Wooden Horse.
Wooden Horse. After the death of Achilles, the Greeks devised a ruse to gain entry into the city of Troy. They constructed a large wooden horse, in which were secreted a number of their warriors, among them Odysseus. After positioning the horse in front of the city gates, the other Greeks sailed for the island of Tenedos, leaving behind only one man, Sinon. Allowing himself to be captured, Sinon told the Trojans that the horse was an offering to Athena and that, if they brought it inside the city walls, Troy would never be taken. Heedless of the prophetic warnings of Cassandra and the suspicions of Apollo’s priest Laocoôn, the Trojans dismantled part of the city wall and brought the horse inside. Helen, too, guessed the truth and called out the names of Greeks, mimicking their wives’ voices, but Odysseus restrained his men from answering. That night the warriors emerged from the horse and, with the Greek fleet returned from Tenedos, captured the city.
      
       Classical Sources. Homer, Odyssey 4.271-89, 8.492—520. Virgil, Aeneid 2.13—267. Apollodorus, Biblioteca E5.14—21. Seneca, Agamemnon 614-58. Hyginus, Fabulae 108. Quintus of Smyrna, Sequel to Homer i2.243ff.