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3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T06:15:32Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: /* Explanation */ Fixed Wikipedia link

{{comic
| number = 3098
| date = June 4, 2025
| title = Trojan Horse
| image = trojan_horse_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x196px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Ultimately, history would imperfectly record the story of the Foal of Troy.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic presents a brief retelling of the {{w|Trojan_Horse|Trojan horse}} story, the climactic event of the legendary {{w|Trojan_War|Trojan war}}, one of the best-known epics of ancient Greece and Rome.

The joke, spelled out in the title text, is that the Trojan Horse story's origin is mundane. The gift to the Trojans by the (supposedly) departing Greek army, we are told, was a normal-sized, living, pregnant mare, which promptly dropped a foal. "History" expanded the tale until the live, normal-sized, pregnant mare became a colossal wooden statue that "dropped" a commando unit of some 40 Greek soldiers, who opened the gates of Troy to the main Greek force (who had sailed back under the cover of darkness), with disastrous consequences for Troy, transmuting (for the purpose of a pun) the "Foal of Troy" to the "Fall of Troy". Fall (πτώση) and Foal (πουλάρι) begin with the same letter in Greek and are spelled even more similarly in English. This would suggest that what actually happened was that the foal opened the gates, but it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy.

The debate in the comic, about the mission of the "Foal of Troy" and its impact on the city, reflects the debate in the Trojan Horse legend about the purpose of the horse statue and whether it was safe to accept it. The consequence of accepting the "Foal of Troy", a minor assault on the city's oat store, is accepted with indignation in the comic. In the legend, the potential consequences of accepting the horse statue were rejected or ignored until after it was too late. This is the etymology that caused the story to {{w|Trojan horse (computing)|lend its name to malware hidden as something innocuous}}.

It is unlikely that citizens of Asia Minor (modern Anatolia/Asiatic Turkey, where Troy is located) in the second millennium BCE would have been as ignorant about basic horse biology as they are shown to be in the comic. Their reputations are sacrificed for the sake of the joke. The Trojans incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
When the Greeks departed, they left behind a horse as a gift.

We took it as a gesture of peace, but it carried a secret payload.

One night, from within the horse, '''''another, smaller horse emerged!'''''

Our guards have been unable to determine the inner horse's objective, but it has begun to show an interest in our oats.

An attack on Troy's food supply!

How ''dare they!?''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T06:11:18Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: /* Explanation */ Minor grammar fix

{{comic
| number = 3098
| date = June 4, 2025
| title = Trojan Horse
| image = trojan_horse_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x196px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Ultimately, history would imperfectly record the story of the Foal of Troy.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic presents a brief retelling of the {{w|Trojan_Horse|Trojan horse}} story, the climactic event of the legendary {{w|Trojan_War|Trojan war}}, one of the best-known epics of ancient Greece and Rome.

The joke, spelled out in the title text, is that the Trojan Horse story's origin is mundane. The gift to the Trojans by the (supposedly) departing Greek army, we are told, was a normal-sized, living, pregnant mare, which promptly dropped a foal. "History" expanded the tale until the live, normal-sized, pregnant mare became a colossal wooden statue that "dropped" a commando unit of some 40 Greek soldiers, who opened the gates of Troy to the main Greek force (who had sailed back under the cover of darkness), with disastrous consequences for Troy, transmuting (for the purpose of a pun) the "Foal of Troy" to the "Fall of Troy". Fall (πτώση) and Foal (πουλάρι) begin with the same letter in Greek and are spelled even more similarly in English. This would suggest that what actually happened was that the foal opened the gates, but it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy.

The debate in the comic, about the mission of the "Foal of Troy" and its impact on the city, reflects the debate in the Trojan Horse legend about the purpose of the horse statue and whether it was safe to accept it. The consequence of accepting the "Foal of Troy", a minor assault on the city's oat store, is accepted with indignation in the comic. In the legend, the potential consequences of accepting the horse statue were rejected or ignored until after it was too late. This is the etymology that caused the story to {{w|Trojan horse (malware)|lend its name to malware hidden as something innocuous}}.

It is unlikely that citizens of Asia Minor (modern Anatolia/Asiatic Turkey, where Troy is located) in the second millennium BCE would have been as ignorant about basic horse biology as they are shown to be in the comic. Their reputations are sacrificed for the sake of the joke. The Trojans incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
When the Greeks departed, they left behind a horse as a gift.

We took it as a gesture of peace, but it carried a secret payload.

One night, from within the horse, '''''another, smaller horse emerged!'''''

Our guards have been unable to determine the inner horse's objective, but it has begun to show an interest in our oats.

An attack on Troy's food supply!

How ''dare they!?''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T06:10:22Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: /* Explanation */ Maybe don't delete everything that has been added previously

{{comic
| number = 3098
| date = June 4, 2025
| title = Trojan Horse
| image = trojan_horse_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x196px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Ultimately, history would imperfectly record the story of the Foal of Troy.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic present a brief retelling of the {{w|Trojan_Horse|Trojan horse}} story, the climactic event of the legendary {{w|Trojan_War|Trojan war}}, one of the best-known epics of ancient Greece and Rome.

The joke, spelled out in the title text, is that the Trojan Horse story's origin is mundane. The gift to the Trojans by the (supposedly) departing Greek army, we are told, was a normal-sized, living, pregnant mare, which promptly dropped a foal. "History" expanded the tale until the live, normal-sized, pregnant mare became a colossal wooden statue that "dropped" a commando unit of some 40 Greek soldiers, who opened the gates of Troy to the main Greek force (who had sailed back under the cover of darkness), with disastrous consequences for Troy, transmuting (for the purpose of a pun) the "Foal of Troy" to the "Fall of Troy". Fall (πτώση) and Foal (πουλάρι) begin with the same letter in Greek and are spelled even more similarly in English. This would suggest that what actually happened was that the foal opened the gates, but it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy.

