The Trojan Horse
"Trojans, trust not the horse. Whatever it be, I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts."
- Laocoon to the Trojans. Virgil,
Aeneid 2.48
Alas, we have lost two great heroes in Hector and
Achilles. Paris
followed
soon after Achilles. After being mortally wounded in battle, Helen took Paris
to Mount Ida where he died in peace.
I, Zeus, like to think that we gods are clever and witty. We manipulate the humans,
their emotions, and even their ideas. The Greeks needed a new strategy that would
get them over the high walls of Troy and inside the city. It was the idea of a
mortal man by the name of Odysseus that would eventually bring the fall of Troy.
Odysseus was the King of Ithaca and a suitor of Helen, so like the other suitors of
elen, he was called to battle when she was abducted by Paris. He fought valiantly in the
ten years of the war. He was a general under Agamemnon. He was also a very clever man.
Odysseus thought of the strategy that became known as The Trojan Horse.
His idea was to build a horse of wood that would be hollow. The horse would
be built in a secret location. When the horse was ready, it would be dragged to
the beaches where the Greek camp rested. The rest of the Greek army would
sail to the near-by island of Tenedos to hide until the horse was inside the city.
To ensure that the Trojans would accept the horse, one Greek would remain
behind to be captured. It was his duty to convince the Trojans that this horse
was a peace offering. Once the horse was inside the city, the men would wait
until the Trojans were asleep and then they would leave the horse to open the
gates of Troy and the Greek army would take the city.
The Greek architect Epeius built the horse from wood on Mount Ida. I had heard that
Athena guided Epeius in building the horse. The horse was built as big as a ship
and made hollow so that the Greeks could hide inside. There was an inscription
engraved on the horse that said, "For their return home, the Greeks dedicated this
thank-offering to Athena." Once the horse was complete, the Greek army burned
their camp and sailed to Tenedos, leaving the wooden horse on the plains of Troy.
Inside the horse were thirty-two soldiers, led by Odysseus.
Close up of the Wooden Horse
The Trojans were surprised to see that the Greeks had left so suddenly. Some
of the Trojans, including the King's daughter Cassandra, were skeptical. Cassandra
told the people of Troy that the horse was a trick. Unfortunately for Cassandra, and
for all the Trojans no one would believe her. Regardless of the skeptics,the rest of
the citizens of Troy were happy that the gates had been opened for the first time in
ten years. They could not wait to see the remnants of the Greek camp, but they found
the horse instead and that was even more fascinating to them.
Along with the horse, the Trojans found a Greek soldier who had been left behind. He
said his name was Sinon. The Trojans found him and asked Sinon why he was still there.
Sinon said that Odysseus hated him and had left him on the beach to die. The Trojans
asked him why the horse was there. Sinon told them that the horse was an offering to
Athena, and whoever possessed it, would win the war. The Greeks had made it very large so
that the Trojans could not carry it back to the city.
The Laocoön Groupsoon after Achilles. After being mortally wounded in battle, Helen took Paris
to Mount Ida where he died in peace.
I, Zeus, like to think that we gods are clever and witty. We manipulate the humans,
their emotions, and even their ideas. The Greeks needed a new strategy that would
get them over the high walls of Troy and inside the city. It was the idea of a
mortal man by the name of Odysseus that would eventually bring the fall of Troy.
Odysseus was the King of Ithaca and a suitor of Helen, so like the other suitors of
elen, he was called to battle when she was abducted by Paris. He fought valiantly in the
ten years of the war. He was a general under Agamemnon. He was also a very clever man.
Odysseus thought of the strategy that became known as The Trojan Horse.
His idea was to build a horse of wood that would be hollow. The horse would
be built in a secret location. When the horse was ready, it would be dragged to
the beaches where the Greek camp rested. The rest of the Greek army would
sail to the near-by island of Tenedos to hide until the horse was inside the city.
