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The existence of Troy was confirmed thanks to excavations by the famous German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890) back in the century before last. These excavations fully confirm the events that occurred at the end of the 13th - beginning of the 12th centuries BC and even today they are finding more and more new details Trojan War and related circumstances.

According to today's historical point of view, the military conflict of the union of the Achaean states with the city of Troy (Ilion), which once stood on the shores of the Aegean Sea, occurred between 1190 and 1180 (according to other sources, around 1240 BC) years BC.

The first works telling about the Trojan War were Homer’s poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, and a little later the Trojan War was described in Virgil’s “Aeneid” and other works, but when describing these events, history and fiction were always tightly intertwined, which does not allow to say with complete certainty whether this is how real events unfolded.

However, if we turn to the works described above, we can see that the reason for the war was the abduction by Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, beautiful Elena, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. At the call of Menelaus, the oath-bound suitors, famous greek heroes, came to his aid.

The facts of the Iliad are exaggerated

The Iliad reports that an army of Greeks, led by the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus, set out to free the kidnapped Helen. Negotiations on the voluntary release of the kidnapped woman did not end in anything, and then the Greeks began a long siege of the city. The gods also took part in the war: Athena and Hera - on the side of the Greeks, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares and Apollo - on the side of the Trojans. There were ten times fewer Trojans, but Troy remained impregnable.

Since the most detailed source telling about that war is considered to be Homer’s poem “The Iliad,” let us turn to it, although the Greek historian Thucydides said that in this work the significance of the war was significantly exaggerated, and many facts were distorted, so we turn to the reliability of the events in the “Iliad” should be treated very carefully.

According to the Iliad, the city of Troy was located several kilometers from the shore of the Hellespont (Dardanelles). Passed through Troy trade routes which were used Greek tribes. Most likely, the Trojans interfered with the trade of the Greeks, which forced the Greek tribes to unite and start a war with Troy, which had numerous allies on its side, which is why the war dragged on for long years. But the powerful defensive walls of Troy remained impregnable.

Seeing that hostilities have reached a stalemate cunning Odysseus came up with an extraordinary military trick...

For a long time, in secret, Odysseus talked with Epeus, the most skilled carpenter in the Achaean camp, and in the evening, having gathered all the leaders, he presented his insidious plan. According to the plan, it was necessary to build a large wooden horse, inside of which a dozen of the bravest and most skilled warriors could fit. The rest of the army had to board ships and move away from the Trojan shore, and then take refuge behind the island of Tendos.

Once the Trojans realize that the enemy has left the coast, they will decide that the siege of the city is over and will want to drag the wooden horse into the city. Under cover of night, the Achaean ships will return, and the warriors hidden inside the horse will come out and open the fortress gates, and then the city will fall.

It took the Achaean carpenters three days to bring the plan to life. On the fourth day, the Trojans discovered that the enemy camp was empty, the sails of enemy ships were disappearing over the horizon, and on the coastal sand, where only yesterday the enemy’s tents and tents were colorful, stood a huge wooden horse.

Rejoicing, the Trojans immediately surrounded the wonderful horse and began to decide what to do with it. Some said that he should be drowned in the sea, others suggested burning him, but many wanted to drag him into the city and leave him there. main square Troy as a symbol of the end of the bloody war.

Prophecy of the priest Laocoon

The local priest from the temple of Apollo Laocoon with his two sons cried out:

Fear the Danaans who bring gifts!

He grabbed the spear from the hands of the nearest warrior and threw it at the belly of the Trojan horse. However, no one listened to Laocoon, since all the attention of the crowd was already focused on the young man who was leading the captive Achaean. Approaching King Priam, the prisoner was forced to identify himself. He said that his name was Sinon and explained that he himself had escaped from the Achaeans, who were supposed to sacrifice him to the gods - this was a condition for a safe return home.

The captive convinced the Trojan people that the horse was a dedication gift to Athena, who could bring down her wrath on Troy if the Trojans destroyed the horse. And if you place it in the city in front of the temple of Athena, then Troy will become indestructible. At the same time, Sinon emphasized that this is why the Achaeans built the horse so huge that the Trojans could not drag it through the fortress gates...

As soon as the captive told everything described above to the king, a scream full of horror was heard from the direction of the sea. Two huge snakes crawled out of the sea and entwined the priest Laocoon, as well as his two sons, with the deadly rings of their smooth and wet bodies and dragged them into the depths of the sea. Seeing this, no one doubted that Sinon was telling the truth. This means we need to quickly install a wooden horse next to the Temple of Athena.

Having dismantled part of the fortress gates, the Trojans dragged the horse into the city and began to celebrate. The soldiers inside the Trojan horse waited late at night and they opened the gates of the city. The Greek army, having received Sinon's signal, returned and easily captured the city. As a result, Troy was sacked and destroyed.

