W is for Wooden Horse

Another difficult letter, but I managed to find something :)
Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
A Wooden Horse was the weapon used by the Greeks to win the Trojan War, started in part by Aphrodite (see my last post). When Paris of Troy abducted Helen (married to Menelaus, King of Sparta) he gathered an army to help him bring her back.

However, the city of Troy had huge walls which the Greeks couldn't penetrate. The battle went on for a long time, and the Greeks could do nothing to damage the city.

They created a huge, hollow wooden horse, pretending it was a peace token for the Trojans. The Trojans accepted this gift, and that night Greeks came out of the horse and opened the city gates, allowing the rest of the army into the city and destroy it.

Comments

  1. Nick Wilford26 April 2013 at 11:02

    Lister in Red Dwarf said it best... "Beware of Trojans, they're total smegheads!" If it was me, I definitely would have treated that horse a lot more cautiously!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown26 April 2013 at 11:57

    This is a great story and wise words to live by: Beware of Greeks (or enemies) bearing gifts!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dani26 April 2013 at 12:19

    Oh those tricky Trojans! Classic story of wolf in sheeps clothing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Alex J. Cavanaugh26 April 2013 at 14:11

    The Trojans were too overconfident to spot the trick.

    ReplyDelete
  5. L.G. Keltner26 April 2013 at 15:51

    Yay to Nick for the Red Dwarf reference! The Trojan Horse is a classic story.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mark Means26 April 2013 at 15:57

    Ah, so that's where the expression "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" came from... :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rob Z Tobor26 April 2013 at 16:46

    I can imagine Boldrick saying to the General "I have this cunning plan, we could make a huge wooden horse".

    ReplyDelete
  8. Outcast26 April 2013 at 18:32

    I love this story Laura, just about how simple the trick was yet they fell for it, so interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous26 April 2013 at 21:01

    So intense! And such a creative and crafty solution too!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Unknown26 April 2013 at 21:39

    Very creative military tactic.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous27 April 2013 at 02:05

    I just can't imagine how the Trojans felt. Definitely a facepalm moment. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unknown27 April 2013 at 03:43

    After a decade of siege, they must have just wanted it to be over already. Hadn't they learned anything about that crafty Odysseus?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo...
Read more

IWSG

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I...
Read more

A is for Arachne and Arlee!

Before I get to my Greek Mythology part of this post, at the request of Alex J. Cavanaugh  (great idea by the way, Alex!), I'd first like to thank Arlee Bird for coming up with the challenge in the first place. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be taking part in this amazing experience every year. Thanks, Arlee! This is one of my favourite tales from Greek mythology, so naturally I chose it for my first letter. Arachne was the daughter of a shepherd, and was famous for the beautiful tapestries she weaved. Nymphs would travel from all over to see her work, and to watch her weave. One day, a nymph asked her if her talent was a gift from the goddess Athena. Arachne protested, saying her skill was all her own, and that her weaving was better than Athena's. Athena heard of this, and challenged the girl to a weaving contest. Both sat at their looms and began to weave, nymphs gathering round to watch. Athena weaved a tapestry based on the glories of the gods, showing the...
Read more