The Trojan Horse Being Dragged into the City of Troy

The source of this engraving was a design by Francesco Primaticcio, an Italian Mannerist who worked at Fountainebleu. It represents a scene from the Trojan War, which was recounted in the Aeneid, an epic by Virgil. The Trojans found a wooden horse that had been left as an offering to their gods outside the gates of Troy. Thinking that after 10 years the Greeks must surely have lifted their siege of the city and departed, the Trojans decided that it was safe to bring the horse into the city. However, that night the Greek soldiers who had hidden themselves inside the horse opened the gates for their compatriots and invaded Troy.