{"id":12382,"date":"2022-04-04T10:01:13","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T08:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=205576"},"modified":"2022-04-04T10:19:07","modified_gmt":"2022-04-04T08:19:07","slug":"what-is-the-trojan-horse-and-why-do-we-say-beware-the-greeks-bearing-gifts","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/what-is-the-trojan-horse-and-why-do-we-say-beware-the-greeks-bearing-gifts\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Trojan Horse and why do we say \u2018Beware the Greeks bearing gifts\u2019?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Kev Lochun\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 04 April 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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For ten years, the city of Troy<\/a> had been under siege from the armies of ancient Greece<\/a>, after the Trojan prince Paris eloped with \u2013 the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta. Or at least, that\u2019s the myth.<\/p>\n

Thousands had died in the decade-long war but the stone walls of Troy remained impenetrable. With the two sides at stalemate, the Greek warrior king Odysseus hatched a cunning plan.<\/p>\n

Read more | Who\u2019s who in ancient Greece? Meet 14 famous Greeks<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
What was the Trojan Horse?<\/h2>\n
A giant wooden horse was built and left at the gates of Troy and the Greek ships sailed out of sight.<\/p>\n
The Trojans, believing the war was over, saw the horse as an offering to the gods and as a gift of peace so wheeled it into the city and celebrated their victory.<\/p>\n
Read more | Why is Alexander the Great\u2019s horse Bucephalus famous?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
This is exactly what Odysseus wanted \u2013 once the Trojans had all gone to sleep \u2013 many of them blind drunk \u2013 a host of armed soldiers crept out from the belly of the horse and opened the city gates. Troy was overrun and destroyed and the \u2018Trojan Horse\u2019 became revered as one of the most successful military tactics ever.<\/p>\n
Why do we say \u2018Beware the Greeks bearing gifts?<\/h2>\n
In Virgil\u2019s epochal version of events, the Aeneid<\/em>, there was one voice of reason among the Trojans who distrusted the Greeks.<\/p>\n
Read more | Your guide to ancient Greek religion<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>
A priest named Laocoon pleaded against accepting the gift and bringing the horse into the city, declaring, Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes<\/em> \u2013 roughly translated, as \u201cI fear the Greeks, even those bearing gifts.\u201d It was adapted over the years to the expression we have today.<\/p>\n
But, as the story goes, Laocoon and his sons were strangled by two large serpents, sent by the gods. The Trojans saw this as a sign that the priest was wrong, and the horse was a sincere gesture of peace.<\/p>\n
This content first appeared in BBC History Revealed<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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Why do we say \u2018Beware the Greeks bearing gifts?<\/h2>\nIn Virgil\u2019s epochal version of events, the Aeneid<\/em>, there was one voice of reason among the Trojans who distrusted the Greeks.<\/p>\n