6.
Stories
The war had raged for ten long years, with no finish in sight. According to legend, Odysseus
devised a cunning plan to end the fruitless siege. The Greeks built a giant wooden horse and hid their
best warriors inside. The rest of their army then sailed away, pretending to return to their homeland
and leaving the monumental horse behind on the beach.
The Trojans found the horse and dragged it into Troy as a symbol of their victory. They tied ropes
around the beast’s neck and dozens of men set huge log rollers underneath the wooden body to pull it
slowly up from the beach. Others worked to take down the gate so that the monstrous sculpture could
be dragged inside the city walls.
Once the statue was inside, the Trojans celebrated the end of the decade-long conflict. They
decorated the temples with greenery, unearthed the jugs of sacrificial wine, and danced to rejoice at
the conclusion of their ordeal.
But that night, while the city lay unconscious in drunken slumber, the Greeks sprang from their
hiding place. They slid to the ground, silenced the sentries, and opened the huge gates to the city. The
rest of the Greek army sailed back under the cover of darkness and soon joined them, easily walking
through the very gates they had fruitlessly assaulted for so many years.
The city was able to stand a decade of battle, but it could not withstand an attack from within. Once
inside, the Greeks destroyed the town, decisively ending the Trojan War.
—————
The story of the Trojan Horse has been passed on for thousands of years. Scientists and historians
estimate that the battle took place around 1170 BC, but the story was not written down until many
years later. For centuries the tale was transmitted orally as an epic poem, spoken or sung to music.
The story reads like a modern-day reality show. It’s full of twists and turns that include personal
vendettas, adultery, and double crosses. Through a potent mixture of drama, romance, and action, it
holds listeners’ interest.
But the story of the Trojan Horse also carries an underlying message: “Beware of Greeks bearing
gifts.” A more general interpretation would be “never trust your enemies, even when they seem
friendly.” In fact it is exactly
when
they are making such overtures that you should be especially
suspicious. So the tale of the Trojan Horse is more than just an entertaining story. It also teaches an
important lesson.
Still, if Homer and Virgil had simply wanted to teach people a lesson, couldn’t they have done it
more efficiently? Couldn’t they have gotten right to the point rather than writing an epic poem with
hundreds of lines of poetry?
Of course. But would the lesson have had the same impact? Probably not.
By encasing the lesson in a story, these early writers ensured that it would be passed along—and
perhaps even be believed more wholeheartedly than if the lesson’s words were spoken simply and
plainly. That’s because people don’t think in terms of information. They think in terms of
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