The debate in the comic, about the mission of the "Foal of Troy" and its impact on the city, reflects the debate in the Trojan Horse legend about the purpose of the horse statue and whether it was safe to accept it. The consequence of accepting the "Foal of Troy", a minor assault on the city's oat store, is accepted with indignation in the comic. In the legend, the potential consequences of accepting the horse statue were rejected or ignored until after it was too late. This is the etymology that caused the story to {{w|Trojan horse (malware)|lend its name to malware hidden as something innocuous}}.

It is unlikely that citizens of Asia Minor (modern Anatolia/Asiatic Turkey, where Troy is located) in the second millennium BCE would have been as ignorant about basic horse biology as they are shown to be in the comic. Their reputations are sacrificed for the sake of the joke. The Trojans incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
When the Greeks departed, they left behind a horse as a gift.

We took it as a gesture of peace, but it carried a secret payload.

One night, from within the horse, '''''another, smaller horse emerged!'''''

Our guards have been unable to determine the inner horse's objective, but it has begun to show an interest in our oats.

An attack on Troy's food supply!

How ''dare they!?''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T05:28:30Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: /* Transcript */ Fixed transcript placement

{{comic
| number = 3098
| date = June 4, 2025
| title = Trojan Horse
| image = trojan_horse_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x196px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Ultimately, history would imperfectly record the story of the Foal of Troy.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic is a parody of the {{w|Trojan Horse}} story. However, instead of an entire army coming out of the horse, it's just a baby horse (called a foal) coming out. The Troys incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this.

The title text suggests that the "Fall of Troy," i.e. the Greeks defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War, is actually a misunderstanding for the Foal of Troy, perhaps because Fall and Foal are spelled similarly. However, this is unlikely because the words (πτώση and πουλάρι) are not spelled similarly in Greek. (They start with the same letter, but they do not end with the same letter or share any internal letters (beyond sharing the same accent mark over different letters).) Also, it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
When the Greeks departed, they left behind a horse as a gift.

We took it as a gesture of peace, but it carried a secret payload.

One night, from within the horse, '''''another, smaller horse emerged!'''''

Our guards have been unable to determine the inner horse's objective, but it has begun to show an interest in our oats.

An attack on Troy's food supply!

How ''dare they!?''

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T05:27:59Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: /* Transcript */ Added dialogue text

{{comic
| number = 3098
| date = June 4, 2025
| title = Trojan Horse
| image = trojan_horse_2x.png
| imagesize = 740x196px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = Ultimately, history would imperfectly record the story of the Foal of Troy.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created by a BABY BOT INSIDE A BOT. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
This comic is a parody of the {{w|Trojan Horse}} story. However, instead of an entire army coming out of the horse, it's just a baby horse (called a foal) coming out. The Troys incorrectly assume the foal being hungry is an attack on the food supply because it wants to eat oats, but in reality, babies of any form need nourishment in order to grow.{{citation needed}} This indicates that the foal has been alive for long enough for its teeth to develop, so it will gradually wean itself off of its mother's milk, which is indicated by the fact that the foal has only ''begun'' to ''show an interest'' in Troy's oats. It is unclear why the people in the comic would only be suspicious of ''the foal'''s hunger, considering that its dam (mother) would also need to eat, just not as much, and they do not seem to be concerned with this. Also, it should be noted that some people are willing to spend money to buy horses even though they are aware that the horses need to eat.{{citation needed}} It is also unclear how Troy is unaware that this is normal thing for mares to do, considering that horses were common in much of Asia by this time,{{citation needed}} especially cities with militaries because cavaries were widespread at one point,{{citation needed}} and this is how all horses (and, for that matter, all members of most mammal species) are created.{{citation needed}} The people of Troy might just not know much about horses, considering that they also consider the foal to be a ''secret'' payload even though pregnant mares show externally visible signs of pregnancy (such as abdominal drooping) five months before foaling (giving birth) on average. However, as mentioned before, this raises the question of why Troy either does not use horses for things such as cavalry and plow-pulling or why its people do not know how horses are formed in spite of this.

The title text suggests that the "Fall of Troy," i.e. the Greeks defeating the Trojans in the Trojan War, is actually a misunderstanding for the Foal of Troy, perhaps because Fall and Foal are spelled similarly. However, this is unlikely because the words (πτώση and πουλάρι) are not spelled similarly in Greek. (They start with the same letter, but they do not end with the same letter or share any internal letters (beyond sharing the same accent mark over different letters).) Also, it is unclear how and why a foal that hadn't even been born yet when its dam was given to Troy would have opened the gates of Troy or otherwise accounted for other aspects of the story of the Fall of Troy.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>
When the Greeks departed, they left behind a horse as a gift.

We took it as a gesture of peace, but it carried a secret payload.

One night, from within the horse, '''''another, smaller horse emerged!'''''

Our guards have been unable to determine the inner horse's objective, but it has begun to show an interest in our oats.

An attack on Troy's food supply!

How ''dare they!?''

3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T05:05:02Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: /* Explanation */ Fixed missing closing parenthesis

3098: Trojan Horse

2025-06-05T05:04:40Z

2600:1700:31C0:9F50:7C02:96A6:2C8D:72B5: Undo revision 378893 by 2403:5801:D94F:0:A8B0:E9E2:3C7A:F4C3 (talk) I would not call that being spelled similarly.