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What was the Trojan War, and what did a horse have to do with it?

According to Greek legend, the Trojan War was a nine-year siege by the Greeks upon the ancient city of Troy (also called Ilion). This conflict, which took place about 1200 B.C., probably reflects an actual war that was fought at a mound now known as Hissarlik in present-day Turkey. Hissarlik is located about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the mouth of the Dardanelles (called the Hellespontus by the ancient Greeks), a strait (narrow body of water) that connects the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea. The war was possibly fought over control of trade routes through the Dardanelles. The Greeks used a large wooden horse as a trick to defeat the Trojans (inhabitants of Troy) in the war.

The Greek poet Homer (ninth–eighth? century B.C.) told the story of the final year of the Trojan War in his epic (long narrative) poem the...

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