"The Trojan Horse"

By Dr. Rohan H Wickramasinghe-July 5, 2020


Neville Ladduwahetty’s contribution to The Island of 30 June 2020, entitled ‘A fresh perspective on the MCC compact’ deals with aspects relating to the MCC Compact, ACSA and SOFA and the report of the Expert Committee, headed by Professor Lalitasiri Gunuruwan. This reader’s attention was attracted to the statement "While these professed intentions are noteworthy, one has to look at history as forewarned by the words of Thucydides who, in the 5th century B.C., said: ‘Knowledge of the past is an aid to interpretation of the future’. Therefore, there is a need to strip the gingerbread and trimmings of the stated purpose of addressing poverty and look at the compact for what it is really intended to serve."

Since the term ‘Trojan Horse’ is appearing rather frequently these days to describe political developments in Lanka, this writer has felt it may be of interest to those of the readership not very familiar with Greek and Roman mythology to address the origin of the term and elaborate on the fascinating events said to surround its genesis.

Background to the Trojan War

Troy was a city which no longer exists. Its location was, in fact, a matter of controversy for years but is believed to have been in what is now Turkey. It was the site of the Trojan War, which was described in the two epic poems, primarily the Iliad but also the Odyssey, generally attributed to the blind Greek poet, Homer. Virgil made notable contributions in Latin to the myth in the Aeneid, Book II, which is said to have been written between 29 and 19 B.C. Herodotus, Sophocles and others also made (lesser) contributions to the account of the Trojan War.

The actors in the myths included, among others, 1) Prince Paris of Troy (n.b. His name, incidentally, has no connection with that of the French city), 2) Queen Helen of Sparta, 3) Helen’s husband, King Menelaus of Sparta, 4) Menelaus’s brother, King Agamemnon of Mycenae, 5) King Odysseus (n.b. Odysseus means ‘trouble’ in Greek. He was known as Ulysses in Roman mythology) of Ithaca, 6) Queen Penelope of Ithaca (wife of Odysseus), 7) God Zeus, 8) God Poseidon, 9) Goddess Athena, 10) Goddess Hera, 11) Goddess Aphrodite, 12) Achilles, 13) Nestor, 14) Ajax, 15) Epeius, 16) Trojan sage Laocoon and 17) Greek volunteer, Sinon.

It all began when God Zeus was asked to decide who was the most beautiful of the three goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. God Zeus did not want to get involved in a situation which he foresaw could get messy so he asked Prince Paris to deputise for him. Hermes brought the three goddesses, who proceeded to offer inducements to Prince Paris to get his vote. The problems increased when another goddess Eris, ‘Goddess of Discord’ threw a golden ‘Apple of Discord’ into the mix-up. However, Prince Paris continued with his project and proceeded to judge the three goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The first round of judging was inconclusive so he judged them next in the nude. At the end of this round, in what is now called ‘The Judgement of Paris’, he gave the decision to Goddess Aphrodite. Goddess Aphrodite had promised Prince Paris that, if she won, she would give him Queen Helen of Sparta, who was regarded as the most beautiful woman in the world. Aphrodite kept her promise and Paris took Helen away to Troy. (n.b. 1. Prince Paris had exceptional beauty and intelligence and some accounts refer to the incident as more an elopement than an abduction. 2. Athena, who had lost in the contest, later joined the Greeks in the battle with Prince Paris’s Trojans.)

The Trojan War and Horse

As a result of Paris taking Helen away, Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, led Achaean (Greek) troops and allies to attack Troy. Agamemnon’s force included Odysseus (Ulysses), Achilles, Nestor and Ajax accompanied by a formidable fleet of a thousand ships. It has been said that the city was besieged for 10 years and one authority, Eratosthenes, has dated the Trojan War as having been waged from 1194 to 1184 B.C.

Eventually, the Greeks formulated a devious strategy to enter the city. They constructed an immense wooden horse, which could accommodate forty (40) fully equipped warriors in its belly and a further two (2) spies in its mouth. The significance of the choice of a horse is that it was the emblem of Troy. It was built under the direction of one Epeius (with the help of Athena) in the space of three days. Some writers have listed the possible names of the outstanding Achaean warriors, who included Odysseus, who were entrusted with this part of the operation. The horse, which was on wheels, was loaded with the warriors and left outside the city gate. An Achaean by the name of Sinon volunteered to stay with it. The remainder of the Achaean force appeared to sail away but did not go very far.

The following day, the Achaean volunteer, Sinon, who had stayed behind, told the Trojans that the Greeks had given up the war as fruitless and returned home. They had left Sinon to explain that the Horse was a tribute to the goddess, Athena, whose temple they had earlier damaged. The Greeks said that the Horse was too large to take back home in their ships so they left it for the City of Troy.

The Trojans rejoiced at the prospect of the end of the war and started to drag the Horse into the city. At this point, the Trojan priest and seer, Laocoon, voiced the immortal words, "Equo ne credite, Teucri. Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" ("Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the [Greeks], even those bearing gifts") (see Virgil’s Aeneid Book II). Another shorter version reads "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" ("I fear Greeks, even when bearing presents"). However, Laocoon was strangled by two huge sea serpents sent by the god Poseidon and his warning and those of some others were dismissed by the people of Troy.

The people of Troy flung open the gates of the city and dragged in the Horse in triumph. As soon as they were inside, Odysseus and the others poured out of the Horse and opened wide the city gates to admit others from the ships, which had returned in the meantime following the lighting of a beacon by Sinon. The men of Troy were mostly slaughtered and the women and children taken captive. The city of Troy was razed to the ground.

The return home

After the war ended, the combatants went their various ways. According to Virgil, Aeneas and a group of Trojans left the destroyed Troy and went on to found Rome. Odysseus’s journey home took another 10 years due to various adventures and distractions, such as dallying seven years with nymph, Calypso, on the island of Ogygia as her lover. Eventually, Odysseus reached home alone without any of his men 20 years after he left. He disguised himself as a beggar and not even his wife, Penelope, recognized him at first. He was recognized only by his dog, Argos, whom he had bred 20 years before. Argos was old and neglected but, having lived to see his master’s return, passed away soon after.

(This account is based on information from Mr. E.F.C. Pereira, a teacher of an earlier era, supplemented with that from Wikipedia.)