Since Homer's Iliad is full of fiction and metaphors, today the Trojan horse is an allegory of some kind of military trick used by the Achaeans when taking the city. Some historians believe that perhaps the Trojan horse was a tower on wheels, made in the shape of a horse and upholstered in horse skins.

Others suggest that the Greeks entered the city through an underground passage, on the doors of which a horse was depicted, and someone says that the horse was a sign by which the Achaeans in the dark distinguished each other from their opponents...

Trojan horse - a symbol of birth and death

It is possible that the Trojan horse carries more deep meaning, because during the years of war under the walls of Troy they die most of heroes, and Achaeans, and Trojans. And those who survive the war die on the way home. Some, like King Agamemnon, will find death at home at the hands of loved ones, others will be expelled and spend their lives wandering.

Essentially this is the end heroic age. Under the walls of Troy there are no victors and no vanquished, heroes are becoming a thing of the past, and the time of ordinary people is coming.

Symbolically, the horse is also associated with birth and death. A horse made of spruce wood, bearing something in its belly, symbolizes the birth of a new one, and the Trojan horse is made of spruce boards, and armed warriors are placed in its hollow belly. It turns out that the Trojan horse brings death to the defenders of the fortress, but at the same time it also means the birth of something new.

And indeed, at about the same time, another thing happened an important event, one of the largest migrations of peoples. Tribes of the Dorians, a barbarian people who completely eradicated the ancient Mycenaean civilization.

Only after several centuries will Greece be reborn and only then will it be possible to talk about Greek history. The destruction will be so great that the entire pre-Dorian history will become a myth, and many states will cease to exist.

Recent archaeological expeditions have not yet made it possible to completely reconstruct the scenario of the Trojan War. However, their results do not exclude the possibility that behind the Trojan epic there is a story of Greek expansion against a major power located on the western coast of Asia Minor, acting as an obstacle to the Greeks gaining power over this region.

Let's hope that true story The Trojan War will still be written someday, and with it the story of the Trojan Horse will be revealed.

The story of the Trojan Horse, with the help of which thirty soldiers of Odysseus got inside Troy, speaks not only of the treachery of the attackers, but also of the naivety of the defenders. Meanwhile, historians still argue about whether there was a Horse.

Eyewitness testimony

The ancient Roman writer Virgil, who lived during the reign of Emperor Augustus, wrote epic poem"Aeneid", which tells about the wanderings of Aeneas from Troy to Italy. A number of historians believe that “everything that the poet wrote” he found in reliable sources. Ultimately, his poetic testimony about the tragedy of Troy was included in world history, and the phrase “Trojan horse” became a household word. Not least of all, this happened because the military cunning of three dozen fighters crushed the fortress, which the entire army of King Menelaus could not take.

Before lifting the siege, the attackers informed the Trojans that the wooden “horse” they had built was a symbol of peace and an offering to Athena as a sign of atonement for sins. And while he stands, they will not attack. Sinon told the Trojans about this, cousin Odysseus, who allegedly went over to the side of the defenders.

Wooden giant

Judging by the descriptions, the Trojan Horse was 7.6 meters high and about three meters wide. The model built today weighed about two tons and could accommodate a maximum of twenty men of average constitution, characteristic of those times. It took forty people to roll this structure over greased logs.

Most likely, a wooden road was built, since many experts doubt that the Trojan Horse had wheels. Historian David Rohl, citing evidence for the canonical version, refers to the fact that an opening was made in the wall through which a Trojan Horse of the specified dimensions could be dragged. On the horse there was an inscription: “an offering to Athena” so that she would guard the Greek ships on the way home.

To believe or not to believe?

Meanwhile, this Horse was not brought to Troy immediately after the Greek fleet disappeared into the distance. In order to carry out preparatory work, it took time, at least several days. If Odysseus’s fighters had actually been hiding in this wooden structure, it would have been very difficult for them.

While the Greeks were languishing in the “belly” of the horse, its fate was being decided in the city. Many residents believed that the offering should be burned. Among them was the soothsayer Cassandra, who, pointing her hand at the horse, declared that wars were hidden there. The Trojan priest Laocoon threw a spear at the offering of the Greeks, urging them not to trust their enemies. “Fear the Danaans, even those who bring gifts,” he shouted. Soon, as the legend goes, he and his two sons were strangled by sea serpents.

Thus, serious passions boiled over this “Danaan gift”, but nevertheless he was dragged into the city. This happened, according to some sources, on June 6, 1209 BC. On that fateful evening, numerous guards were posted in front of the “horse,” but the feast that began intoxicated her too. Late at night, thirty soldiers led by Odysseus got out of the “gift” and opened the gates of the city. That night Troy fell. Aeneas, one of the few who escaped, told the world about the treachery of the Greeks and the naivety of Troy.

