Then Kalchas, the seer, summoned the army and advised them not to take the city by force. Instead, they should resort to a ruse. In the dream he had seen a hawk persecute a dove. When the dove found shelter in a crevice, the bird of prey hid in a shrubbery until the dove crept out again. Now it was easy for him to pack the pigeon. "Let's take this bird as a role model!" Kalchas concluded his speech.
The smart Odysseus finally had a cunning idea. They were to build a large wooden horse in which the noblest warriors should hide. By an apparent withdrawal of the army, the Troer should then be lured from their city. Immediately everyone was enthusiastic about the plan and the god Zeus himself gave his approval with a thunderbolt.
Then the Trojans saw with astonishment the departure of the enemy army from the battlements of their city. Full of unbelieving joy, they stormed out of town and walked down the square where the Greek camp once stood. And they stood in astonishment in front of the huge wooden horse. While it was still undecided what to do with it, Laocoon, the priest of Apollo, came under her. "What madness is driving you?" He said to them, "Do you really think the Greeks have left and their gift meant sincerely? Do not trust them and their present! "He hurled a spear at the horse, which shivered in the wood. There was an echo from the depths of the abdomen, like the clash of weapons. But the Trojans did not notice it in their delusion.
At that moment, the shepherds brought a Greek named Sonon and carried him before King Priam. He pleadingly raised his hands to the king and told him about his fate. The Greeks had decided to sacrifice it to secure a happy return from the gods. But he had managed to escape. His sobs were heard by the king, and he granted him asylum, unsuspecting that Sinon's story was a lie to gain their trust. And so he immediately declared that this horse was a consecration gift for the goddess Athena. It was therefore so great that the Trojans could not make it into their city, and then receive the protection of the goddess. If one were to do violence to the horse, then they were all certain of the revenge of the goddess. So cleverly Sinon said his words that the Trovers finally believed him.
To dispel even the last doubt, the goddess Athena herself intervened in the events. Two huge snakes came from the island of Tenedos and rushed to the bank altar of Poseidon, where Laocoon was preparing a sacrifice with his two sons. They shot at the boys, wrapped themselves around their bodies, and beat their poisonous teeth into their flesh. Laocoon hurried to help them, but he was also embraced by them and they all died terribly. The serpents themselves disappeared into the temple of Pallas Athena and so the Trojans no longer had any doubt about the protection of the horse.
