trojan horse
Still seeking to gain entrance into Troy, Odysseus of Ithaca ordered a large
wooden horse to be built. Its insides were to be hollow so that soldiers could
hide within it. Once the statue had been built by the artist Epeius, a number of
the Greek warriors along with Odysseus climbed inside. The rest of the Greek
fleet sailed away so as to deceive the Trojans.
One man, Sinon, was left behind. When the Trojans came to marvel at the huge
creation, Sinon pretended to be angry with the Greeks, stating that they had
deserted him. He assured the Trojans that the wooden horse was safe and would
bring luck to the Trojans. Only two people, Laocoon and Cassandra, spoke out
against the horse but they were ignored. The Trojans celebrated what they
thought was their victory and dragged the wooden horse into Troy.
That night, after most of Troy was asleep or in a drunken stupor, Sinon let the
Greek warriors out from the horse, and they slaughtered the Trojans. Priam was
killed as he huddled by Zeus' altar and Cassandra was pulled from the statue of
Athena...
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