Trojan horse
A Trojan horse is something that seems useful or harmless but hides a threat or lets an enemy in; it comes from the story of Greek soldiers hidden inside a wooden horse, told in The Aeneid and other ancient works.
Where it comes from
The wooden horse at Troy
The story appears in The Aeneid, where Aeneas recalls how the Greeks entered Troy through a trick rather than an open attack.
The Trojans pull the abandoned wooden horse into their city. During the night, Greek soldiers emerge from inside it and open the gates to their army.
In The Aeneid by Virgil
A danger hidden inside an attraction
Today, a Trojan horse can be an offer, plan, or object whose appealing surface hides a harmful purpose. In computing, it means malicious software presented as something legitimate.
In The Odyssey, Menelaus recalls Helen walking around the wooden horse and imitating the voices of the hidden soldiers' wives. Odysseus keeps the men silent so that their hiding place remains secret.
In The Odyssey by Homer
How to use Trojan horse
- Identify what seems useful or harmless.
- Explain what hidden danger it carries.
- Use the phrase for concealed threats, not ordinary drawbacks.
Is a Trojan horse the same as a trick?
A Trojan horse is a particular kind of trick: something apparently welcome carries a concealed threat inside. A simple lie or distraction is not necessarily a Trojan horse. The key is that accepting it helps the danger get past a barrier.
Does the Trojan horse appear in The Iliad?
No, the wooden horse episode does not appear in The Iliad, which ends before Troy falls. The Odyssey recalls the horse, while The Aeneid gives a fuller account of its entry into Troy and the attack that follows.
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