trojans emerged from behind the city walls to investigate the horse. Outside the walls, they met a Greek man named Sinon. He was secretly an agent of the Greeks. Sinon’s mission was to assure the Greeks’ treachery succeeded. Sinon established his credibility by telling the Trojans that he had fled the murderous clutches of the Greeks. He convinced the Trojans to bring the wooden horse inside the city. Once inside the walls and under the cover of darkness, the Greek warriors emerged from hiding inside the horse. They opened the gates for the rest of the Greek armies to swarm into the city. The Trojan men were slaughtered. The Trojan women and children were forced into slavery (image). The city was destroyed. Helen fled (image).
