More Than a Trojan Horse

 

More Than a Trojan Horse

            Horses played an important role in ancient Greece, long before the time of the Trojan War. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of horses on mainland Greece from the Middle Bronze Age (1800 BCE) as well as evidence from Mycenaean shaft graves which depicts the use of horses and chariots dating from 1650-1550 BCE, some 300 or 400 years earlier than the Trojan War. Horses were used as riding animals and for pulling chariots, as well as for heavy transport. The rocky and mountainous topography of mainland Greece meant that raising horses on a large scale was usually limited to regions like Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, and Argolis that Homer refers to as ‘the feeder of horses.’ It was expensive to own and raise a horse and having one was seen as a status symbol, generally reserved for the wealthy and aristocratic.

            Homer makes many references to horses in the Iliad and their use in battle as pullers of chariots is well-documented by him. Both the Achaeans and the Trojans had horses and their presence on the battlefield forms an ongoing part of Homer’s narrative. The horse was the emblem of Troy and Hector was often referred to as ‘the tamer of horses’, as indeed were the Trojans themselves, who raised horses and exported them to other regions. Though there is no mention of horses in Homer’s famous catalogue of ships, we know that the Achaeans brought horses with them to Troy because we find several references in the Iliad to Xanthus and Balius, the immortal horses of Achilles who were the offspring of Podarge and Zephyrus, the West Wind. The ancient Greeks transported horses across the seas using special horse transports called ‘hippagogos’. They must have brought mules with them as well for heavy transport, because Homer mentions that the mules were the first victims of the plague that was brought upon the Greeks in retribution for the kidnapping of Chryseis. Perhaps the mules came from the land of the Paphlagonians where the author tells us, ‘the mules run wild in great herds.’

            Horses in the Iliad are always described as swift-footed, speedy, single-hoofed, with beautiful manes or golden frontlets. They are essential to the war and are featured on the battlefield on many occasions. No battle is complete without some reference to horses and chariots.

Let everyone sharpen his spear, prepare his shield and feed his swift-footed horses. Having examined his chariot closely let each man consider battle carefully so that we might spend all day long engaged in the cruel battles of Ares.

Do not down sit to rest, not even for a moment until night comes and separates us from the anger of men. The broad strap of the shield which covers the breast of the entire man will be drenched in sweat and the hand which holds the spear will tire. The horse too will sweat from the labour of drawing the well-polished chariot.

The earth resounded mightily under the feet of the soldiers and their horses.

            When we consider the use of the chariot in warfare, we need to see it as a means of transporting a warrior to the fight and not as a platform from which combat was made. Typically the chariot held two people, a charioteer who drove the cart and a warrior who would jump from the chariot into the melee.

Such as this was Menelaus delighted to espy the godlike Alexander, for he was determined in his mind to seek revenge on the evil-doer. Immediately he leapt onto the ground from his chariot with his weapons.

Thus he spoke and fully armed he leapt from his chariot onto the ground and the bronze on the chest of the leader made a terrible din as he rushed forward to battle.

At one point Pandarus complained to Aeneas that he had left his eleven beautiful chariots and their teams of horses back home where they were safe and well-fed, and he had come on foot to Troy, relying solely on his bow and arrows. He would not risk bringing them to war.

Both horses and chariots are not here that I might mount. But somewhere in the great rooms of Lycaon there are eleven newly made beautiful chariots with coverings spread over them and beside each of them stand a team of double-yoked horses feeding on white barley and rice wheat.

I had to spare my horses, lest they want for food being shut up with the men and used to eating their full.

Even King Agamemnon used his horses and chariot for transport and stepped down from his vehicle in order to move among his men and offer them encouragement.

He left his horses and his bronze-decorated chariot and his attendant Eurymedon, the son of Ptolemaeus son of Pirais, held his snorting steeds to one side. Agamemnon told him to hold his horses in readiness in case he should get weary from going about being in command of so many men. On foot he moved about the ranks of his men and he greatly encouraged the Danaans with their swift horses who were standing there.

On rare occasions we see that fighting was sometimes carried on from the chariot itself, but most times the warrior stepped off. However, Nestor had seen enough fighting in his day to suggest to the charioteers that reaching out with a spear to knock an opponent off his chariot could be a good strategy to employ.

He put the charioteers with their horses and chariots in the front and placed the many brave foot soldiers in the back so that they might hem in the fighting. He put the cowards in the middle so that even if they did not want to fight, they would be forced to do so. He gave the first order to the charioteers and told them to rein in their horses and not to move in a tumult through the crowd. He ordered those who were skilled charioteers and eager to fight the Trojans not to go it alone, either up front or behind the lines, because they would be more easily conquered if caught fighting alone. He advised that any man in a chariot coming upon another should reach out with his spear towards that man, for that would be a better move.

