The Trojan Horse. Existing only in the pages of Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, it has been recreated on the outskirts of Troy—an ancient, excavated city in northwestern Turkey.
The Trojan Horse and me
In the poem, Paris, Prince of Troy and thought to be the handsomest man alive, traveled to Sparta in Greece to win the affections of the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus.
When Menelaus found out that Paris had stolen his wife and carried her (and much of Menelaus’ treasure) off to Troy, he sent a fleet of ships to destroy Paris and Troy. But Troy wasn’t that easy to destroy. So a large wooden horse was built. It was hollow so that soldiers could hide inside. When the Greek fleet sailed away, the Trojans thought they had won and brought the giant horse—which they were told would bring them luck—inside the walls. That night, of course, the soldiers in the horse emerged and slaughtered the Trojans as they slept off their victorious drunken stupor.
There’s much more to the story, just as there is more to the finding and excavating of Troy, but that’s for another post.
To show how BIG the horse is, note the relatively tiny figure (all 5’9” of me) leaning against the horse’s leg.
The term, Trojan Horse, is used today to represent a deception—something that looks good on the outside but really isn’t. I’ve had a few encounters with that: an ex boyfriend or two, even a job that looked like my dream job but soured after a couple of months. Anybody else had any Trojan Horse experiences?
This is gigantic! Beautiful photo.
Thanks, Amy. I guess I have to give some credit to my husband, who actually pushed the shutter button
Love the picture!!
Smiles … Linda
Thank you, Linda. It was a trip being there and actually climbing up inside.
Oh, how I do remember reading Menelaus’s story in college! Good one for the topic.
I must admit to never having read the original story and learning only bits and pieces of it over the years. I bet in college they made you read the original. Was it tough to get through?
Wow, a really interesting post! Thank you. I love Greek mythology and this was a great refresher!
You’re so welcome, Jennifer, and thank you for stopping by to comment. They have Greek mythology questions on Jeopardy, so I’m paying more attention now. Hard to keep all those gods straight, although my husband calls himself Zeus
Great picture and story behind the image.
Thanks, Richert. The story is really complex, but it starts with one god being left out of a wedding celebration, so he throws down a challenge. Achilles gets into the act, too. Quite a lot going on.
Fab picture, Jennifer! Maybe I’m a bit biased but I do love all the old folklore too!
It’s all so fascinating, isn’t it. And, as the cradle of civilization, Turkey is in the middle of it.
I’m amused by this famous Turkish Trojan Horse!
greetings from
http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/weekly-photo-challenge-big/
It was quite fun to see it and even climb up inside. Such a great coincidence that we both chose the Trojan Horse for our BIG selection
I love the story of Troy…and this shot
Thanks, Jo. Did you see the movie with Brad Pitt?
Oh yes I did indeedy !!!
And just to prove it…
http://jobryantnz.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/pondering-whether-everything-is-more-beautiful-because-were-doomed-and-brad-pitts-arse/
That’s a great post. I’d like to comment on it, but there are too many things I want to follow up with, so I’ll just say, since I haven’t seen the movie, I didn’t know they had a scene featuring Brad Pitt’s butt
Luckily for me…and others …it did. And a very nice butt it is too.
Glad you liked the post. I had a LOT of fun writing it.
Had to keep playing the videos to make sure they were working.
I might have to take a couple more looks at those videos
I think that just might be a VERY good idea.
Wow, great photo, perfect for the challenge.
Thanks NN. There were a lot of BIG things that came to mind, but none of them had such a powerful, mythical story attached. If only I had a photo of Jason, the Argonauts and the cyclops
Very cool!
Glad you think so, Jeff. I couldn’t agree more. And as photographers, we like to photograph cool stuff
Jennifer, what a treat! I had no idea about this reconstruction! Lovely post.
Kate, I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’ve heard from others who have seen recreated Trojan Horses in other parts of the world, but this one was actually at the excavation of the real city of Troy. Archaeologists found 7 levels of cities there, one on top of the other.
Now that’s big! Great example for the theme.
Thank you! I couldn’t find my shot of the Loch Ness Monster, so had to use this
Wow I had read about this in history books. I never dreamed I see a replica of the Trojan Horse now that is Big!!
And what better place for it to be than at the excavated city of Troy in present-day Turkey. I’ve since learned that there are at least two other Trojan Horse replicas (and probably more). One of them was made for the movie, Troy, with Brad Pitt, and it will eventually be relocated to Troy. Check this out: http://citylifepicture.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/weekly-photo-challenge-foreign/ Does this mean that the horse I saw will be replaced, or that there will be two of them at Troy? I’m voting for two (or more)