Was there a horse?

The Roman traveler and scientist Pausanias, who lived in the 2nd century AD, wrote in his book “Description of Greece” that the Horse existed in reality, only it was not a gift, but a ram, which the Trojans recaptured from the Greeks during the assault and took them inside the city to he no longer destroyed the walls. Some Greeks hid in it, but were not noticed in the confusion.

There is another version. At that time, it was said about slave rowers in the hold of a ship that it was as hard for them as in the belly of a horse. Perhaps it was one of the damaged ships abandoned by the Greeks - a bireme, in which Odysseus's fighters hid. One of the Trojans brought the ship to the harbor to put it in order.
However, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, a participant in excavations of places where Troy could be located, doubts that there was a Greek siege at all. In any case, he was unable to find a single Greek arrowhead or spearhead.

Other military tricks

Other tricks similar to the Trojan Horse were used to deceive the enemy. Homer's poem "The Odyssey" tells how Greek wanderers fled from the Cyclops, who hid under sheep. In other words, the enemy can be deceived by passing off his soldiers as his fighters. Dressing up in the enemy's uniform in order to penetrate the enemy's camp or, on the contrary, to escape from it, is one of the most common military tricks.

There are many such cases in history. For example, part of the Russian troops left Narva, besieged in 1704, dressed in the uniform of the Swedes who died during the assault. In 1812, Denis Davydov’s troops quite often dressed up in the uniform of ragtag Napoleonic regiments, and then, approaching the enemy, suddenly attacked him.

The Abwehr structure had a Brandenburg regiment, whose soldiers were saboteurs dressed in the uniform of Red Army soldiers. We had such units too. For example, the memoirs of German Colonel General Erhard Routh tell about a group of Soviet soldiers who, dressed in Wehrmacht uniforms, inflicted serious losses on the Germans defending Belgorod in 1943.

After ten years of exhausting war and siege, one fine morning the Trojans, not believing their eyes, saw that the Greek camp was empty, and on the shore stood a huge wooden horse with a dedicatory inscription: “In gratitude for the future safe return home, the Achaeans dedicate this gift to Athena.” . Ancient people treated sacred gifts with great reverence, and, by the decision of King Priam, the horse was brought into the city and installed in dedicated to Athena citadels. When night came, the armed Achaeans sitting on horseback got out and attacked the sleeping inhabitants of the city. (See Appendix 3) So, thanks to the horse, Troy was captured, and so the Trojan War ended.

Nowadays, this legend is known to everyone, and the Trojan horse itself has long become a common noun - our ironic contemporaries even named a destructive computer virus after it. The fact that Troy fell because of a horse is taken as an axiom. But if you ask someone why the horse was the cause of the death of Troy, the person will most likely find it difficult to answer.

It turns out that this question was asked already in ancient times. Many ancient authors tried to find a reasonable explanation for the legend. A wide variety of assumptions were made: for example, that the Achaeans had a battle tower on wheels, made in the shape of a horse and upholstered in horse skins; or that the Greeks managed to enter the city through an underground passage on the door of which a horse was painted; or that the horse was a sign by which the Achaeans distinguished each other from their opponents in the dark... It is now generally accepted that the Trojan horse is an allegory of some kind of military trick used by the Achaeans when taking the city.

There are many versions, but none of them gives a satisfactory answer. Who knows - maybe the Trojan horse will reveal its secret to us a little.

So, let's try to enter into the position of the Achaeans. Simulating the lifting of the siege, they were supposed to leave something under the walls of Troy that the Trojans would simply be obliged to take into the city. Most likely, this role should have been played by the initiatory gift to the gods, because neglecting the sacred gift from the point of view ancient man meant to offend the deity. And an angry deity is not to be trifled with. And so, thanks to the inscription on the side, the wooden statue receives the status of a gift to the goddess Athena, who patronized both the Achaeans and the Trojans. What to do with such a dubious “gift”? I had to bring it (albeit with some caution) into the city and install it in a sacred place.

However, the role of a dedicatory gift could be played by almost any sacred image. Why was the horse chosen? Troy has long been famous for its horses; because of them, traders came here from all over the world, and because of them, raids were often made on the city. In the Iliad, the Trojans are called "hippodamoi", "horse tamers", and legends say that the Trojan king Dardanus had a herd of magnificent horses, descended from the northernmost wind Boreas. In general, the horse was one of the creatures closest to humans in ancient horse breeding, agricultural and military culture. From this point of view, it was quite natural for the Achaean warriors to leave a horse under the walls of Troy as a dedicatory gift.

