Military cunning in legends and history

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The Trojan War, according to legend, ended thanks to the cunning of the Greeks, who entered the city inside a wooden horse. Similar subjects were found in the literature of the Egyptians and Persians.

Thutmose III and "Canaanite Troy"

In Egypt, the New Kingdom had its own work about the capture of a fortified city with the help of cunning. It is called "The Taking of Jupe" and tells about the times of the wars of Thutmose III.

The hero of the story was the commander of Thutmose Dzhehuti, who was supposed to punish the rebellious ruler of Yupa. At first, Dzhehuti promised to go over to the side of the rebel, invited the ruler of Yupa to a feast and took him prisoner there. Then he ordered two hundred soldiers to hide in baskets, which were then sealed. Each basket was to be carried by two soldiers. As a result, six hundred Egyptians went to the fortress.

The charioteer of the ruler of Yupa, on the orders of Jehuti, had to tell his wife that the Egyptian commander was taken prisoner, and in the baskets - the captured riches. When the gates of the city were opened, the Egyptians entered them, released their comrades from their baskets, and took the city.

In the Persian epic "Shahnameh", written in the 11th century AD. e., there is an episode repeating "The Taking of Jupe". The hero Isfandiar, disguised as a merchant, penetrates the city of his enemy Arjasp. One hundred and forty of his warriors hid in the chests, and twenty more entered with him disguised as caravan men. At night, Isfandiar released the soldiers from the chests, and they captured the city. Once again, a similar plot appeared in the Arabian tale "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." With a sad outcome for the ambush participants.

Homer's poems: the birth of a legend

The events of the Trojan War attracted the attention of poets, playwrights and collectors of myths from the times of Antiquity. The authors repeated old stories and came up with new ones. Time after time they turned to popular images - the indomitable warrior Achilles, the noble Hector and the master of cunning Odysseus. One of the most popular stories about the war against Troy is the capture of a city with a wooden horse.

The image of the cunning Odysseus became so famous that the idea of a wooden horse was attributed to him. In fact, in the legends of the Trojan Cycle, another hero appears to be the author of the trick. But this, of course, does not negate the other merits of the king of Ithaca in the capture of the city.

The fall of Troy was narrated by two lost poems "The Little Iliad" and "The Fall of Iliad". Stories about the event have survived in later works - "Myths" by Hyginus, "Mythological Library" by Pseudo-Apollodorus, "Alexandra" by Lycophron, "After Homer" by Quintus of Smyrna and, of course, "Aeneid" by Virgil. The discrepancies most often relate to the details and number of participants in the siege.

The Lesser Iliad says that the creator of the wooden horse was the master Epeus. Most authors agreed that Athena came up with the idea. Quintus Smyrnsky attributes the authorship of the idea to Odysseus, while Epeya calls it the performer.

Epeus was not among the strongest Greek heroes. He had a reputation as a good fist fighter, a skilled artisan, but at the same time he was despised for cowardice. According to legend, after the Trojan War, the hero-craftsman founded the city of Metapont in Italy. Even in the Roman era, in the temple of Metapont, they showed iron tools, with which the founder of the city allegedly built the Trojan horse.

Fear the Danians who bring gifts

The canonical story about the capture of the Asia Minor city was formed in the era of Homer. Although his poems do not tell directly about the last days of Troy, there are many references to these events in the text. He puts the story of the fall of Ilion into the mouths of Menelaus and the singer Demodoc. According to Homer, the creator of the Trojan horse was the hero Epeus (Epeos). Odysseus saved the Greeks already in the city itself. So, when the creation of Epeus stood in the sanctuary, Elena came there and began to call the heroes hidden inside the horse with the voices of their wives. One of them almost answered her, but Odysseus managed to cover his mouth.

The king of Ithaca also distinguished himself by the fact that, together with another hero, Diomedes, he stole the relic of Palladium from the sanctuary of Athena. The replacement was to be a Trojan horse.

The poem "The Fall of Ilion", according to the "Reader" by the philosopher Proclus, sets out the story of the Trojan horse, known and popularized by other authors. Here Sinon and Laocoon appear, whose names are inextricably linked with the story of the capture of Troy.

The inhabitants of Troy argued about what to do with the find - to destroy or consecrate Athena to the temple. After arguing, they decided to consecrate him to the temple and began a feast. The gods sent sea serpents, which killed the priest Laocoon and his sons. In Virgil, Laocoon uttered the famous words about the Danaans, who brought gifts, and threw a spear at the horse. After that, he and his sons were torn to pieces by snakes.

Simultaneously with the horse, the Trojans found the Greek youth Sinon. He told them that he was a friend of the hero Palamed, who had previously been executed at the instigation of Odysseus. The king of Ithaca harbored a grudge against the young man. Later, when the Greeks have to sacrifice a person for a safe return home, it is Odysseus who will offer to put Sinon on the altar. The young man managed to escape. This tragic story was most likely a fiction of Odysseus himself. According to myths, Sinon was the cousin of the king of Ithaca, and both of them were the grandchildren of the recognized cunning Autolycus.

In the late "Diary of the Trojan War" by Dictis of Crete, the creator of the Trojan horse is called Epey. He built a wooden horse and put it on wheels. The structure was presented to the Trojans as a gift for Athena. The inhabitants of Ilion joyfully brought the horse into the city, for which they had to destroy part of the fortress wall. After that, the Greeks sailed away, but at night they returned and burst into the city, whose inhabitants no longer expected a new attack.

Plots with a wooden horse can be found in antique fine arts. For example, on the fibula of the 8th century BC. e. depicts horse hooves to which wheels are attached. The wooden horse and the capture of Troy are depicted on the pithos from the island of Mykonos, created in the 7th century BC. e.

Haridem and the third capture of Ilion

Plutarch, the author of Comparative Biographies, wrote that Ilion was destroyed three times because of the horses. The first time it was Hercules because of the horses of Laomedont, king of Ilion. Laomedont promised them as a reward to the hero, but did not keep his word. The second time the city was destroyed by a Trojan horse.

The third time Ilion was taken in the middle of the 4th century BC. e. Greek mercenary commander Haridem. According to the story of the capture of the policy, Haridem bribed a slave who procured game for the table of the tyrant Ilion. One day the servant went out of town on horseback and had to return through the gate, and not the narrow gate, as usual. On the way back, the slave took Haridem's warriors with him under the guise of captured prisoners. They managed to deceive the guards and take the entrance to the city. After waiting for the main forces of Haridem to approach, they began an assault and took Ilion. The legendary story of the Trojan horse had already taken shape by that time, so the heroes of the new capture of the city could be inspired by the example of Odysseus and others.