Leah Schwarz, age 12, of Denton, Texas, for her question:
WHAT WAS THE TROJAN HORSE?
The conflict in which ancient Greece defeated the city of Troy is known as the Trojan War. The war, which probably took place during the 1100s or 1200s B.C., inspired many leading works of classical literature, including "Aeneid" by the Roman poet Virgil. The famous Trojan horse appears in this literary classic.
"Aeneid" describes the fall of Troy. The Greeks built a huge wooden horse, which was placed outside the walls of Troy. Odysseus and some other warriors hid inside the horse while the rest of the Greek army sailed away. The prophetess Cassandra and the priest Laocoon warned the Trojans against taking the horse into their city. But Simon, a Greek prisoner, persuaded them that the horse was sacred and would bring to Troy the protection of the gods.
The Trojans then pulled the horse through the gate into Troy. After celebrating their apparent victory that night, the Trojans fell asleep.
The Greek warriors then crept out of the Trojan horse and opened the city gates for the rest of their troops, who had in the meantime returned from a nearby island.
The Greeks took back Helen, slaughtered almost all the Trojans and burned Troy. According to "Aeneid," the few Trojan survivors included the warrior Aeneas, whose descendants founded Rome.
History tells us that the Greek army laid siege to Troy for 10 years but could not conquer the city. The "Illiad," by the Greek poet Homer, describes some of the events that occured during the last year of the struggle.
Scholars know little about the actual Trojan War. According to Greek myths, however, the Trojan War resulted from an incident at the wedding feast of Peleus, the king of Thessaly, and Thetis, a sea goddess.
According to the ancient myth, all of the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus had been invited to the wedding except Eris, the goddess of discord. Eris was offended by the rejection and tried to stir up trouble among the guests at the feast. The incident eventually led to war.
After Eris' rejection, she sent a golden apple inscribed "For the most beautiful." Three goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, claimed the apple and a quarrel started. Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy, was chosen to act as judge in the dispute. He awarded the apple to Aphrodite because she had promised him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.
Helen was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. But when Paris visited her, she fled with him to Troy. Menelaus and his brother, Agamemnon, organized a large Greek expedition against Troy to win Helen back.
The Greek army included such heroes as Achilles, Ajax the Greater, Nestor and Odysseus.
The poetic accounts of the Trojan War combine the historical facts with material from Greek legends and myths. But archaeologists have found definite historical evidence in the ruins of Troy and other cities that confirms certain events described by the poets.