By the way, the images for sacred statues and sacrificial gifts were not chosen by chance. Each deity had animals dedicated to him, and he could take on their appearance: for example, Zeus in myths turns into a bull, Apollo into a dolphin, and Dionysus into a panther. In Mediterranean cultures, the horse in one of its aspects was associated with the fertility of the fields, with a bountiful harvest, with mother earth (in ancient mythology the goddess Demeter sometimes turned into a mare). But at the same time, the beautiful freedom-loving animal was often associated with violent, spontaneous and uncontrollable force, with earthquakes and destruction, and as such was the sacred animal of the god Poseidon.

So, maybe the key to unlocking the Trojan horse is in the “Earth Shaker” Poseidon? Among the Olympians, this god was distinguished by his unbridled character and penchant for destruction. And he had old scores to settle with Troy. Perhaps the destruction of Troy by horse is just an allegory strong earthquake who destroyed the city?

In some, especially archaic, traditions, the horse symbolizes the transition to another space, to another qualitative state, to a place inaccessible to ordinary means. On a horse with eight legs, the shaman makes his mystical journey; among the Etruscans, the horse transports the souls of the dead to underground kingdom, the wonderful horse Burak carries Muhammad to heaven.

According to Homer, the Trojan War lasted almost ten years; for ten years the Achaeans could not take the walls of the city, built, according to myth, by the god Poseidon himself. In fact, from the point of view of myth, Troy was an “inaccessible” place, a kind of “enchanted city” that could not be defeated by ordinary means. In order to get into the city, the heroes did not even need military cunning, but a special, magical “carrier”. And such a carrier becomes a wooden horse, with the help of which they accomplish what they have been trying to do for ten years without success.

But if you follow this version, then Troy, described by Homer, gets completely special meaning. It's about no longer about a small fortress on the banks of the Pontus and not even about the capital of the ancient state of Asia Minor. Homeric Troy receives the status of a certain transcendental place for which a battle is being waged. And the battles taking place under the walls and within the walls of this Troy are by no means a vendetta between two tribes, but a reflection of events that receive global significance. The Trojan Horse opens the last act of this world drama.

By the way, this is confirmed by the scale of the war. Archaeologically, Troy is just a small fortress. To take it, according to Homer, ships are sent from 160 city-states of Greece - from 10 to 100 ships, that is, a fleet of at least 1600 ships. And if you multiply by 50 warriors each - this is an army of more than 80 thousand people! (For comparison: Alexander the Great needed about 50 thousand people to conquer all of Asia.) Even if this is the author’s hyperbole, it indicates that Homer attached exceptional importance to this war.

Almost all the heroes, both Achaeans and Trojans, die under the walls of Troy. And of those who survive the war, many will die on the way home, some, like King Agamemnon, will find death at home at the hands of loved ones, others will be expelled and spend their lives wandering. In essence, this is the end of the heroic age. Under the walls of Troy there are no victors and no vanquished, heroes are becoming a thing of the past, and the time of ordinary people is coming.

Of the heroes who fought under the walls of Troy, only two survived: Odysseus and Aeneas. And this is no coincidence. Both of them have a special mission. Aeneas will set out to create his “new Troy” and lay the foundation for Rome, the civilization of the world to come. And Odysseus... the “much-wise and long-suffering” hero will make a great journey home to find his promised land. In order to lose and regain everything that is dear to him on his journey, including given name. To reach the borders of the inhabited world and visit countries that no one has seen and from which no one has returned. To go down to world of the dead and again “resurrect” and wander for a long time on the waves of the Ocean, the great symbol of the Unconscious and Unknown.

Odysseus will make a great journey, in which the “old” man will symbolically die and a “hero of the new time” will be born. He will endure great suffering and the wrath of the gods. It will be new hero- energetic, insightful and wise, inquisitive and dexterous. With his ineradicable desire to understand the world, with his ability to solve problems not with physical strength and valor, but sharp mind he is not like the heroes of the “old” world. He will come into conflict with the gods, and the gods will be forced to retreat before man.

It is probably no coincidence that Odysseus will become the ideal of the coming era - classical Greece. Together with Troy he will forever leave old world, and something mysterious and intimate will go with it. But something new will be born. This will be a world whose hero will be man: a master and a traveler, a philosopher and a citizen, a man no longer dependent on the forces of Fate and the game of the gods, but creating his own destiny and his own history.

By the way, it is interesting that the horse is also symbolically associated with birth and death. A horse made of spruce wood, carrying something in its belly, symbolizes the birth of a new one, and the Trojan horse is made of spruce boards, and armed warriors sit in its hollow belly. It turns out that the Trojan horse brings death to the defenders of the fortress, but at the same time it also means the birth of something new.

Phraseologisms play important role in modern language, since they allow you to convey the meaning of a sentence in a more vivid metaphorical language. For example, many have heard such a phrase as The meaning of a phraseological unit is not clear to everyone, since the origins of its meaning lie in myth.

