Calul troian
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Calul troian, conform poemului epic Eneida a lui Virgiliu care îl descrie, dar plasat temporal între evenimentele care sunt descrise în epopeiile Iliada şi Odiseea ale lui Homer, se referă la un obiect masiv, de forma unui cal imens construit din lemn, care putea fi transportat pe cele patru roţi ale sale, şi care s-ar fi dovedit decisiv în cucerirea cetăţii Troia la finalul războiului troian, care a avut loc între ahei şi troiani şi a durat zece ani încheiaţi. Se crede că inventatorul calului troian ar fi fost regele Ulise al insulei Itaca, cunoscut şi sub numele de Odyseus.
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[modifică] Ideea realizării Calului Troian
Ideea lui Ulisse era plasarea calului de lemn, având un grup de războinici de elită ascunşi în pântecele sale, în apropierea porţilor cetăţii Troia, simulând un dar gigantic, care ar fi putut fi atribuit lor înşişi, zeilor sau amândoura. Simultan, flota ahee urma să regizeze abandonarea asediului şi să părăsească convingător sediul bătăliei plecând (aparent) pentru întotdeauna. Ar fi urmat să se întoarcă mult după apusul soarelui, mai exact după miezul nopţii, când vigilenţa troienilor va fi fost redusă la minimum şi grupul de comando ascuns în cal ar fi putut acţiona din interiorul cetăţii.
În realitate, mizând pe uzura morală şi nervoasă a asediaţilor, absolut inerentă după unul dintre cele mai îndelungate asedii consemnate din antichitate, la care ar fi urmat să se adauge surpriza şi veneraţia faţă de un obiect atât de masiv, confirmată de plecarea abruptă înaintea zorilor a întregii flote greceşti, Ulise şi Agammemnon sperau în aducerea Calului în cetate. După care, calculând totul, sărbătorirea faustuoasă, inclusiv îngurgitarea masivă a vinului şi slăbirea vigilenţei locuitorilor Troiei până aproape de zero, războinicii de elită ascunşi în cal, ar fi ieşit din acesta urmând a deschide porţile cetăţii aheilor reveniţi tăcuţi cu întreaga flotă.
Din păcate pentru troieni, planul abilului Ulise a funcţionat aidoma previziunilor sale. Troienii, în ciuda prezicerilor Cassandrei şi a lui Loocon, dar şi a altor voci lucide din cetate, nu numai că au exuberat la vederea Calului, care fiind combinată cu plecarea flotei atacatoare, i-au făcut pe aceştia să deschidă larg porţile cetăţii (după alte surse, chiar au distrus cu propriile lor mâini o parte din zidul de apărare al Troiei pentru a face loc imensului artefact) şi să "primească" cu bucurie Calul în cetatea lor, cea care fusese inexpugnabilă pentru un timp atât de îndelungat. Iar restul a fost, într-adevăr istorie.
[modifică] Legenda
This incident is mentioned in the Odyssey:
- What a thing was this, too, which that mighty man [Odysseus] wrought and endured in the carven horse, where in all we chiefs of the Argives were sitting, bearing to the Trojans death and fate! 4.271 ff
- But come now,change thy theme, and sing of the building of the horse of wood, which Epeius made with Athena's help, the horse which once Odysseus led up into the citadel as a thing of guile, when he had filled it with the men who sacked Ilium . 8.487 ff (trans. Samuel Butler)
The most detailed and most familiar version is in Virgil's Aeneid, Book 2 (trans. John Dryden).
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The Greek siege of Troy had lasted for ten years. The Greeks devised a new ruse: a giant hollow wooden horse. It was built by Epeius and filled with Greek warriors led by Odysseus. The rest of the Greek army appeared to leave, but actually hid behind Tenedos. Meanwhile, a Greek spy, Sinon, convinced the Trojans that the horse was a gift despite the warnings of Laocoon and Cassandra; Helen and Deiphobus even investigated the horse; in the end, the Trojans accepted the gift. In ancient times it was customary for a defeated general to surrender his horse to the victorious general in a sign of respect. It should be noted here that the horse was the sacred animal of Poseidon; during the contest with Athena over the patronage of Athens, Poseidon gave men the horse, and Athena gave the olive tree.
