Trojan Horse Gallery

Cassandra mourns the destruction of Troy, 1550-55 (pen on paper)

5916304 Cassandra mourns the destruction of Troy, 1550-55 (pen on paper) by Swart Van Groningen, Jan (c.1495-c.1560); 36x28.3 cm; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (add.info.: Cassandra, in Greek mythology was cursed to utter true prophecies but not believed, the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, she foresaw the fall of Troy); Dutch, out of copyright

© Bridgeman Images

Trojans Deceived, 1830

Trojans Deceived, 1830. The raiding party secreting themselves in the great wooden horse. The story of the legendary wars between the Greek confederation and Troy, part of which is the subject of Homer's epic poem the Iliad where it is said to have lasted ten years, has some historical basis. Virgil, in his epic poem the Aeneid, writes of the end of the siege of Troy and tells of the huge wooden horse which Ulysses had built. It was left outside the walls of Troy and the Trojans were convinced it was a Greek offering to the gods for their safe voyage back to Greece. Instead, it was full of Greek warriors who, when the horse was dragged into Troy, waited until night, climbed down and opened the gates of the city and let in the Greek army. From The World Displayed by the Rev Royal Robbins. (New York, 1830)

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images

Trojan horse, computer artwork

Trojan horse. Conceptual computer artwork of a wooden horse on wheels entering through city gates made from computer parts. This could represent a type of malicious computer program known as a trojan. A trojan is a destructive program disguised as a benign application. It can cause major problems such as deletion of data but, unlike a computer virus, is unable to replicate. Ther term comes from a story in Homer's Iliad where a giant wooden horse was given to the Trojans as a peace offering by the Greeks. The horse's hollow interior contained Greek soldiers who opened the city gates and allowed the Greeks to take Troy

© CHRISTIAN DARKIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY