𝖏𝖚𝖉𝖊 :
fun fact: the achaeans didn't really leave the horse as a gift for troy. they actually kinda used reverse psychology. according to the aeneid, one warrior—sinon—stood outside the horse and awaited the coming of the trojans. he told them that the achaeans had constructed the horse as a gift for the goddess athena as penance for desecrating her temple in troy, and as an offering for safe passage home, and that they had left him behind with it. the horse itself was constructed too large to fit through troy's gate, so that the trojans couldn't steal it and take athena's favor for themselves. under no circumstances was he to allow them to take the horse. so what did the trojans do? well, some of them (helen, the prophetess cassandra, and the priest laocoön, mainly) deduce the truth, but their warnings are either unheard or unheeded. instead, the trojans promptly captured sinon, then deconstructed the gate of the city to wheel the horse inside. later, in the din of night, the achaeans emerged (either from within the horse or through the now-broken gate) into the city and took it from within. the idea that the horse was a gift for the trojans largely comes from the single famous line from laocoön's warning, "I fear Greeks, even those bearing gifts." but this line doesn't strictly imply that the trojans thought of the gift as rightfully theirs. i think it's more of a "this may seem harmless but i'm wary of it" type of sentiment. anyway, it's neat stuff
2026-07-21 20:45:16