            There is an interesting conversation that takes place between Aeneas and Pandarus that very well summarizes how horses were used in the battle.

Then Aeneas, the leader of the Trojans, came near him and spoke again. “Do not speak like that for none of that can happen unless first we go against this man with horses and chariots and give him grief in hand-to-hand combat. But come now and get into my chariot so that you can witness what kind of horses the Trojans have, rushing skilfully over the plain, pursuing rapidly here and there and then retreating. These two horses will bring us safely to the city, if once again Zeus should shower glory on Diomedes the son of Tydeus. Come now and take the whip and shining reins in your hands and I will dismount from the chariot in order to fight on foot, or would you rather fight the man and leave the horses to me?”

Then the noble son of Lycaon answered him. “Hang onto the reins yourself and the two horses for they will manage the curved chariot better if they are under the command of their regular charioteer if we flee in terror the son of Tydeus. We do not want them to panic and slow their speed or be unwilling to take us away from the battle, having missed the sound of your voice and us being attacked by the mighty son of Tydeus only to have him slay the two of us and drive the horses away himself. So drive your chariot and the two horses yourself and I will greet him with my sharp spear when he advances upon us.”

            Homer describes with infinite detail the outcome of chariots racing through throngs of fighting warriors:

Thus he spoke and whipped the horses beautifully maned with the shrill sounding lash and perceiving the terror they rushed quickly through the Trojans and the Achaeans, treading over both corpses and shields. Blood was all over the axels and sprinkled the chariot board from beneath and the rims of the car with drops of blood splattering them from the horses’ hooves and the wheels.

Chariots were generally described as well-polished, beautifully decorated, light, open and swift. However, no chariot driven by the Achaeans or the Trojans could compare to the one driven by Hera, the queen of the gods.

And Hera, the honourable daughter of the great Cronos, approached and harnessed the golden-bridled horses. And Hebe immediately fastened round eight-spoke bronze wheels to the iron axels on both sides of the chariot. The hubs were made of imperishable gold and the rims above were of bronze, a wonder to behold. The round naves on both sides were of silver and the chariot board itself was held in place with gold and silver thongs and there were two circular edges from which extended a silver chariot pole. At its end she bound the beautiful golden yoke and on it she placed lovely leather straps. And Hera, longing deeply for battle, led the swift-footed horses under the yoke.

Perhaps only King Rhesus of Thrace can come close to matching her:

If you plan on infiltrating the throng of the Trojans, here on the outside of all are the newcomers, the Thracians and with them their king Rhesus the son of Eioneus. He has the most beautiful and biggest horses I have ever seen, white as snow and as fast as the wind. His chariot is fashioned from silver and gold and the armour he brought with him is all gold and huge and a wonder to behold. No mortal man should wear such armour, only the immortal gods.

            The most famous horses in the Iliad are those that belonged to Achilles. We know that Achilles kept horses in Pythia for he had mentioned to Agamemnon that the Trojans had never driven off his cattle or his horses there. It is also obvious that he had brought his horses with him because Dolon, the Trojan spy, told Odysseus and Diomedes that Hector had promised them to him. ‘Hector promised to grant me the single-hooved horses of the noble son of Peleus along with his richly wrought bronze chariot.’ When Patroclus was about to enter the battlefield dressed in the armour of Achilles, Automedon was ordered to prepare the famous steeds for him.

At his urging, Automedon harnessed the horses, Xanthus and Balius, they that flew as swiftly as the wind and were born by the Harpy Podarge to the West Wind Zephyr as she grazed in the meadow beside the stream of Oceanus. In the side traces he harnessed the goodly Pedasus that Achilles had brought away when he sacked the city of Eetion, but being a mortal horse, it followed after the immortal steeds.

            When Patroclus was killed in battle by Hector, the two horses refused to leave the field and stood weeping for the dead Patroclus.

The horses of the son of Aeacus were far off and were wailing for they had learned that their charioteer was lying in the dust, having fallen under the hands of Hector the man-slayer. In truth, Automedon the brave son of Diores was whipping at them with his swift lash and was talking at them with honeyed words and sometimes with threats. But the two of them were not willing to go back to the ships at the wide Hellespont, nor into the battle with the Achaeans. They remained firmly set like a block of stone that stands on the grave of a dead man or woman and stood there immovable with their heads down beside the beautiful chariot. Hot tears flowed from their eyes and trickled onto the ground as they stood there weeping for their lost charioteer. Their beautiful manes were stained and begrimed under the yoke pad, streaming down from the yoke.

