Gifts of the Danaans meaning and origin of phraseology. The meaning of the phraseological unit “Fear the Danaans who bring gifts

Fear the Danaans who bring gifts

It is known that the hero of the famous Odyssey, a poem by the legendary ancient Greek poet Homer, wandered for ten years in search of his homeland, Ithaca. On his way home from Troy, Odysseus managed to swim across half of the Mediterranean Sea, and even managed to visit Africa. He survived many dangerous adventures and trials. From all the drinks of his journey he emerged victorious.

He wanted to breed fine-fleeced sheep and went to get its golden fleece. And ended up near Ithaca,
The island of Ithaca (more precisely, Ithaca) still exists today. . It is located off the west coast of Greece. But although this island is considered the birthplace of Odysseus, many very much doubt that this is exactly the island that Homer described. The present, false Ithaca is not suitable for a kingdom, but at best for a poor state farm. But let's leave the story of Odysseus for now. We will talk about cunning and deceit.

It was Odysseus who advised to put the Greek warriors on a wooden horse, and to give the horse along with the Greek “special forces” to the Trojans. The Trojans liked the horse. And they decided to drag the Trojan horse into their fortress.

The legend of the Trojan Horse is well known and tenacious like no other. The Trojan horse was once that gift, an insidious trick of the Greeks to destroy Troy. And today Germany received free cheese in the European mousetrap. Genetics so to speak. History repeated itself. There is no greatness - only devastation, a hole in the pocket and the ruins of Ancient Greece remain. But they warned that free cheese is only in a mousetrap. And Laocoon warned, and so did Cassandra. But the gods on Olympus are cunning and treacherous. Cassandra was glorified as a city madwoman, and Laocoon as a great sinner and unhearing person.

Laocoon (Laocoon) in Greek mythology, Trojan soothsayer. When the Trojans, in bewilderment and indecision, looked at the wooden horse left by the Achaeans and many did not want to refuse the gift, but then they decided that they did not look a gift horse in the mouth and decided to bring it into the city. Laocoon vehemently objected to this, warning his compatriots against the treachery of the Greeks.

Laocoon, the Trojan priest of Apollo, shares the same opinion with Cassandra about the wooden horse of the Greeks. Laocoon even plunges his spear into the side of the Trojan horse: inside the wooden belly the weapons of the enemies hidden there ring out, but the blindness of the Trojans is so great that they do not pay attention to it. According to the Roman poet Virgil, Laocoon, hearing the sound of Greek weapons behind the horse's wooden flanks, said:

Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes—
“Whatever it is, I am afraid of the Danaans [i.e. Greeks], even when they bring gifts.”

Laocoon, throwing a spear at a wooden horse, went to the sea to make a sacrifice to Poseidon on the seashore. I decided not to sin before the gods anymore. And I really sinned when I married without their blessing. And he took his sons with him. Suddenly, along the motionless surface of the waters, two huge snakes are heading towards the Trojan shore from Tenedos. Each one holds its hissing mouth and neck above the water; their huge bodies wriggle in huge rings along the foamed surface of the water. They quickly swam to the shore. With fiery, bloodshot eyes, wriggling, they rushed to the shore. The Trojans turned pale with fear and fled. The snakes rushed straight at Laocoon, near whom both of his sons stood. They wrapped themselves around the little ones and terribly began to bite their members. They wrapped themselves in their scaly rings around their father, who came running to the rescue with weapons; They wrapped themselves twice around Laocoon’s chest, twice around Laocoon’s neck, and both raised their mouths full of blood and poison high above his head. Just as a sacrificial ox, having already been struck by a sacrificial knife, screams as it runs away from the altar, so screams the suffering Laocoön and tries in vain to free himself from the terrible embrace. The monsters left their victims lifeless at the altar, hurried to the temple of Athena and hid under her shield.

Laocoon by El Greco

Once upon a time, Apollo forbade Laocoon, who was his priest, to marry and have children, but Laocoon violated the ban and, moreover, met his wife in the very temple of Apollo (on the Trojan plain). For this he was punished by God. Although Apollo was handsome, and loved women, and played the flute divinely, he did not tolerate unruly, disobedient people. And he punished mortals as gods should - cruelly.

Full of fear, the Trojans looked at this terrible sight and saw in it the punishment of the angry Athena to Laocoon for desecrating the gift dedicated to the goddess with a criminal spear. Seeing the death of Laocoon, they all shouted: “Drag the horse into the city! Place it in the acropolis, in the temple of Athena, so that the offended goddess will soften her anger!” And so the Trojans break through the walls - the gates were too narrow - and, impatient, drag the wooden monster into the city. The youths and maidens see him off with sacred songs and rejoice when they manage to touch with their hands the rope on which the Trojan men dragged so much grief to the city. Four times the horse stopped in the gap, four times the Achaean weapon shook in its belly, the Trojans did not notice this, in their blindness they did not pay attention to it, and with double zeal they continued to drag the fatal gift of the Danaans and finally dragged it to the acropolis.

