The Trojan Horse Myth And The True Story Behind It

According to ancient Greek history, the Trojan horse allowed the war-weary Greeks to enter the city of Troy and finally win the Trojan war. WasTheTrojanHorseReal?InsideTheHistoricalDebate ByBernadetteGiacomazzo|CheckedByErikHawkins PublishedDecember10,2021 UpdatedMarch16,2022 Accordingtoancientmythology,theTrojanHorseallowedtheGreekstofinallycapturethecityofTroy,buthistoriansdifferonwhetherthisfamouswoodenbeastwasactuallyrealornot.AdamJones/WikimediaCommonsAreplicaoftheTrojanHorse,inDardanelles,Turkey. AccordingtoancientGreekhistory,theTrojanhorseallowedthewar-wearyGreekstoenterthecityofTroyandfinallywintheTrojanwar.LegendhasitthatthehorsewasbuiltatthebehestofOdysseus,whohidinsideitsstructurealongwithseveralothersoldierstoultimatelylaysiegetothecity.Soepicwasitsconstruction—anditspurpose—thatitwasforeverimmortalizedinclassicalworks. Butdiditevenexist?Inrecentyears,historianshavequestionedwhethertheover-the-topdisplayofGrecianmilitarymightwaslittlemorethanamyth,constructedtomaketheGreekarmyseemmorelikeagodlyforceandlesslikethemeremortalsthattheywere.OtherclassistssuggestthattheGreekarmydidindeedusesometypeofsiegeengine—likeabatteringram—andhavedescribedtheTrojanhorse’sexistenceasmoremetaphoricalthananythingelse. RegardlessofwhethertheTrojanhorsetrulyexisted,itsplaceinhistorycannotbedenied. TheTrojanHorseintheAeneid ThereareveryfewmentionsoftheTrojanhorseinantiquity,withthemostfamouscomingintheAeneidbyVirgil,aRomanpoetfromtheAugustanera,whowrotetheepicpoemin29B.C.InVirgil’stellingofthetale,aGreeksoldierbythenameofSinonconvincedtheTrojansthathe’dbeenleftbehindbyhistroopsandthattheGreekshadgonehome.Buthissoldiershadleftbehindahorse,hesaid,asadedicationtotheGreekgodAthena.SinonclaimedthathistroopswerehopingtocurryfavorwiththegoddessaftertheTrojanslaidwastetoherland. ButtheTrojanpriestLaocoönquicklyrealizedsomethingwaswrong.AccordingtotheAeneid,he’dtriedtowarnhisfellowTrojansabouttheimpendingdanger.Butitwastoolate—“thehorsehadenteredTroy,”andthemythoftheTrojanhorsewasborn. Thenintruth,astrangeterrorstealsthrougheachshudderingheart, andtheysaythatLaocoönhasjustlysufferedforhiscrime inwoundingthesacredoaktreewithhisspear, byhurlingitswickedshaftintothetrunk. “Pullthestatuetoherhouse”,theyshout, “andofferprayerstothegoddess’sdivinity.” Webreachedthewallandopenedupthedefensesofthecity. AnEarlySkepticOfTheTrojanHorseStory PriortotheAeneid,aplaycalledTheTrojanWomenbyEuripidesmadereferencetoa“Trojanhorse”aswell.Theplay,whichwasfirstwrittenin415B.C.,hadPoseidon—theGreekgodofthesea—opentheplaybyaddressingtheaudience. “For,fromhishomebeneathParnassus,PhocianEpeus,aidedbythecraftofPallas,framedahorsetobearwithinitswombanarmedhost,andsentitwithinthebattlements,fraughtwithdeath;whenceindaystocomemenshalltellof“thewoodenhorse,”withitshiddenloadofwarriors,”saidPoseidonintheopeningscene. Inboththeplayandthepoem,thehorsewastheharbingerofvictoryoverdefeat.ButwhileTheTrojanWomenplaycorrectlydepictedthewoodenhorseinametaphoricalsense,theAeneid‘sdepictionledhistorianstoviewthewoodenhorseasmoreliteral,andfactual,inexistence.Andthisisanotionthatbothancientandmodernhistoriansseemtowanttobedisabusedof. ThefirsthistoriantoquestiontheexistenceoftheTrojanhorsewasPausanias,aGreektravelerandgeographerwholivedinthesecondcenturyA.D.duringtheRomanreignofMarcusAurelius.Inhisbook,DescriptionofGreece,Pausaniasdescribesahorsemadeoutofbronze,notwood,thatheldGreeksoldiers. “ThereisthehorsecalledWoodensetupinbronze,”hewrote.