In Vergil’s Aeneid, the Greeks, after a fruitless ten year siege of the walled city of Troy, construct a large wooden horse, leave it outside the walls of the city and pretend to sail away. They leave behind Sinon, a Greek warrior, who misleads the Trojans into believing that the horse is an offering; if it is taken into the city, the Trojans can conquer Greece. The Trojans take the horse into the city but inside the horse there are Greek soldiers hiding and, at night, they emerge from the horse, open the city gates and allow the Greek army to massacre the Trojans. Aeneas, a Trojan hero, is one of the few who survive the slaughter. Commanded by the gods to flee, he searches for a new home, finally arriving in Italy. Aeneas is regarded as the ancestor of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.
The Mykonos vase (750-650 BCE) is the earliest depiction of the Trojan horse; on the side of the horse are the faces of the hidden Greek warriers.
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