A Greek gift - Дары данайцев
A Greek gift or the Trojan horse is used to denote
a treacherous gift; a gift that brings evil instead of
good. It is an allusion to the wooden horse, by means
of which Troy was betrayed.
After a siege of ten years, during which many fierce
battles were fought, and the best and bravest of both
armies slain, Troy was taken by the Greeks and burnt
to the ground. The poets suppose that the Greeks (Danaos) made themselves masters of the city by stratagem. Their account is, that a large wooden horse was
erected, filled secretly with armed men and placed at
the gates of the besieged city. Then all the other Greek
soldiers got into their boats and pretended to row away,
as if returning home. The curiosity of the Trojans got
the better of them, so they went outside and drew the
wooden horse within the walls of the city. In the night,
the Greek soldiers crept out and took the Trojans by
surprise, while the main army, which had made a pretence of going away, came back and joined in the battle. Troy was soon in flames. Most of the citizens perished by the sword, or were carried into captivity, some
fled for their lives.
The story is told by Homer in the Odyssey, and
followed by Virgil, the Latin poet in the great poem
Aeneid.
1. Выражение дары данайцев означает: дары, поднесенные с предательским умыслом. 2. Они таят в себе опасность или гибель для тех, кому они предназначены. 3. История этого выражения такова. 4. Долго и безуспешно вели греки (данайцы) осаду Трои. 5. В конце концов они решили прибегнуть к военной хитрости. 6. Они соорудили огромного деревянного коня — будто бы в знак окончания войны. 7. Греки оставили деревянного коня у стен Трои, а сами сделали вид, что возвращаются домой. 8. Троянцы, движимые любопытством, втащили коня в свой город. 9. Ночью воиныданайцы, спрятавшиеся внутри деревянного коня, вышли и ворвались в Трою. 10. Троя была захвачена и разрушена. 11. Рассказ об этом эпизоде Троянской войны можно прочесть у Гомера в его «Одиссее» и в поэме Вергилия «Энеида»,