Trojan Horse - The legend behind the computer virus
Whether it be simply a romanticized story from a war the didn’t exist or one of the greatest military maneuvers ever undertaken, ancient or otherwise, the story of the Trojan horse is one of the greatest stories people have ever known.
The background of the Trojan horse is actually quite simple. The Greek armies, fighting against the Trojans, had finally made it to the city of Troy to achieve final victory. The problem for the Greeks, in their siege of Troy, was the massive and impenetrable walls around the city. No one knows which of the leaders in the Greek army devised the Trojan horse program, although it is commonly agreed upon that Odysseus played a major part. But whoever came up with the plan had a major stroke if ingenuity, because Greek attacks on Troy had been unsuccessful in conquering the city for the past ten years and, frankly speaking, something needed to be done to change things up - that something being the Trojan horse.
The plan was to give the Trojans a gift for holding off the siege, and winning victory, but the gift was a fake. They conspired against the Trojans by keeping a group of Greek soldiers - led by Odysseus - hidden inside the wooden statue until nightfall, after which they would leave the Trojan horse, unlock the gates of Troy, and let the rest of the Greek army in. The army transport - disguised as a gift - worked perfectly, and the events of that night played out exactly as the Greeks had anticipated. With the doors open, the Trojans no longer had protection against the masses of Greek armies surrounding them, and the Trojans could no longer defend the city of Troy. The security, which the Trojans had enjoyed for ten years, was gone in one night, making the Greek attack on the city of Troy an absolutely crushing success that ended the war - and all because of the Trojan horse. Once the Greeks entered the city, they further planned to kill the entire male population, and sell the women and children into slavery. That was an easy task given the drunken stupor the population of Troy was in, as they had been celebrating with the idea that the Trojan horse was a real gift.
It’s worthy of note that the Trojan horse has become ingrained into our popular culture, notably because the Trojan Horse computer virus is a major threat to our privacy. Trojans invade through what may seem like a seemingly normal file, but in actuality the virus is hidden within. The aim is to corrupt our computers, which keeps Internet and email users on alert more often than not, and having to install the latest updates, upgrades, and antivirus software.
It’s unknown if the Trojan horse was designed to accurately resemble real horses or if it resembled the more artistic version that is often depicted. This question might be hard to find an answer to because the war with Troy might not have actually happened! While some research says that Homer’s (Iliad and Odyssey) recounting of the war is basically correct, archeological evidence doesn’t seem to confirm the existence of a city of Troy. The information on the issue is still highly incomplete though, so it’s nearly impossible to tell if the legend of the Trojan horse is true, and it will probably remain nearly impossible in the near future. Legend or not, the story lives on in the expression, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”. It’s possible to find free information about the Trojan horse at many a web page, so, if you wish, look around the web and form your own opinion about this fascinating story!