Beware of Greeks Telling Stories About Big Wooden Horses

You know the story of the Trojan Horse, of course, because you've read Homer's Iliad, the epic poem about the Trojan War, right? No, because you haven't read it, and also because the Trojan Horse isn't in the Iliad. But you know the story of how the Greeks won the war against the city of Troy after ten years by leaving a gift of a massive wooden horse behind, which the Trojans accepted and brought into the city gates, not realizing it was full of Greek soldiers. It only makes sense the Trojans would do that, despite the horse's odd weight, without looking to see what was inside. 

Is there any truth at all to the story? We once thought that the city of Troy was itself fictional, until Heinrich Schliemann found it in Turkey (and dug right through the layer that would have existed at the relevant time). But that doesn't mean there actually was a ten-year war. And while the tale of the Trojan Horse was layered with supernatural deeds by Greek gods, that was normal for both historical and fictional accounts in ancient Greece. Weird History looks at the story of the Trojan Horse, and reveals some theories about how it could have happened, whether it did or not.