Question: Where Does the Expression "Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts" Come From?
Answer: The Trojan War had gone on for 10 years. Since both sides had gods on their sides, and Achilles, the greatest of the Greeks, and Hector, the greatest of the Trojans, were dead, the two sides were pretty evenly matched. One thing the Greeks had that the Trojans lacked was the cunning of an Odysseus. Odysseus devised the idea of a Trojan Horse. When the "Trojan Horse" was left at the gates of Troy, the Trojans thought the Greeks had left it as a parting gift because they had given up and sailed home. The Trojans welcomed the gift and took it within their walls, little knowing the belly of the beast was filled with armed soldiers who would destroy their city.
Vergil (Virgil) puts the words in the mouth of Laocoon in the Aeneid Bk II: timeo Danaos et dona ferentis.
Trojan War FAQ Index
- Who created the Trojan Horse?
- Where in Homer is the Trojan Horse?
- Was Achilles in the Trojan Horse?
- Where does the expression "the face that launched 1000 ships" come from?
- Who was king of Athens during the Trojan War?
- Where does the expression "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" come from?
- Who is the son of Achilles?
- Did Hector kill Menelaus (king of Sparta)?
- Did Hector kill Ajax?
- How did Agamemnon die?
- Who was Briseis?