The Trojans hugely celebrated the end of the siege, so that, when the Greeks emerged from the horse, the city was in a drunken stupor. The Greek warriors opened the city gates to allow the rest of the army to enter, and the city was pillaged ruthlessly, all the men were killed, and all the women and children were taken into slavery.
Within the territories of the ancient city of Troy, near the Dardanelles (modern Turkey), is a small museum, founded in 1955, that includes the remnants of the city, along with a wooden horse built in the museum garden to depict the legendary Trojan horse. The wooden horse from the recent film Troy is displayed on the seafront in the nearby town of Çanakkale.
From this mythological episode comes the term Trojan horse as a general term describing an apparent advantage that is actually a trick; "Trojan horse" tactics are those considered sneaky, underhand, deceitful. The term can also refer to a "sneak attack" in general. The term "Trojan" is also widely used today to refer to malicious computer software that looks harmless to the user, but actually contains a computer virus or spyware.
[modifică] Realitate sau ficţiune
According to Homer, Troy stood overlooking the Hellespont - a channel of water that separates Asia Minor and Europe. In the 1870's, Heinrich Schliemann set out to find it. [1] Following Homer's description, he started to dig at Hisarlik in Turkey and uncovered the ruins of several cities, built one on top of the other. Several of the cities had been destroyed violently, but is not clear which was the Troy of Homer's Legend. Experts are now certain that Troy was a real place.
[modifică] Cartea a II-a a lui Virgilu, Aeneida
Book II of Virgil's Aeneid covers the siege of Troy, and includes these lines spoken by Laocoön:
- equo ne credite, Teucri.
- quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.
Meaning (depending on the translation) "Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks even bringing gifts". This is the origin of the modern adage "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts".
[modifică] Explicaţii posibile
Pausanias, who lived in the 2nd century AD, wrote on his book Description of Greece [2]:
- That the work of Epeius was a contrivance to make a breach in the Trojan wall is known to everybody who does not attribute utter silliness to the Phrygians (1,XXIII,8)
where by Phrygians he means the Trojans. There has been some modern speculation that the Trojan Horse may have been a battering ram resembling, to some extent, a horse, and that the description of the use of this device was then transformed into a myth by later oral historians who were not present at the battle and were unaware of that meaning of the name. Assyrians at the time used siege machines with animal names; it is possible that the Trojan Horse was such.
It has also been suggested that the Trojan Horse actually represents a hurricane that occurred between the wars that could have weakened Troy's walls and left them open for attack. [3] Structural damage on Troy VI—its location being the same as that represented in Homer's Iliad and the artifacts found there suggesting it was a place of great trade and power—shows signs that there was indeed an earthquake. Generally, though, Troy VIIa is believed to be Homer's Troy (see below).
The deity, Poseidon, had a triple function as a god of the sea, of horses and of earthquakes.
[modifică] Războinicii din cal
According to the Little Iliad it had 3,000 in its belly, and 2 spies in its mouth Apollodorus 50[1],Tzetzes 23,[2] Quintus Smyrnaeus gives the names of thirty, and he says that there were more of them.[3] In late tradition it seems it was standardised at 40. Their names follow:
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[modifică] Imagini
 Schiţă din secolul al 19-lea înfăţişând Calul troian |
 Calul troian din filmul Troia, 2004 |
 Calul troian, reconstituire din lemn pentru filmul realizat în 2004, Troy, expus la Çanakkale |
 O altă reconstituire a Calului troian, aflată la Muzeul aheologic Istambul |
 Detaliu din pictura "Procesiunea aducerii Calului (Troian) în Troia" de Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo |
[modifică] Referinţe
[modifică] Vezi şi
- en en:Mykonos vase, earliest pottery depiction of the Trojan Horse
- en Troy movie (2004)
- The Trojan Rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- "The engine to batter walls (called sometime the horse, and now is named the ram) was the devise of Epeus at Troy."
- Troy Infomation [www.myspace.com/dave_topo]
[modifică] Legături externe
- The Trojan Horse for Kids: another ancient image of the Trojan Horse.
- Film Helen of Troy (1956) -- Elena din Troia
- Film The Trojan Horse (1962) -- Calul troian
- Film Troy (2004) -- Troia
- The Trojan Horse Massacre -- Masacrul Calului troian
![[1]](http://itis.volta.alessandria.it/episteme/newhomer.gif){kind=link}