In ancient times, the Greeks and the Trojans fought for 10 years. The Trojans rejoiced when the Greek army departed, leaving behind a giant (HARMLESS?) wooden horse.
OThe Greeks lay siege to the city of Troy for ten whole years, and in that time the Trojans held out bravely against anything, and everything the Greeks could hurl against them, and believe you me, there wasn’t much that the Greeks didn’t try to scale those walls or break open those sturdy, wooden, gates.
Ten years holds a vast amount of tales like the waterskin holds a multitude of water, but now is not the time to hear them, not even of Achilles the Greek, who, wearing armour fashioned by the God Vulcan, slew Prince Hector of Troy, and how, not many days later, Achilles himself was defeated by the cowardly hand of Paris, who fired a poisoned arrow at him while he visited a temple to pray.
Achilles was struck in the heel, his only place of weakness, and the meaning of the expression, “Achilles Heel”.
Paris himself was slain days after that, and yet, despite all these famous deaths Troy still held out against the siege of the Greeks.
That was until Odysseus hatched a rather cunning plan.
“Hey, guys, over here! Gather round, you’re not going to believe this but I have a plan. We’re going to need… (Whispers) and some… (Whispers) and then some more… (Whispers)”
In the morning the Trojans couldn’t believe their eyes. They were so used to seeing the Greeks camp outside they had to look twice to ensure what they were seeing was real and not a dream, or some strange trick being played on them by the gods.
“Everybody! Look! The Greeks! They… they’re… gone!”
And so they were.
The ground was desolate and pockmarked, and as empty as the Sea of Tears on the moon. There was no one around.
The City went crazy! “The war is over! We have won!” they cried as they flung open the gates and rushed to see where the Greeks had made their camp for the past decade. It was empty, save for one thing, a giant wooden horse.
It stood many stories high, and was the width of ten fat bulls and had huge wooden wheels to make it easier to push or pull.
The Trojans, now somewhat confused, knew not what to make of it, as it’s not every day your enemy disappears and a giant horse appears in your midst.
“People of Troy! What shall we do with this wondrous creation,” asked the priests of the city, “shall we take inside as a sign of our victory over the Greeks?”
“YES!” bellowed the crowd as one, jubilant that the war was over. And so they pushed the mighty horse inside the city of Troy, and burned fires and drank too much wine and stayed up way too late but about two hours before sunrise the true nature of the horse was revealed.
You see the Greeks had not really sailed away back to Greece, oh no, they had sailed out of Trojan sight and hid behind an island that was close by, while the Greek chiefs lay hidden inside the wooden belly of the horse!
“It sounds like they’ve finished celebrating,” said the one chief to the other, sitting inside the wooden horse.
Once they recovered from the temporary and rather smelly setback they opened the trapdoor from within and slid down a rope into the city of Troy. They padded quietly to the gates, opened them, fired flaming arrows into the night sky to signal the Greek boats to return, and then set about doing in one night what they had failed to do in ten years. By morning, the war was over and Troy had fallen. Nothing remained of its once former glory as the Greeks raised it to the ground and left the once-mighty city in ruin.
They took prisoners, treasure, and everything of worth, home to Greece to have their own celebrations, and praise Odysseus for his clever plan of a wooden horse.
QUIZ TIME!
Why did the Greeks build a giant wooden horse? Answer: B. To hide Greek soldiers inside it
A. To use it as a peace offering to the Trojans
B. To hide Greek soldiers inside it
C. To scare the Trojans into surrendering
D. To use it as a battering ram against the city walls
How did the Trojans react when they saw the Greek camp empty? Answer: A. They celebrated and declared victory
A. They celebrated and declared victory
B. They closed their city gates and prepared for attack
C. They sent scouts to find the Greeks
D. They held a meeting to discuss their next move
What happened when the Greeks emerged from the wooden horse? Answer: B. They attacked the Trojans and set fire to the city
A. They surrendered to the Trojans
B. They attacked the Trojans and set fire to the city
C. They celebrated with the Trojans
D. They stole the treasure and escaped back to Greece
Who devised the plan of the wooden horse? Answer: C. Odysseus
A. Achilles
B. Hector
C. Odysseus
D. Paris
What was the weakness of Achilles, according to the story? Answer: C. His heel
A. His shield
B. His sword
C. His heel
D. His helmet
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