Historical roots of modern language

As you know, most aphorisms have historical roots. Something is connected with mythology, something with history, but in any case, knowing your roots and the roots of your language is simply necessary. It allows you to see modern language through the past, due to which its enrichment occurs. Thus, the expression “Trojan horse” came to us from the era of the Trojan War.

Troy: reasons for the strife between the Trojans and the Greeks

The history of the Trojan horse is full of mysteries, and to understand it, you need to tell a little about the city of Troy itself. Folk tale says that future war outside the city flared up from the conflict between Paris and Menelaus over the beautiful Helen, who was the latter’s wife. According to legend, Paris seduced her, and she decided to sail away with him. Menelaus regarded this act as a kidnapping and decided that this was a sufficient reason to declare war. However, Troy was well and reliably fortified, so the Greeks could capture the city for a long time it didn't work out. They, however, limited themselves to devastating the surrounding area and undertaking campaigns against nearby cities. According to legend, the Greeks wanted to take possession of Troy, but could not cope with their physical forces. Then Odysseus comes up with an interesting idea: he proposes to build a huge wooden horse.

Odysseus's trick

Legend says that the Trojans watched with considerable surprise as the Greeks erected a wooden horse. The Greeks made up a story that the Trojan horse they created could protect the city from Greek raids. That's why today popular expression"Trojan horse" means a gift, a gift that was given for the purpose of deception. But the Trojans believed in this story and even wanted to introduce the horse into the city. But there were also opponents of this decision, who called for throwing the structure into the water or burning it. However, soon a priest appeared in the city, who said that the Greeks had created a horse in honor of the goddess Athena to atone for the sin of many years of bloodshed. Allegedly, after this, two snakes crawled out of the sea and strangled the priest and his sons. The Trojans considered that all these events were omens from above, and decided to roll the horse into the city.

The beginning of the fall of Troy

According to archaeological and historical evidence, the Trojan horse actually existed. The meaning of the phraseological unit, however, cannot be understood if you do not think about the essence of the legend. So, the horse was brought into the city. And on the night after this hasty decision, Sinon released the hidden warriors from the horse’s cavity, who quickly killed the sleeping guards and opened the city gates. The people, who were fast asleep after the festivities, did not even offer resistance. Several Trojans broke into the palace to save the king. But the giant Neoptolemus was still able to break the front door with an ax and killed King Priam. This is how it ended great story great Troy.

It has not yet been determined how many soldiers were in the Trojan Horse. Some sources say that 50 people were hiding there, others talk about 20-23 soldiers. But this does not change the essence: the well-thought-out design in the shape of a horse simply did not raise any doubts among the Trojans, which was the reason for their death. It is now generally accepted that the myth of the Trojan Horse is an allegory that was once used by the Achaeans.

Symbols and allegories

It is noteworthy that the horse as a creature has been a symbol of birth and death since ancient times. So, the Achaeans created their horse from spruce branches, while the cavity of the structure remained empty. Many researchers agree that this is a symbol of the birth of a new one. That is, it turned out that the Trojan horse brought death to the defenders of the city and at the same time became a symbol of the birth of something new for many peoples.

By the way, around the same time, events that were very important for history took place in the Mediterranean. The great migration of peoples began when various tribes - Dorians, barbarians - moved from the northern countries to the Balkans. This is what led to the destruction of the ancient Mycenaean civilization. Greece will be able to be reborn after a few centuries, and the destruction that befell this state was so large-scale that the entire pre-Dorian history simply remained in legends.

horse?

Today we very often use such phraseological units as “Trojan horse”. has long been a household name. This is what we call some gifts that are presented with the purpose of deceiving or destroying. Many researchers have wondered why it was the horse that caused the collapse of Troy. But one thing can be noted: the Achaeans knew how to interest the Trojans. They understood that to lift the siege on the city, they needed to surprise the local residents with something special so that they would trust and open the gates.

Of course, presenting the Trojan horse as a gift from the gods played a role decisive role, since in those days it was considered an insult to the deity to neglect the sacred gift. And, as you know, joking with angry gods is very, very dangerous. And so it turned out that a competent inscription on a wooden statue (remember, on the side of the horse it was written that this was a gift from the goddess Athena) led to the fact that the Trojans had to take this dubious gift to their city.

Heritage of Troy

So, the Trojan horse (we have already described the meaning of the phraseological unit) became main reason collapse of the Trojan kingdom. It is known from history that Troy was famous for its horses; it was this city that merchants from all over the world came to, and it was this city that was most often raided. For example, one legend says that the Trojan king Dardan owned a herd of magnificent horses that descended from the god of the north wind Boreas. And in general, the horse has always been considered the animal closest to humans: it was taken to war, it was used in agricultural work. Therefore, the appearance of horses in front of the city gates of Troy local residents and could not help but appreciate it as a gift from the gods. Thus, without knowing who a Trojan horse is, the meaning of a phraseological unit is not so easy to understand.

