木馬屠城記的資料(in Eng)

The Trojan Horse

After the events of the Iliad and the death of Hector, the Trojan War still wasn't over. Neither the Greeks nor the Trojans seemed to be able to win, until one of the Greek kings, Odysseus of Ithaca, had an idea.
"Build a big wooden horse on wheels," he said, "big enough for a bunch of Greek soldiers to hide inside it." So the Greeks did. Then the Greeks all pretended to sail home (except the ones hiding inside the horse!). They acted like they had given up and left. But really they hid just around the corner.

Soon the Trojans found the horse. "What is it?" they asked each other. Nobody knew. (The Greek soldiers hiding inside kept very quiet). Then they found a Greek soldier hiding nearby. He said (though this was part of the trick) that the other Greeks hated him and they had left him behind. So the Trojans asked him what the horse was for. He said it was an offering to Athena.

Well, the Trojans didn't want to upset Athena either, so they rolled the big horse into the city of Troy. It was so big it wouldn't go through the gate, and they had to tear down a piece of the city wall to get it in. They left it at the temple of Athena, and then the Trojans had a big party to celebrate the end of the war. (Still the Greek soldiers inside the horse kept very quiet).

Finally everyone fell asleep, and NOW the Greek soldiers came out of the Trojan Horse and killed the guards on the walls. They signalled to the other Greeks to come attack Troy. They could get in now because the walls were torn down. There was a big battle and the Greeks won. All the Trojan men were killed, and all the women and children were taken back to Greece as slaves.

This story does not actually appear in the Iliad or the Odyssey, but it is told in Virgil's Aeneid and in other ancient sources.
Here's a video of some high school boys reenacting the Trojan Horse story. I think it's interesting to remember that the men who fought the war were only a year or two older than these boys, and actually the men fighting in Iraq now are also only a year or two older.


To find out more about the Trojan Horse, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:

The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Step-Into-Reading, Step 5), by Emily Little. For beginning readers. 0394896742

The Iliad of Homer (Oxford Myths and Legends), by Barbara Leonie Picard. A retelling of the story, for kids. Does NOT actually include the Trojan Horse story.

The Trojan War, by Olivia E. Coolidge (2001). Clear and interesting, a retelling for kids. Includes the episodes that aren't in the Iliad (like Paris, and the Trojan Horse).

Approaches to Teaching Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, by Kostas Myrsiades (1987).

The Iliad (Penguin Classics) by Homer. Translated by Robert Fagles. A great translation! Again, the Iliad stops before you get to the Trojan Horse.

For Full story, please refer to the URL.

The Trojan Horse

Still seeking to gain entrance into Troy, clever Odysseus (some say with the aid of Athena) ordered a large wooden horse to be built. Its insides were to be hollow so that soldiers could hide within it.

Once the statue had been built by the artist Epeius, a number of the Greek warriors, along with Odysseus, climbed inside. The rest of the Greek fleet sailed away, so as to deceive the Trojans.

One man, Sinon, was left behind. When the Trojans came to marvel at the huge creation, Sinon pretended to be angry with the Greeks, stating that they had deserted him. He assured the Trojans that the wooden horse was safe and would bring luck to the Trojans.

Only two people, Laocoon and Cassandra, spoke out against the horse, but they were ignored. The Trojans celebrated what they thought was their victory, and dragged the wooden horse into Troy.

That night, after most of Troy was asleep or in a drunken stupor, Sinon let the Greek warriors out from the horse, and they slaughtered the Trojans. Priam was killed as he huddled by Zeus' altar and Cassandra was pulled from the statue of Athena and raped.