What Was the Trojan Horse in Greek Mythology?
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The Trojan Horse is a tale that stems from the Trojan War which was about a subterfuge horse that the Greeks cleverly used to penetrate the walls of Troy, and eventually win the war against them. The idea of using such a ploy came to the Greek generals when they saw there was no clear way of defeating the Trojans, who could always take refuge behind their fortress city walls whenever a battle didn’t go in their favor.
Here’s more information about the Trojan Horse in Greek mythology:
Events Leading Up to the Trojan War
According to ancient mythology, the war between the Greek warriors and the people of Troy started when Helen the Queen of Greece was taken by Prince Paris of troy without consent. In the short version of the story, this situation caused the Greeks to rally together in order to try and rescue their beloved Queen.
Despite their huge numbers and expert fighting techniques, the Greek warriors were unable to conquer Troy and the war went on for years, costing thousands of lives. As a result, the morale of the invaders was greatly affected and most of the generals had given up hope of ever defeating the Trojans, or even getting their queen back.
As a result, those who still believed in the war effort had to come up with a sure way of defeating the Trojans and getting into their city. After much consultation, the idea of the Trojan Horse came into being.
Big Wooden Horse on Wheels
The idea behind the Trojan Horse was to create a huge wooden structure that had sufficient space to house a significant number of Greek soldiers within its confines. Once they had the necessary plans and designs in place, they began working on the project.
The next part of their plan was to pretend that they had all sailed back to their homeland except for the soldiers who were hiding inside the enormous structure. This was to show the Trojans that they had given up and no longer had a taste for war. For the time, this kind of thinking or trickery was quite unheard of, so the Greeks were fairly confident that their plan would work and they would eventually have victory over their Trojan counterparts.
Offering to the Goddess Athena
When the Trojans first saw the enormous structure left behind by the Greeks, they were not really sure what it meant. After much speculation and debate, most of the Trojan generals and some members of the royal family came to the conclusion that it was a gift to the goddess Athena from their enemies asking for forgiveness for their part in the war.
After further discussion, the Trojans decided to take the horse back with them and had a celebration to mark their victory over the Greeks. When night fell and all was quiet, the Greek soldiers hiding inside the horse came out and opened the city fates for their fellow warriors who were close by. After intense fighting, the Trojan city had fell and the Greeks took the city.
The story of the Trojan Horse is a clear example of why it is always good to question the reason or thinking behind any gift offered by your enemy. In fact, this is why people tend to say “beware of Greek bearing gifts’ whenever they are unsure of someone’s true intentions.
Categorized in: Greek Mythology
This post was written by Greek Boston
