Trojan Horse

Recently I’ve been reading a fair amount about the Nazis takeover of Germany. A few days ago I read an article talking about when Norway fell to the Nazis — newspapers all over the world pointed out that the fall had been brought about by a Trojan Horse technique. German soldiers had come to Norway as tourists. When the invasion started, these “innocent tourists” became fighters who undermined the resistance of the loyal Norwegian army. 

That got me to thinking about the term “Trojan Horse.” Trojan Horse is the name for a method of trickery that goes back many centuries. It’s one of the legends of the Trojan war.

The Trojan Horse played a crucial role in the fall of Troy, as described in Greek mythology. The siege of Troy lasted ten years, and finally the Greeks devised a cunning plan to gain entry into the city. They built a large wooden horse, hollowed out to hold a small group of Greek soldiers, and left it as an offering to the Trojans, pretending it was a gift to the gods to ensure their safe journey home. 
The Trojans believed the Greeks had finally given up and brought the horse into the city as a symbol of victory. That night, while the Trojans celebrated, the Greek soldiers hidden inside the horse emerged and opened the gates of Troy to the Greek army that had secretly sailed back under the cover of night. The Greeks then attacked the unsuspecting Trojans, leading to the destruction of Troy.

I always thought this was a great story and have always wondered why the Trojans would fall for such a scheme — how could anyone be so gullible? But unfortunately, if a big wooden horse shows up on the White House lawn one of these days….. you might want to think about learning a foreign language.
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