Cassandra alone saw the danger and opened her lips to proclaim her grief.

Cassandra was the most beautiful of the daughters of the last king of Troy. God Apollo, who sought an alliance with Cassandra, gave her the gift of prediction. She herself asked him about it and promised to be his wife. The princess was flattered by the attention of the Arrowhead. However, she also knew her own worth, and therefore led the loving god by the nose for quite a long time. But the day came when he demanded a direct answer. And Cassandra deceived Apollo and did not agree to be his wife. And since it is indecent for a god to take back his gifts, the angry Apollo decided that although Cassandra would foretell the truth in her predictions, no one would believe Cassandra’s predictions.

Cassandra warns the Trojans. Engraving by Bernard Picart.

So here it is: from love to hate there is one step. Who knows what exactly Cassandra suddenly saw. Perhaps the imminent betrayal of her not very reliable admirer or a fate even more unenviable than the one that ultimately befell her.

Artist Cerrini-apollo.

One way or another, the groom received a decisive refusal. “Just kisses, cold, peaceful.” Therefore, the Trojans did not believe the city madwoman. Moreover, Cassandra did not die by natural causes. She was killed.

Since Cassandra predicted only misfortunes, Priam ordered her to be locked in a tower, where she could only mourn the coming disasters of her homeland. During the siege of Troy, she almost became the wife of the hero Ophrioneus, who vowed to defeat the Greeks, but he was killed in battle by the Cretan king Idomeneo. Sometimes you know the truth, but it would be better to remain silent.

Everyone knows from school: the Trojan War began because of a woman. At the same time, the majority believes that this woman is Elena the Beautiful. But if you look into the depths of centuries, it will be revealed that the elder sister of the named person, Clytemnestra, provoked a long-term conflict... She later killed Cassandra. All issues were resolved simply: he came, he saw, he killed.

Let's skip the story of Menelaus' adventures. Clytemnestra needed to take revenge on her second husband Agamemnon for the murder of her first.

Our heroine’s first plan was not carried out - Agamemnon survived. Moreover, he returned at the zenith of military glory. Yes, not alone, but with a trophy in the form of the beautiful Cassandra. Oh gods, there are no limits to your cruel fantasies!

Clytemnestra could no longer bear such a turn of events. The Avenger came to what she could have started with many years ago - a sharpened dagger.

At night, Helen's older sister killed Agamemnon and Cassandra. Now she could afford it, because during her husband’s absence she managed to acquire a protector, and also a lover, Aegisthus. The latter, by the way, was Agamemnon’s long-time rival in the struggle for power in Mycenae.

But for everything in life you have to pay. Only seven years after the death of her husband, our heroine shared her bed and power with Aegisthus. In the eighth year, the couple fell victim to Orestes, the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. The young man avenged the death of his beloved parent.

So the cunning plan of revenge returned to Clytemnestra like a striking boomerang. Clytemnestra lost in everything. She did not even gain posthumous fame - now she is remembered only as Elena's sister.

Orestes kills Aegisthus (detail of the relief “Orestes kills Aegisthus and Clytemnestra”)

“Fear the Danaans who bring gifts” (translation into Latin: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes) - do not trust your enemies, beware of deceit
Synonyms: “Trojan Horse”, “Free cheese only comes in a mousetrap”,

The expression owes its appearance to the ancient Greek poet and thinker Homer, who told in the poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey” about the Trojan War and the life and adventures of one of its heroes - Odysseus.

In particular, Homer talks about the military stratagem used by the “Danaans” to capture Troy. For ten years they waged an unsuccessful siege of the city, until the cunning Odysseus proposed to build a giant horse, hide the bravest warriors in its belly and leave it in front of the walls of Troy as a supposed gift to its defenders. The Trojans led the horse inside, at night the Danaans left the shelter, opened the gates, and Troy fell.

