‘I fear the Greeks, even when
they bring gifts’
–Virgil, 29 to 19 B.C
The ancient Greeks were extremely clever and cunning. As described in Homer’s epic poem ‘The Odyssey’ the story of the Trojan horse is an example. The picture shows the city of Troy burning after the Greeks gave the Trojans a horse as a parting and peace offering gift. The huge walls which surrounded Troy were unbreakable and they needed to find a way to get in. The brilliant Odysseus thought of hiding soldiers inside the horse and ‘leaving’ a man Sinon behind to offer the horse as a compensation for destroying the temple of the goddess Athena. Many of the Trojans, including a high priest, Helen of Troy and the daughter of King Priam are sceptical of the gift as they had an understanding of the Greek’s cruel and proud nature. Hence the quote above. The horse is taken in and during nightfall the soldiers burn the city to the ground. The legendary city of Troy is destroyed along with its population. The story is just one example of the epic Greek civilisation and it’s victories that are still savoured more than 3000 years later.