The Trojan War

The Trojan War is one of the most famous stories ever told. The Greeks fought against the city of Troy for ten years. It started because a Trojan prince took a Greek queen named Helen. The war ended with a sneaky trick involving a giant wooden horse.

How the War Started

A Trojan prince named Paris took Helen, the queen of Sparta. Her husband gathered a huge Greek army to get her back. Over a thousand ships sailed to Troy. The Greeks and Trojans fought for ten long years outside the city walls.

The Trojan Horse

The clever hero Odysseus came up with a plan. The Greeks built a giant wooden horse and hid soldiers inside it. They left it outside Troy and pretended to sail away. The Trojans pulled the horse inside their city. That night, the Greek soldiers crept out and opened the gates for their army.

Fun Facts

• The Greek army had about 1,000 ships, leading to the saying 'the face that launched a thousand ships.'
• The hero Achilles was nearly invincible except for his heel.
• Archaeologists found the real ruins of Troy in modern-day Turkey.

Did You Know?

The expression 'Achilles heel' means a person's weak spot. It comes from this myth because Achilles could only be hurt on his heel!