And therefore it is not at all accidental that Troy, which held the defense for 10 years, fell precisely because of the horse. Of course, this is all due to the cunning of the Achaeans, who were able to find a weak point and chose for this a kind of magical carrier in the person of a wooden horse. It is noteworthy that according to archaeological data, Troy was just a small fortress. But at the same time, entire armies of hundreds of ships were sent to capture it.

Modern interpretation

Today this concept is figuratively It also refers to malicious programs that are distributed by people themselves. Moreover, the virus received its name in honor of the mythological Trojan horse, since most virus programs act in a similar way: they disguise themselves as harmless and even useful programs and applications that the user runs on his computer. Despite the simplicity of the virus, its complexity lies in the fact that it is difficult to recognize its purpose. For example, the most primitive modifications can completely erase the contents of the disk upon boot, and some programs can be integrated into certain applications on the PC.

Who doesn't know today famous legend about Troy and the Trojan horse?

The Trojan horse itself has long become a household word - our ironic contemporaries even named a destructive computer virus after it.

This myth is difficult to believe, but the authenticity of the existence of Troy was confirmed by excavations by the famous German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) back in the century before last. Modern archaeological research confirm historicity tragic events which occurred at the end of the 13th – beginning of the 12th centuries BC. More and more details are being revealed about the Trojan War and the circumstances surrounding it.

Today it is known that a major military clash between the union of the Achaean states and the city of Troy (Ilion), located on the shores of the Aegean Sea, occurred between 1190 and 1180 (according to other sources, around 1240 BC) years BC.

The first sources telling about this equally legendary and terrible event were Homer’s poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. Later, the Trojan War was the theme of Virgil's Aeneid and other works in which history was also intertwined with fiction.

According to these works, the reason for the war was the abduction by Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, of the beautiful Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, Menelaus. At the call of Menelaus, oath-bound suitors, famous Greek heroes, came to his aid. According to the Iliad, an army of Greeks, led by the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus, set out to free the kidnapped woman. An attempt to negotiate the return of Helen failed, and then the Greeks began a grueling siege of the city. The gods also took part in the war: Athena and Hera - on the side of the Greeks, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo and Ares - on the side of the Trojans. There were ten times fewer Trojans, but Troy remained impregnable.

The only source For us, only Homer’s poem “The Iliad” can serve, but the author, as the Greek historian Thucydides noted, exaggerated the significance of the war and embellished it, and therefore the poet’s information must be treated very carefully. However, we are primarily interested in fighting and methods of warfare in that period, which Homer talks about in some detail.

So, the city of Troy was located a few kilometers from the shore of the Hellespont (Dardanelles). Trade routes used by Greek tribes passed through Troy. Apparently, the Trojans interfered with the trade of the Greeks, which forced the Greek tribes to unite and start a war with Troy, which was supported by numerous allies, which is why the war dragged on for many years.

Troy, on the site of which today is the Turkish town of Hisarlik, was surrounded by a high stone wall with battlements. The Achaeans did not dare to storm the city and did not block it, so the fighting took place on a flat field between the city and the besiegers’ camp, which was located on the banks of the Hellespont. The Trojans sometimes broke into the enemy camp, trying to set fire to Greek ships pulled ashore.

Listing in detail the ships of the Achaeans, Homer counted 1186 ships on which a hundred thousand army was transported. Undoubtedly, the number of ships and warriors is exaggerated. In addition, we must take into account that these ships were just large boats, because they were easily pulled ashore and launched quite quickly. Such a ship could not carry 100 people.

Most likely, the Achaeans had several thousand warriors. They were led by Agamemnon, the king of the “many-gold Mycenae.” And at the head of the warriors of each tribe there was a leader.

Homer calls the Achaeans “spearmen,” so there is no doubt that the main weapon greek warriors there was a spear with a copper tip. The warrior had a copper sword and good defensive weapons: leggings, armor on his chest, a helmet with a horse's mane and a large copper-bound shield. Tribal leaders fought on war chariots or dismounted. The warriors of the lower hierarchy were worse armed: they had spears, slings, “double-edged axes,” axes, bows and arrows, shields and were a support for their leaders, who themselves entered into single combat with the best warriors of Troy. From Homer's descriptions one can imagine the environment in which the martial arts took place.

It happened like this.

The opponents were located close to each other. The war chariots lined up; the warriors took off their armor and placed them next to the chariots, then sat down on the ground and watched the single combat of their leaders. The combatants first threw spears, then fought with copper swords, which soon became unusable. Having lost his sword, the fighter took refuge in the ranks of his tribe or was given new weapons to continue the fight. The winner removed the armor from the dead man and took away his weapons.