Odysseus, canto eight

“Now about the wooden horse,
Wonderful creation of Epeos with the help of the maiden Pallas,
Sing to us how he was cunningly brought into the city by Odysseus,
Full of leaders who finally crushed Saint Ilion.
... and Demodocus, filled with God, sang:
He began with this, like everyone else on their strong-built ships
The Danae sailed into the sea, sacrificing them to the fire.
His abandoned camp, like the first men of them with Odysseus
They were left in Troy, locked in a horse's womb,
How the Trojans finally opened the gate to the horse.
He stood in the city; around, undecided in their thoughts, they sat
Trojan people, there were three opinions among them:
Or pierce and destroy the mass with destructive copper,
Or, having rolled her to the castle, thrown her off the cliff,
Or leave among Ilion as a peace offering
To the Eternal Gods: everyone agreed to the last...
Afterwards he sang how the Achaean men burst into the city,
He opened the belly of the horse and ran out of the dark crypt;
How, enraged, each one ravaged the city in his own way...”

Homer

The great ancient Greek storyteller and poet is believed to have lived in the 8th century BC. Although no one can name the exact dates of his birth and death, or even the place of birth. However, according to Wikipedia, there is generally no reliable information about the real existence of Homer. It is even suggested that the Iliad and the Odyssey could have been created by different people. Nevertheless, since humanity does not live by the truth, which is sometimes impossible to get to the bottom of, but by myths, the personality of Homer has turned into a myth, which is more alive and durable than all the truths combined.

“He walked along the coastal path, trodden along the slopes of the hills. His open forehead, cut by deep wrinkles, was tied with a red woolen ribbon. The wind from the sea blew gray curly hair at his temples. The lower part of his face seemed to be covered with snow-white flakes of beard. His tunic and bare feet took on the color of the roads he had walked along for so many years. A rough lyre hung from his belt at his side. They called him the Old Man, he was also called the Singer, and many gave him the name Blind, because his pupils, dim from old age, were covered with eyelids, swollen and stained by the smoke of the hearths, where he usually sat down when he began to sing... For three human generations he walked continuously he goes from city to city" (Anatole France "Kim singer")

I'm afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts

From Latin: Timeo danaos et dona ferentes [timeo danaos et dona ferentes].

From the “Aeneid” (canto 2, art. 15 et seq.) by the Roman poet Virgil (Publius Virgil Maro, 70-19 BC), who made a Latin adaptation of an episode from the poem “Odyssey” by the legendary poet of Ancient Greece Homer (IX century . BC.).

The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, decided to use a trick: they built a huge wooden horse, inside which the best warriors hid.

They left this structure near the walls of the city, and they themselves pretended to leave the city and boarded ships stationed on the Troas River. The townspeople came out to the deserted shore and dragged this horse into the city, despite the warnings of the prophetess Cassandra and the priest Laocoon, who, knowing about the enemy’s cunning, exclaimed: “Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes” [quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona farentes] - “Whatever it is, I’m afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts!”

At night, the Danaan warriors emerged from the belly of the horse, killed the guards at the city gates and let their comrades into Troy, who managed to return to the city on their ships. Troy was taken.

And the priest Laocoon paid for his warnings: the goddess Pallas Athena, who helped the Danaans in this war (with her help they built their horse), sent huge poisonous snakes against Laocoon and his sons, and they killed him. This scene is depicted in the famous ancient Greek sculpture (1st century BC) by three masters - Agesander, Athenodorus and Polydorus.

Allegorically: a warning against any gift, any concessions from the enemy. Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”

. Vadim Serov. 2003.

See what “I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts” means in other dictionaries:

See: I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts. Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. M.: Locked Press. Vadim Serov. 2003 ... Greek gift. Trojan horse The expression is used to mean: insidious gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to... ...

Dictionary of popular words and expressions Greek gift. Trojan horse The expression is used to mean: insidious gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to... ...

Greek gift- plural only, stable combination, book. Insidious gifts that bring death with them to those who receive them. Etymology: From Greek Danaoi ‘Danaans’. Encyclopedic commentary: Danaans are the name of the most ancient Greek tribes that inhabited the region... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

Wed. Your Excellency! one ancient said: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes! this means: I am afraid of the Danaans, even when they come with gifts. But here, your opinion, you deign to see not the Danaans, but devoted subordinates (speech by the vice... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary

Trojan horse- wing. sl. Greek gift. Trojan horse The expression is used to mean: insidious gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy,... ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

Wikiquote has a page on the topic Latin proverbs In many languages of the world, including ... Wikipedia

- (Greek Danaói) the name of the ancient Greek tribes that inhabited Argos; in the Homeric epic D. is one of the names of the Greeks who besieged Troy (See Troy). According to legend, D., having lifted the siege of Troy, left a wooden horse at the walls of the city, inside of which... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