The son of Cronos saw them mourning and had pity on them and shook his head and spoke unto his own heart. “O you unhappy pair, why did we give you to a mortal, to king Peleus, when you yourselves are ageless and immortal? Was it so you could be wretched among the pangs of mankind? For all the things that move and breathe on the earth, there is nothing more miserable than man. But I will not allow Priam’s son Hector to mount you or ride on your richly embellished chariot. Is it not enough that he has taken the armour and boasts about it? I will deliver strength to your knees and your hearts so that you might rescue Automedon from the war and bear him to the hollow ships.

            After the death of Patroclus, Achilles prepared himself to re-enter the battle in order to take his revenge on Hector. He spoke to his horses and Xanthus, having been granted a human voice, answered him back.

Then he shouted out to his father’s horses with a great cry. “Xanthus and Balius, renowned children of Podarge, remember in some way to bring your charioteer back safely to the host of the Danaans when we have had our fill of war and do not leave him out there dying as you did with Patroclus.”

Then from under the yoke, the swift-footed horse Xanthus spoke to him and straightway bowed down his head and all of its mane drooped down freely from the yoke and touched the ground and the white-armed goddess Hera gave him a human voice with which to speak. “We will assuredly save you this time mighty Achilles even though your day of doom is nigh at hand, but we will not be the cause of that for that will happen because of a mighty god and overpowering Fate.”

When he had thus spoken, the Erinyes stopped up his voice. Sorely vexed, the swift-footed Achilles made a response. “Xanthus, why you have made a prophecy of my death? You need not have done so. I know already that it is my fate to die here far away from my beloved father and my mother but I will not stop until such time as I have given the Trojans their fill of war.”

            In the ultimate twist of irony, the horse-rearing Trojans who were led by Hector the horse-tamer and whose symbol was the horse, were outdone by a horse – The Trojan Horse. Horses had long been part of the history of Troy, dating back to the time of Dardanus.

Dardanus begat a son and this was King Erichthonius who became the richest of all mortal men. He had three thousand horses grazing in the marsh meadow, all of them mares rejoicing in their gamboling foals. The North Wind lusted after them as they grazed and he appeared to them as a dark-maned stallion. Some became pregnant and he begat twelve foals. When they leaped and bounded over the fields of grain, they would skim the top and not break a stalk and when they frisked and jumped over the wide sea, they would just merely touch the surface of the foamy waves.

            The undoing of the Trojans by the Achaeans and their wooden horse is one of the most famous events in history. With Hector dead, the Trojan War was rapidly drawing to its conclusion when ‘the wily and crafty Odysseus, he of the many counsels’, pulled off the greatest deception of all time and a stroke of pure military tactical genius. The events surrounding the use of the Trojan horse are not even reported in the Iliad and are only briefly mentioned in the Odyssey. It is mainly from accounts such as Vergil’s Aeneid and other ancient literary works that we find out what happened. The tactic was brilliant in both its conception and its undertaking and is the only report of any kind of siege weapon used in the ten years of the Trojan War. Odysseus had the Achaeans construct a huge wooden horse that was capable of concealing thirty warriors in its body. They dragged the wooden horse to the gates of Troy in the middle of the night and left it there. The Danaan fleet then sailed off, as if for home, but only went so far as the island of Tenedos, where they hid from the view of the Trojans. They were assisted by Sinon, who passed himself off as a Greek defector. Sinon convinced the Trojans that the Danaans had given up the fight and had sailed home and had built the horse as an offering to Athena, in atonement for them having previously desecrated her temple in Troy. He told them that the Greeks had built it too big to take into the city, so that the Trojans could not bring it in and gain the favour of the goddess themselves. However, if they were to remove a portion of their city wall, they would be able to drag it inside, and this they did. Under the cover of darkness the Greek warriors, captained by Odysseus, descended from their hiding place within the horse, opened the city gates to their comrades and sacked Troy.

            In Homer's works, particularly the Iliad, horses are frequently mentioned and play a significant role in the story. They are not just presented as instruments of war and games, but also as characters with their own feelings and purposes. They are not merely passive instruments of human action, but are described as having emotions, exhibiting bravery and fear, and even forming strong bonds with their owners, such as Xanthus and Balius with Achilles or even grief at the death of someone who is dear to them, such as Patroclus. Heroes are often described with epithets that highlight their characteristics or roles. Several of these relate to horses, such as horse-breaker or horse-tamer, and they emphasize qualities like strength, skill in horsemanship, and even the ferocity of battle. These epithets are not just decorative; they are poetic devices that reveal deeper aspects of a character's identity and role in the narrative. Homer has taken the noble steed and has weaved its importance in ancient Greek culture very skillfully into his story. There is more to horses in Homer than just a Trojan Horse.