Odysseus was the son of Laertes and was also the ruler of Ithaca. Odysseus had wished to marry Helen of Troy, but Menelaus won her instead. Though Odysseus lost Helen to Menelaus he still ended up joining an expedition with Menelaus included to fight against the Trojans in the Trojan War. Odysseus fought heroically and refused to leave the field when the Greek troops were being routed by the Trojans. Odysseus was also the originator of the Trojan horse, a strategy formed by the Greeks with Odysseus at the head of the idea.
Odysseus ordered a large wooden horse to be built. The insides were to be hollow so that Greek soldiers could hide inside. Once the statue had been built by the artist Epeius, many of the Greek soldiers, along with Odysseus, climbed inside. The rest of the Greek fleet sailed away to make the Trojans think they were giving up. One man, Sinon, was left behind. When the Trojans came to marvel at the huge creation, Sinon pretended to be angry with the Greeks, claiming that they had deserted him. He assured the Trojans that the wooden horse was safe and would bring luck to the Trojans. Only two people, Laocoon and Cassandra, spoke out against the horse, but they were ignored. The Trojans celebrated what they thought was their victory, and dragged the wooden horse into Troy. That night, after most of Troy was asleep or drunk from the parties, Sinon let the Greek warriors out from the horse, and they slaughtered the Trojans. Priam was killed as he huddled by Zeus’ altar and Cassandra was pulled from the statue of Athena and raped. Troy had been defeated by the Greeks.
“The Trojan War.” Stanford.edu. Stanford. Web. 1 Oct. 2009. .
Posted by: Nicole Carlson
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