For battle, chariots and infantry were placed in a certain order. The war chariots were lined up in front of the infantry in a line maintaining alignment, “so that no one, relying on their art and strength, would fight against the Trojans ahead of the rest alone, so that they would not rule back.” Behind the war chariots, covering themselves with “convex” shields, lined up foot soldiers armed with spears with copper tips. The infantry was built in several ranks, which Homer calls “thick phalanxes.” The leaders lined up the infantry, driving the cowardly warriors into the middle, “so that even those who don’t want to have to fight against their will.”

The war chariots were the first to enter the battle, then “continuously, one after another, the phalanx of the Achaeans moved into battle against the Trojans,” “they walked silently, fearing their leaders.” The infantry delivered the first blows with spears, and then cut with swords. The infantry fought war chariots with spears. Archers also took part in the battle, but the arrow was not considered a reliable weapon even in the hands of an excellent archer.

It is not surprising that in such conditions the outcome of the struggle was decided by physical strength and the skill of using weapons, which often failed: copper spear tips bent and swords broke. The maneuver had not yet been used on the battlefield, but the beginnings of organizing the interaction of war chariots and foot soldiers had already appeared.

This battle continued until nightfall. If an agreement was reached at night, the corpses were burned. If there was no agreement, the opponents posted guards, organizing the protection of the army in the field and defensive structures (the fortress wall and the fortifications of the camp - a ditch, sharpened stakes and a wall with towers). The guard, usually consisting of several detachments, was placed behind the ditch. At night, reconnaissance was sent to the enemy’s camp in order to capture prisoners and find out the enemy’s intentions; meetings of tribal leaders were held, at which the issue of further actions was decided. In the morning the battle resumed.

This is roughly how the endless battles between the Achaeans and Trojans proceeded. According to Homer, only in the tenth (!) year of the war the main events began to unfold.

One day, the Trojans, having achieved success in a night raid, drove the enemy back to his fortified camp, surrounded by a ditch. Having crossed the ditch, the Trojans began to storm the wall with towers, but were soon repulsed.

Later, they still managed to break the gate with stones and break into the Achaean camp. A bloody battle for the ships ensued. Homer explains this success of the Trojans by the fact that the best warrior of the besiegers, the invincible Achilles, who had quarreled with Agamemnon, did not participate in the battle.

Seeing that the Achaeans were retreating, Achilles' friend Patroclus persuaded Achilles to allow him to join the battle and give him his armor. Inspired by Patroclus, the Achaeans rallied, as a result of which the Trojans met fresh enemy forces at the ships. It was a dense formation of closed shields “pike near pike, shield against shield, going under the neighboring one.” The warriors lined up in several ranks and managed to repel the attack of the Trojans, and with a counterattack - “strikes of sharp swords and double-edged pikes” - they drove them back.

In the end, the attack was repulsed. However, Patroclus himself died at the hands of Hector, son of Priam, king of Troy. So Achilles' armor went to the enemy. Later, Hephaestus forged new armor and weapons for Achilles, after which Achilles, enraged by the death of his friend, again entered the battle. Later he killed Hector in a duel, tied his body to a chariot and rushed to his camp. The Trojan king Priam came to Achilles with rich gifts, begged him to return his son's body and buried him with dignity.

This concludes Homer's Iliad.

For more later myths, later the Amazons led by Penfisilea and the king of the Ethiopians Memnon came to the aid of the Trojans. However, they soon died at the hands of Achilles. And soon Achilles himself died from the arrows of Paris, directed by Apollo. One arrow hit the only vulnerable spot - Achilles' heel, the other - in the chest. His armor and weapons went to Odysseus, recognized as the bravest of the Achaeans.

After the death of Achilles, the Greeks were predicted that without the bow and arrows of Hercules, who were with Philoctetes, and Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, they would not be able to take Troy. An embassy was sent for these heroes, and they hastened to help their compatriots. Philoctetes mortally wounded the Trojan prince Paris with an arrow from Hercules. Odysseus and Diomedes killed the Thracian king Res, who was rushing to help the Trojans, and took away his magic horses, which, according to prediction, if they entered the city, would make it impregnable.

And then the cunning Odysseus came up with an extraordinary military trick...

For a long time, secretly from others, he talked with a certain Epeus, the best carpenter in the Achaean camp. By evening, all the Achaean leaders gathered in Agamemnon’s tent for a military council, where Odysseus outlined his adventurous plan, according to which it was necessary to build a huge wooden horse. The most skillful and courageous warriors must fit in its belly. The rest of the army must board the ships, move away from the Trojan shore and take refuge behind the island of Tendos. Once the Trojans see that the Achaeans have left the coast, they will think that the siege of Troy has been lifted. The Trojans will surely drag the wooden horse to Troy. At night, the Achaean ships will return, and the warriors, hiding in the wooden horse, will come out of it and open the fortress gates. And then - the final assault on the hated city!

