INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
THE TROJAN HORSE
IMPACT
History, Society, and Science
Summer Doak
2012
EAST CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
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Abstract
The Trojan horse is a well known story originally told by a blind poet by the name of Homer.
Although it is the topic of much debate as to the credibility of this story, it has had a huge impact
on history, society, and science. The Trojan horse is a name that is used widely to describe a
plethora of things ranging from asteroids to microorganisms to computer software. This name
has come to be known as anything that disguises itself for a greater self benefit. Usually
associated with a negative connotation, there are also positives such as in medicine.
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The Trojan Horse
The epic story of the Trojan horse is taught to us at an early age as a way to get
across a lesson. “Never look a gift horse in the mouth” or “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” are a
couple of the lessons we are taught from this story. Historians and archaeologists have spent
centuries trying to prove or disprove the historical aspects within this story. Although the
credibility of the Trojan horse is still debatable, it has played a major role in history, society, and
science.
The Story Behind the Legend
Understanding the background of the Trojan horse is important in understanding how this
story has left its footprint. According to Rita (2000) this story begins with the marriage of Helen
and Paris in Troy in 1200 B.C. Helen had been married to Melanus in Sparta, who left Sparta to
attend a funeral. Zeus had declared Paris the Prince of Troy, and in Melanus’ absence had
abducted Helen along with a large amount of Melanus’ wealth. Rightfully so, Melanus was
outraged and declared war on Troy. Melanus arranged a fleet of Greek soldiers to seek out Troy.
This fleet faced many obstacles in search of Troy until Achilles finally told them how to reach
Troy. After 9 years of war the Greeks began defeating the areas that had been supplying Troy
and gathering resources but were unable to break down the walls of Troy. Odysseus ordered a
large wooden horse to be built in which Greek warriors climbed inside. The remaining fleet
sailed away in hopes of deceiving the Trojans. A Greek warrior named Sinon pretended to be
left behind and offered the wooden horse as good luck to the Trojans. The Trojans celebrated
their victory, and brought the horse inside the city. After the city was drunk and least expected
anything, the warriors emerged from the horse and slaughtered the Trojans. To this day, the
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Trojan horse has been used as a metaphor for anything that may present itself as something other
than what it is.
Impact on History
The story of the Trojan horse has impacted history all over the world throughout the ages.
The story itself has created much debate among historians. The fact that Homer was a blind poet
and not a historian has led many to discount much of the historical value of the story. The story
was originally transmitted orally and was not written. These orally transmitted stories can
survive over time with little or no change, or can be added to or updated so much that whatever
truth they contain is lost (Bryce, 2002). Archaeologists have, and continue to unearth many
clues that prove that the Trojan horse does in fact contain some historical elements. Specific
items presented in the story have been found, but the horse itself has not (Bryce, 2002). Even the
archaeological proof of the story creates debate about whether the destruction of the city was
caused by man or nature. The theory proposed against the war is that the walls were weakened
by an earthquake (Bryce, 2002). This theory states that the horse, being a symbol of Poseidon
(“The Earth shaker”), became a motif because Poseidon himself inflicted the quake (Bryce,
2002). Historically the Trojan horse has also become a model used in art across the world.
Many paintings, sketches, wooden horse models, and stories have been inspired by the Trojan
horse across the globe and over time. History is not the only impact that this giant wooden horse
has made.
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Impact on Society
Society has been impacted by the Iliad and the story of the Trojan War and horse. This
story has been the basis for Hollywood filmmaking over the years. Most recently “The Iliad”
starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom (Tyrangiel, 2004). This movie was produced
by Warner Brothers and had a budget of 175 million dollars (Tyrangiel, 2004). The Trojan War
has also impacted society’s wartime strategies both on and off the battlefield. The name Trojan
horse as described before has been associated with tactics in the military’s information system
technology (Crawford, 2007). The Trojan horse is the name that has been given to a code that
stays hidden in a computer system or network until it emerges to perform a specific function.
When the horse emerges it can authorize access to the computer system as well as alter, deny, or
destroy data or slow down the system’s function (Crawford, 2007). This is also applied to
viruses that can invade civilian computer networks as well. There is also a theory of child
protection advocacies that has been named the Trojan Horse Theory (Wrennall, 2012). This
theory states that “the need for child protection against abuse and neglect has been used to
provide rationale for other policies, practices, and expenditure that further commercial, political,
economic, and other interests rather than interests of children (Wrennall, 2010).” This theory is
supported by strong evidence that rather than addressing the social problems that negatively
impact children, it is used as more of a big brother surveillance rationale for state agencies to
restrict individual liberty (Wrennall, 2010).
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Impact on Science
The Trojan horse has impacted science here on earth through medicine, but has also
extended beyond earth to outer space. Asteroids that hitch-hike an orbit and share it with a
planet have been named Trojan horse asteroids (Lykawka & Horner, 2010). The first two Trojan
asteroids discovered were named Hector, who was a Trojan spy in the Greek camp, and
Patroclus, who was a Greek spy in the Trojan camp (Lykawka & Horner, 2010). In medicine,
the Trojan horse is the name given to cheats that carry medically beneficial antibiotics to treat
bacterial disease (Brown, West, Diggle, & Griffin, 2009).
In Conclusion
Throughout history, society, and science the Trojan horse has had an impact on the way
people think about how things appear. Looks can be deceiving, and this is the lesson that the
story teaches us. Regardless of the historical details’ truth or lies, the Trojan horse has come to
be a figure for art and entertainment as well as a name given to anything that may cheat or take
the easy way.