The Aeneid Book 2 Analysis

In The Aeneid Book II, Aeneas begins to tell the story of Troy’s downfall. The Greeks are depicted at first as the victims who were not victorious in the war against the Trojans. The Trojans think that they have retreated back to Greece, but this could not have been any further from the truth. Instead the Greeks sailed off to a nearby island called Tenedos. They left behind giant wooden horse which left the Trojans with mixed feelings at first. Sinon was a Greek that was chosen to be sacrificed by the Greeks but happened to escape during preparation. He also just happened to be left behind once the Greeks retreated to Tenedos. He informs the Trojans that if they bring this giant horse statute was meant to be an offering from the Greeks to Minerva and if they bring it into their city that they will be protected by Minerva and victorious in their next war. However, Sinon said that if the horse statute was destroyed that they will feel the wrath of Minerva. This left Trojans feeling uneasy because Lacoon told them that they should not trust anything or accept anything from the Greeks because he felt it was some type of warfare trickery. We know the Trojans start to question the Greeks’ motives because the in the text it is asked, “Do you believe the enemy have sailed away? Or think that any Grecian gifts are free of craft?”(Book II. 60-63) Some Trojans felt that they should bring the horse into the city and some felt that it should be destroyed. After
We start to view them as being very sneaky and we start to watch as their plan unfolds to attack Troy by surprise. Now the Trojans are now depicted as the victims from Aeneas perspective. Aeneas and the Trojans spared Sinon’s life and only tried to help him. In return, the Trojans are then depicted as being gullible and being completely taken advantage of, “Moved by tears, we granted him his life, and freely pitied him", (Book II.