To ensure that the Trojans would accept the horse, one Greek would remain
behind to be captured. It was his duty to convince the Trojans that this horse
was a peace offering. Once the horse was inside the city, the men would wait
until the Trojans were asleep and then they would leave the horse to open the
gates of Troy and the Greek army would take the city.
The Greek architect Epeius built the horse from wood on Mount Ida. I had heard that
Athena guided Epeius in building the horse. The horse was built as big as a ship
and made hollow so that the Greeks could hide inside. There was an inscription
engraved on the horse that said, "For their return home, the Greeks dedicated this
thank-offering to Athena." Once the horse was complete, the Greek army burned
their camp and sailed to Tenedos, leaving the wooden horse on the plains of Troy.
Inside the horse were thirty-two soldiers, led by Odysseus.
Close up of the Wooden Horse
The Trojans were surprised to see that the Greeks had left so suddenly. Some
of the Trojans, including the King's daughter Cassandra, were skeptical. Cassandra
told the people of Troy that the horse was a trick. Unfortunately for Cassandra, and
for all the Trojans no one would believe her. Regardless of the skeptics,the rest of
the citizens of Troy were happy that the gates had been opened for the first time in
ten years. They could not wait to see the remnants of the Greek camp, but they found
the horse instead and that was even more fascinating to them.
Along with the horse, the Trojans found a Greek soldier who had been left behind. He
said his name was Sinon. The Trojans found him and asked Sinon why he was still there.
Sinon said that Odysseus hated him and had left him on the beach to die. The Trojans
asked him why the horse was there. Sinon told them that the horse was an offering to
Athena, and whoever possessed it, would win the war. The Greeks had made it very large so
that the Trojans could not carry it back to the city.
Many of the Trojans were eager to bring the horse back to the city. Others were ready to
burn it. It was Laocoön, the priest of Poseidon, who protested the most. He warned the King
that the horse was a trick and that the Greeks were not really gone. He even told the people
of Troy that the soldiers of Greece were inside of the horse. Laocoön even threw a spear
at the horse to try and prove his point. A rattling came from inside the horse when the spear
hit it. Athena sent two large sea serpents to the city, to distract the Trojans. The serpents took
hold of Laocoön and his sons and strangled them. This sign was enough to convince the people
that this horse was truly sacred and they carried it back to within the tall city walls of Troy.
After much celebration by the Trojans, the city finally slept peacefully, thinking that the threat
of the Greeks had gone. As the city slept, the time had come for Sinon to open the the horse and
let out the Greek soldiers. One by one, thirty-two Greeks dropped out of the horse. While many
soldiers made their way into the heart of the city, others made their way to the gates to let in the
rest of the Greek army. The citizens of Troy woke up to their city burning and death all around.
Das brennende Troja
The Greeks eventually reached the throne where Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles,
killed King Priam.
The Greek general Agamemnon captured Cassandra, Priam's daughter, but later, Agamemnon's
wife killed them both.
Andromache, wife of Hector, survived and was taken captive, but their son was thrown
from the city walls.
As for Helen, Menelaus found her, but he was very angry with her. He wanted to kill her.
When he finally was able to look her in the eye, he couldn't kill her. He only asked Helen to
return with him to Sparta and remain his wife.
As for Odysseus, well, he made it home safely, but he had some trouble along the way.
That is another story for another time.
So, that's my version of the Trojan war.
I'm sure you have heard other versions, or you have seen that silly movie staring Brad Pitt,
but my version is far better. At least I think it is...
Author's Note:
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" is a very common phrase that
refers to the Trojan Horse. This strategy was not mentioned in
Homer's
the Iliad or the Odyssey, but the story is well known. I chose to
tell
this story last because it is the climax of the entire story.
Most of
the comments that I got at the beginning of the storybook process were
suggestions that I used an image of the Trojan horse on my
coverpage.
I chose not to use the images because I wanted to focus on the whole
story and not just the Horse.
I used this the story The Wooden Horse because it told the end of the war better than most. It is a story for children and was summed up in a way that the reader could better understand it. I also used Wikipedia to look up details about the fates of Paris, Agamemnon, Cassandra, Andromache, Menelaus, and Helen. As for Odysseus, his fate is the most famous of all. Homer wrote the Odyssey to tell the tale of Odysseus' voyage home. As Zeus says, that is a story for another time.