“ButlegendsaysofthathorsethatitcontainedthemostvaliantoftheGreeks,andthedesignofthebronzefigurefitsinwellwiththisstory.MenestheusandTeucerarepeepingoutofit,andsoarethesonsofTheseus.” HistoriansThinkTheTrojanHorseMayHaveBeenAMetaphor—OrSiegeEngine WikimediaCommonsAstillfromthe2004filmTroydepictingthehorsebeinghauledintothecityandTrojanscelebrating. Morerecently,in2014,Dr.ArmandD’AngourofOxfordUniversityspelleditoutmoreplainly.“ArchaeologicalevidenceshowsthatTroywasindeedburneddown;butthewoodenhorseisanimaginativefable,perhapsinspiredbythewayancientsiege-engineswereclothedwithdamphorse-hidestostopthembeingsetalight,”hewroteintheUniversity’snewsletter. However,asrecentlyasAugust2021,archaeologistsinTurkeyfounddozensofwoodenplanksdatingbackthousandsofyearsinthehillsofHisarlik—commonlybelievedtobethehistoricallocationofthecityofTroy. Althoughmanyhistorianswereskeptical,thosearchaeologistswerefairlyconvincedtheyhadfoundtheremainsoftheveryrealTrojanHorseitself. Andstill,otherhistorianssuggestthatthereal“Trojanhorse”couldbeanythingfromashipwithsoldiersinsideofittoasimplebatteringramsimilarlydressedinhorsehides. Whicheverversionofthestoryyouchoosetoaccept,theterm“Trojanhorse”isstillusedtoday.Inmodernparlance,itreferstosubversionfromtheinside—aspywhoinfiltratesanorganization,forexample,andsubsequentlyturnstheorganization’sveryexistenceonitshead. Morerecently,however,a“Trojanhorse”—morecommonlyreferredtoasmerelyatrojan—isusedtorefertocomputermalwarethatmisleadsusersaboutitstrueintent.Whenatrojantakesoveryourcomputer,itleavesitvulnerabletoother“invaders”—virusesthatcouldcompromiseyourpersonalinformationandleaveyouvulnerabletohackingandotheroffenses. PerhapsthehistoriansoftomorrowwilllooktocomputerscientistKenThompson—whofirstcoinedthephraseinthe1980s—inthesamewayweviewVirgilandPausaniastoday. “TowhatextentshouldonetrustastatementthataprogramisfreeofTrojanhorses?Perhapsitismoreimportanttotrustthepeoplewhowrotethesoftware,”hesaid. Nowthatyou’velearnedallaboutthefacts,andfiction,oftheTrojanhorse,readallabouttheancientTrojancitythatwasdiscoveredinGreecenottoolongago.Then,readabouttheancientGreekjarwhichwasusedtocursemorethan55peopleinAthens. Share Flipboard Email RemoveAds BernadetteGiacomazzo BernadetteGiacomazzoisaNYC-basededitor,writer,photographer,andpublicistwithacareerspanningmorethantwodecadesintheentertainmentindustry.HerworkhasbeenfeaturedinPeople,TeenVogue,BET,HipHopDX,XXLMagazine,TheSource,Vibe,TheLosAngelesTimes,andmore.SheisalsotheauthorofTheUprisingSeriesandistheCEOofG-ForceMarketing&Publicity,whichhasbeenfeaturedinTheHollywoodReporterandhasobtainedfilm,television,radio,andprintplacementsforblue-chipclientsallovertheworld.Shewillrelease"InLivingColor:ACulturalHistory"onRowman&LittlefieldPressinApril2022,and"TheGoldenGirls:ACulturalHistory"onRowman&LittlefieldPressinOctober2022. 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