Fact or Fantasy: The Trojan Horse
Alternative theories on an icon of history
Perhaps one of the most famous wars in history, the Trojan War has been immortalised in both the Iliad and Odyssey by Homer, then later in Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’. What’s fact and what’s fiction in these accounts has been the subject of endless debate for centuries.
One of the largest points of contention in recent years, however, has been not just the war and siege themselves, but the thing that finally ended it — the Trojan horse. This icon of history has been reimagined numerous times over the years, calling into question exactly what it was and what role it played in the fall of Troy.
The Trojan War, Homer & Virgil
The Iliad and the Odyssey exist to us today as both historical accounts and as epic poems. For centuries, the city of Troy was considered fictional, but in 1870, that changed when Heinrich Schliemann, under the guidance of Frank Calvert, discovered Troy in what is today north-western Turkey. What’s more, there wasn’t just one Troy, but serval. Over approximately 3,500 years, no less than nine cities had been built on the site, each atop the ruin…