I chose to use images from the 2004 movie Troy because I liked the horse that was used. It was actually made of wood and shows the size that the Greeks would have used. I especially liked the image that showed the people of Troy celebrating around the horse. I chose the second image to show a closer view of the horse, including where the opening may have been.
The image of the sculpture of Laocoön is the only thing I found that didn't focus on the horse, Achilles, Paris, Hector or Helen. This sculpture is one of a kind. According to ICD Rome, the sculpture was found on a vineyard in Italy. The arms were missing when it was found so they armes were reconstructed. Later on, the actual pieces were found and the sculpture was put back together. It is now on display at the Vatican museum.
The image Das brennende Troja was found at Wikipedia and is a great image of the destruction of the city. I wanted to find an image that would show the devastation of the end of the war, but once again, there wasn't much to chose from.
I wasn't sure how to end the story other than to reiterate that Zeus thinks his point of view of the story is the best.
Bibliography
Story: The Wooden Horse
Author: Josephine Preston Peabody
Book: Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Published: 1897
Web Source: The Baldwin Project
Other Sources
Trojan War at Wikipedia
Cassandra at Wikipedia
Helen at Wikipedia
Priam at Wikipedia
Andromache at Wikipedia
Trojan War by Carlos Parada at Greek Mythology Link
Image Information
The Trojan Horse, Image from the movie Troy, 2004. Source: Armchair General
Close up of the Wooden Horse, Image from the movie Troy, 2004. Source: Skyscrapercity Forums
The Laocoön Group, attributed to Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus. Source: IDC Rome
Das brennende Troja by J. G. Trautmann. Source: Wikipedia.org
I used this the story The Wooden Horse because it told the end of the war better than most. It is a story for children and was summed up in a way that the reader could better understand it. I also used Wikipedia to look up details about the fates of Paris, Agamemnon, Cassandra, Andromache, Menelaus, and Helen. As for Odysseus, his fate is the most famous of all. Homer wrote the Odyssey to tell the tale of Odysseus' voyage home. As Zeus says, that is a story for another time.
I chose to use images from the 2004 movie Troy because I liked the horse that was used. It was actually made of wood and shows the size that the Greeks would have used. I especially liked the image that showed the people of Troy celebrating around the horse. I chose the second image to show a closer view of the horse, including where the opening may have been.
The image of the sculpture of Laocoön is the only thing I found that didn't focus on the horse, Achilles, Paris, Hector or Helen. This sculpture is one of a kind. According to ICD Rome, the sculpture was found on a vineyard in Italy. The arms were missing when it was found so they armes were reconstructed. Later on, the actual pieces were found and the sculpture was put back together. It is now on display at the Vatican museum.
The image Das brennende Troja was found at Wikipedia and is a great image of the destruction of the city. I wanted to find an image that would show the devastation of the end of the war, but once again, there wasn't much to chose from.
I wasn't sure how to end the story other than to reiterate that Zeus thinks his point of view of the story is the best.
Bibliography
Story: The Wooden Horse
Author: Josephine Preston Peabody
Book: Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew
Published: 1897
Web Source: The Baldwin Project
Other Sources
Trojan War at Wikipedia
Cassandra at Wikipedia
Helen at Wikipedia
Priam at Wikipedia
Andromache at Wikipedia
Trojan War by Carlos Parada at Greek Mythology Link
Image Information
The Trojan Horse, Image from the movie Troy, 2004. Source: Armchair General
Close up of the Wooden Horse, Image from the movie Troy, 2004. Source: Skyscrapercity Forums
The Laocoön Group, attributed to Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus. Source: IDC Rome
Das brennende Troja by J. G. Trautmann. Source: Wikipedia.org
| Coverpage |
Introduction |
Judgment of Paris |
Hector, Hero of Troy |
Fate of Achilles |