Who is sinon in greek mythology

According to these traditions, he allowed himself to be taken prisoner by the Trojans, after he had mutilated himself in such a manner as to make them believe that he had been ill-treated by the Greeks. He told the Trojans that he was hated by Odysseus, and had been selected by him to be sacrificed, because Apollo had ordered a human sacrifice to be offered, that the Greeks might safely depart from the coast of Troy, and added that he had escaped death by flight.

When he was asked what was the purport of the wooden horse, he told them that it had been constructed as an atonement for the Palladium which had been carried off, and that if the Trojans ventured to destroy it, their kingdom should fall, but that if they would draw it with their own hands into their own city, Asia would gain the supremacy over Greece.

In the Lesche at Delphi he was represented as a companion of Odysseus, carrying off the body of Laomedon. This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith, which is in the public domain.

Send comments , cite this article. Article created on Saturday, November 29, For this prowess, for having lured the enemy and have endured torture, for knowing how to tell lies, or for being able to keep a secret Sinon won much praise at the hour of victory. And they say that he cared much more for Fame than for his lost nose and ears, since they chant thus:.

For the wise and prudent man renown is better far than gold, than goodlihead, than all good things men have or hope to win. The Performer's make-up Others have said that Sinon, in order to perform his role properly, scarred his limbs with stripes, letting blood flow over his shoulders from wounds that he inflicted to his own body; for only then the Trojans would come closer to believe that he was the enemy of his own people.

In that shape, with weals all over, he appealed to Priam 1 as a suppliant, grovelling before the king's feet, touching his knees, and accusing the Achaeans for what they had done to Achilles from whom they snatched away his sweetheart Briseis ; for their pitiless ways when they abandoned the wounded Philoctetes ; for the treacherous framing of Palamedes , whom they slandered and stoned to death.

He could reproach the Achaeans many things, Sinon; he nevertheless put up with each and all of them. But when he came to himself, Sinon said that the Achaeans had punished him because he had refused to flee. It was then a brave man that now begged Priam 1 for mercy, arguing that if the king killed a suppliant, the Achaeans would rejoice. The shining brands Priam 1 pardoned him, but as others also say the king asked about the horse.

And here Sinon is reported to have answered:. Tryphiodorus, The Taking of Ilios On hearing that, Priam 1 ordered the horse to be taken into the city. But at night, the same Sinon showed his message with a shining brand. They say that he was not the only one signalling that night: also Helen displayed a torch from her chamber to her friends, who speedily returned either from Sigeum or from Tenedos, and coming in full armour into the city, slaughtered whomever they found, parents and children alike, in homes, streets, temples, or any other place, sacred or not..

Family Parentage. Pierre Grimal reports Aesimus as brother of Anticlia 1 , mother of Odysseus. In fact Lycophron, in his obscure Alexandra , calls Sinon cousin of Odysseus. Sources Abbreviations. The Trojans were ready to attack the Greek camp, but were met by Sinon and a giant wooden horse. The Trojans took him captive, and Sinon told them that wooden horse had been left behind as a gift to the Trojans and to the gods to ensure their safe voyage home.

He told them that the horse was made so big that the Trojans would not be able to move it into their city, because if they did they would be invincible to later Achaean invasion. His story convinced the Trojans because it included the former details as well as an explanation that he was left behind to die by the doing of Odysseus, who was his enemy.

Inside the giant wooden horse were Greek soldiers, who, as night fell, disembarked from the horse and opened the city gates, thus sealing the fate of Troy. He was also an Achaean spy who told the Greeks when the soldiers in the horse had begun their fight. Gods of Olympus Wiki Explore.