The Trojan Horse: A Clever Trick That Led to the Fall of a Great City

 The Trojan Horse

Many ancient books are filled with myths that have been recorded throughout history. No one knows for sure whether these myths actually happened or are simply fictional stories created by some to extract lessons from them. Some of them are believable, while others are not. In this article, we will discuss one of the most famous myths, namely the myth of the Trojan Horse.

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The myth of the Trojan Horse

This myth begins with the city of Troy, which is a maritime city located in Asia Minor. The myth says that Poseidon, the god of the sea, built it together with Apollo, the god of poetry and the arts. It is a city with a very strong and impregnable fortress.

This myth began with the prophecy of Cassandra and other oracles that the son of the young king Paris would be the cause of the destruction of this country. The king then ordered the killing of the son, but the maid did not kill him and instead threw him in the mountains.

Paris lived as a shepherd, until a dispute arose between the three goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena. They submitted their dispute to Paris, and Aphrodite gave him the gift of the most beautiful woman in the world.

There was a woman of extraordinary beauty in Sparta, who was the wife of the king of Sparta. Paris went there and was impressed by Helen, and he seduced her, and she went with him, fleeing from her Greek husband.

Paris returned to Troy, and they accepted him as a prince after they learned that he was still alive, and he lived with them. However, the Greek king of Sparta decided to gather crowds and soldiers to take revenge on this prince and the son of the king of Troy. He gathered many soldiers and many ships, and they prepared for war and fighting to recover their honor. They allied with the kings of Greece, and they headed to Troy.

After the crowds arrived in Troy and a great war broke out between them, killing thousands of them, this army besieged Troy and could not enter this impregnable fortress for ten years.

After despair spread among them, Ulysses, one of their smartest leaders, thought of an idea that would enable them to enter the fortress. The idea was that the people of Troy worshiped horses, so he ordered his armies to build a large wooden horse. The strongest soldiers hid inside it, and the rest of the army withdrew.

The people of Troy believed that they had finally defeated their enemies, and they brought in this large wooden horse, which they considered their loot. They celebrated that night and drank a lot of wine and alcohol.

The soldiers hiding inside this horse opened the gate of the fortress of Troy, and they signaled to the army to storm the fortress. They entered it and shed a lot of blood, and they took the women and children as hostages and prisoners. The Greek king recovered his wife and lived with her after he killed Paris. Destruction and ruin reigned in this city, and the prophecy of the oracles came true.

Conclusion

The myth of the Trojan Horse is a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris and the importance of being vigilant. It also shows that even the most seemingly impregnable defenses can be breached with ingenuity and deception.