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There are many people that use the
expression Trojan horse in order to describe a gift that is
not what it seems. Although this has its use in modern-day
language the term's roots are actually in very ancient mythological
stories. It is interesting how something that reportedly
happened so many thousands of years ago could have such an impact
that it would last as a saying even down to this day.
According to Greek mythology, the
Trojan war that had raged on for many years. Although the Trojan
war is a part of mythology, it is thought to have its roots in some
truth. It could be that there were some struggles that were fought
during this time but history allowed it to tell a different story.
According to this story, the city of Troy, which stood near the
Dardanelles, was put under siege and kept in that condition for some
10 years. Typically cities were put under siege in those days
because the city walls proved to be too much for the invading army
to breach. Because of the fact that they fought much in
hand-to-hand combat it was almost impossible to enter a city through
the walls. The only part of the city that was really open to attack
were the gates and these were usually very heavily guarded.
Another thing that is interesting
about the length of time that the city of Troy was reportedly under
siege is that many times a city could only withstand being under
siege for a period of a year or two. Not only would the members of
the city begin to starve, but many times in the invading armies
would launch diseased bodies over the city walls in order to cause
sickness to run through its inhabitants. Apparently the city of
Troy was rather self-sufficient in that it was able to withstand
being under siege for this length of time. That is what caused the
Greek army to decide that it would not be able to overtake the city
by these means.
At that time it was decided that
they would try to enter the city without battle in order to conquer
it. They built a large horse out of wood that was hollow on the
inside. This is what has come to be known as the Trojan horse. It
was given to the inhabitants of the city as a sign of peace, but in
actuality it contained many Greek soldiers on the inside. Once the
horse was safely inside the city, the soldiers descended from the
horse and overtook the guards at the gate. With the city's gates
wide open the remaining Greek army was able to easily enter the city
and plunder it. Not a male member of the city was left alive.
Although this story is not based on
factual events it does hold many truths that we can benefit from
even today. For one we should not allow our eyes to deceive
ourselves into accepting a gift with an ulterior motive. By looking
at mythological stories such as this one, we are able to learn a lot
about ourselves even today.
Greek History Article:
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