For three days the axes clattered in the carefully fenced-off part of the ship's anchorage, and for three days the mysterious work was in full swing.

On the morning of the fourth day, the Trojans were surprised to find the Achaean camp empty. The sails of the Achaean ships melted in the sea haze, and on the coastal sand, where only yesterday the tents and tents of the enemy were colorful, stood a huge wooden horse.

The jubilant Trojans left the city and wandered curiously along the deserted shore. They were surprised to surround a huge wooden horse, towering above the bushes of coastal willows. Some advised throwing the horse into the sea, others - burning it, but many insisted on dragging it into the city and placing it on the main square of Troy as a memory of the bloody battle of nations.

In the midst of the dispute, the priest of Apollo Laocoon approached the wooden horse with his two sons. “Fear the Danaans who bring gifts!” - he cried and, snatching a sharp spear from the hands of the Trojan warrior, threw it at the wooden belly of the horse. The pierced spear trembled, and a barely audible copper ringing was heard from the horse’s belly. But no one listened to Laocoon. All the attention of the crowd was attracted by the appearance of the young men leading the captive Achaean. He was brought to King Priam, who stood surrounded by court nobility next to a wooden horse. The prisoner identified himself as Sinon and explained that he himself had escaped from the Achaeans, who were supposed to sacrifice him to the gods - this was a condition for a safe return home.

Sinon convinced the Trojans that the horse was a dedicatory gift to Athena, who could bring down her wrath on Troy if the Trojans destroyed the horse. And if you place it in the city in front of the temple of Athena, then Troy will become indestructible. At the same time, Sinon emphasized that this is why the Achaeans built the horse so huge that the Trojans could not drag it through the fortress gates...

As soon as Sinon said these words, a scream of terror came from the direction of the sea. Two huge snakes crawled out of the sea and entwined the priest Laocoon, as well as his two sons, with the deadly rings of their smooth and sticky bodies. In an instant, the unfortunate ones gave up the ghost.

Now no one doubted that Sinon was telling the truth. Therefore, we must quickly install this wooden horse next to the temple of Athena.

Having built a low platform on wheels, the Trojans installed a wooden horse on it and drove it to the city. In order for the horse to pass through the Scaean Gate, the Trojans had to dismantle part of the fortress wall. The horse was placed in the designated place.

While the Trojans, intoxicated with success, celebrated their victory, at night the Achaean spies quietly got off their horses and opened the gates. By that time, the Greek army, following a signal from Sinon, had quietly returned and now captured the city.

As a result, Troy was sacked and destroyed.

But why was it the horse that caused her death?

This question has been asked since ancient times. Many ancient authors tried to find a reasonable explanation for the legend. A wide variety of assumptions were made: for example, that the Achaeans had a battle tower on wheels, made in the shape of a horse and upholstered in horse skins; or that the Greeks managed to enter the city through an underground passage on the door of which a horse was painted; or that the horse was a sign by which the Achaeans distinguished each other from their opponents in the dark... It is now generally accepted that the Trojan horse is an allegory of some kind of military trick used by the Achaeans when taking the city.

Almost all the heroes, both Achaeans and Trojans, die under the walls of Troy. And of those who survive the war, many will die on the way home. Some, like King Agamemnon, will find death at home at the hands of loved ones, while others will be expelled and spend their lives wandering. In essence, this is the end of the heroic age. Under the walls of Troy there are no victors and no vanquished, heroes are becoming a thing of the past, and the time of ordinary people is coming.

Curiously, the horse is also symbolically associated with birth and death. A horse made of spruce wood, carrying something in its belly, symbolizes the birth of a new one, and the Trojan horse is made of spruce boards, and armed warriors sit in its hollow belly. It turns out that the Trojan horse brings death to the defenders of the fortress, but at the same time it also means the birth of something new.

Around the same time, another important event took place in the Mediterranean: one of the great migrations of peoples began. Tribes of the Dorians, a barbarian people who completely destroyed the ancient Mycenaean civilization, moved from the north to the Balkan Peninsula. Only after several centuries will Greece be reborn and it will be possible to talk about Greek history. The destruction will be so great that the entire pre-Dorian history will become a myth, and many states will cease to exist.

The results of recent archaeological expeditions do not yet allow us to convincingly reconstruct the scenario of the Trojan War. However, their results do not deny that behind the Trojan epic lies the story of Greek expansion against a major power located on the western coast of Asia Minor and preventing the Greeks from gaining power over this region. Let's hope that true story The Trojan War will still be written someday.