Why is the Trojan horse famous?

Homer’s epic poem ‘lliad’ is the story of the Trojan War. This was a war that lasted ten long years. It was fought between the Greeks, led by King Agamemnon, and the people of Troy, which is situated on the coast of what is now known as Turkey.

The war started when Paris, a Trojan prince, carried away Helen, a Greek princess, to Troy. The Greeks were determined to get her back, but though they fought against troy for ten years. They were not able to get inside its walls.

image source: wikimedia commons

Finally, they pretended to sail away, leaving behind a huge wooden horse at the gates of the city. The Trojans thought that the horse was a parting gift from the Greeks, and dragged the horse inside the city.

However, the horse was actually filled with Greek soldiers. When night fell, they opened a concealed door in the horse, and came out. They burnt the city of Troy, helped by the Greek army, which had returned stealthily.

The Greeks defeated Troy by this trick, and the term ‘Trojan horse’ has come to mean a person or thing that is used to trick an enemy, in order to achieve a secret purpose.