This term has other meanings, see Troy (meanings). Troy Troy ... Wikipedia

Greek gift

The expression is used to mean: insidious gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to cunning: they built a huge...
Greek gift. Trojan horse
The expression is used to mean: insidious gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to cunning: they built a huge wooden horse, left it near the walls of Troy, and themselves pretended to sail away from the shore of the Troas. Priest Laocoon, seeing this horse and knowing the tricks of the Danaans, exclaimed: “Whatever it is, I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts!” But the Trojans, not listening to the warnings of Laocoon and the prophetess Cassandra, dragged the horse into the city. At night, the Danaans, hiding inside the horse, came out, killed the guards, opened the city gates, let in their comrades who had returned on ships, and thus took possession of Troy (Homer’s “Odyssey”, Virgil’s “Aeneid”). Virgil’s hemistich “I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts,” often quoted in Latin: “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes,” has become a proverb. This is where the expression “Trojan horse” arose, used to mean: a secret, insidious plan.

Allegorically: a warning against any gift, any concessions from the enemy. Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”

See what “Gifts of the Danaans” are in other dictionaries:

GIFT, a, pl. Shy, ov, m. Ozhegov’s Explanatory Dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

GREEK GIFT- The expression used in the meaning of gifts should be feared, because they are fraught with death for those who accept them. It arose from the legendary tales of the Trojan War. The Danaans (Greeks), in order to penetrate the besieged Troy, built a huge... ... Dictionary of political terms

Book Disapproved Treacherous gifts brought with a treacherous purpose. BTS, 239. /i> Goes back to ancient Greek mythology. BMS 1998, 144 145 ... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Greek gift- book. , unapproved treacherous gifts brought with a treacherous purpose. An expression from the Iliad: in the legend, the Greeks took Troy by building a huge wooden horse and giving it to the Trojans. A squad of warriors was hidden inside the horse... Phraseology Guide

Greek gift- About a gift that causes evil, bringing death to someone. (from Virgil’s Aeneid, a story about a wooden horse given to the Trojans by the Danaans, the Greeks who fought with them, inside which there was a detachment of Greek warriors who opened the gates of Troy to their troops) ... Dictionary of many expressions

Dictionary of popular words and expressions

Danaan gifts- gifts that bring misfortune. In the cycle of myths about the Trojan War, there is a tale about how the Greeks (called Danaans in these myths), after a long siege of Troy, despaired of taking the city by force and decided to resort to cunning. They pretended to take off... ... Historical reference book of Russian Marxist

See what “I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts” means in other dictionaries: Greek gift. Trojan horse The expression is used to mean: insidious gifts that bring with them death for those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to... ...

Books

Chronautics. Book one. Gifts of the Danaans, Arseny Stanislavovich Mironov. The book "Chronautics" is a concept novel for a new generation of readers: exciting psychologism and a sharp plot are multiplied by historical accuracy. The main character is a very gifted Russian...

The meaning of the phraseological unit “Gifts of the Danaans”.

A gift that brings death to the one who receives it

Where did the phraseological unit come from? "Greek gift", and who are these same Danaans? This is the name given to representatives of the ancient Greek tribe, who began to call themselves this way in honor of their ancestor Danae.
A long time ago, the Greeks besieged Troy, a city in Asia Minor. For a whole decade, the rebellious Trojans did not want to give up. Then, on the advice of the cunning Odysseus, the Danaans decided to deceive the besieged. They built a huge wooden horse, inside which a detachment of the best Greek warriors was located. The Greeks left the statue on the coast, and they themselves boarded ships and pretended to sail away.
The residents of Troy did not suspect anything was wrong. Only the fortuneteller Cassandra and the wise Laocoon sensed a catch, but their persuasion not to drag the horse into the city was unsuccessful. As a result, under the cover of darkness, the scouts left their hiding place, approached the city gates and opened them, and the rest of the Greek army, returning on ships, was waiting outside.
These events were immortalized in his work by the Roman poet Virgil. There Laocoon, warning the Trojans, said the following words: “Be that as it may, I fear the Danaans, even if they bring gifts.”
Since then expression "gifts of the Danaans" came to mean flattery, hypocritical gifts and all kinds of false and deceitful ingratiation.
Along with this phrase, there is the phrase “Trojan horse,” which means an insidious, cunning plan.

Example:(During the unsuccessful siege of Troy by the Danaans, they finally decided to take Troy by cunning. Having built a large wooden horse and leaving it at the gates of the city, the Danaans pretended to accept defeat and sail away from the shore of the Troas. The Trojans did not listen to the warnings of the prophetess

Cassandra and the priest Laocoon, dragging the horse. The Danaans, hiding inside the horse, killed all the guards at night and opened the city gates. As a result, Troy fell).