History Trivia - Henry VIII installs bowling lanes at Whitehall

October 15

 70 BC, Virgil was born. He is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Roman Empire. 

1501 English crown prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon. 

1520 King Henry VIII of England ordered bowling lanes at Whitehall. 

Why we say: 'Beware the Greeks bearing gifts'

 

The military tactic, the Trojan Horse, was portrayed in the 2004 blockbuster Troy © Mg1408 | Dreamstime.com

The phrase is used to warn against possible deception by an adversary, but where does it originate?

For ten years, the city of Troy had been under siege from the armies of Greece, after the Trojan prince Paris eloped with - the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta. Or at least, that’s the myth.
Thousands had died in the decade-long war but the stone walls of Troy remained impenetrable. With the two sides at stalemate, the Greek warrior king Odysseus hatched a cunning plan.
A giant wooden horse was built and left at the gates of Troy and the Greek ships sailed out of sight. The Trojans, believing the war was over, saw the horse as an offering to the gods and as a gift of peace so wheeled it into the city and celebrated their victory. This is exactly what Odysseus wanted – once the Trojans had all gone to sleep – many of them blind drunk – a host of armed soldiers crept out from the belly of the horse and opened the city gates. Troy was overrun and destroyed and the ‘Trojan Horse’ became revered as one of the most successful military tactics ever.
In Virgil’s epochal version of events, Aeneid, there was one voice of reason among the Trojans who distrusted the Greeks. A priest named Laocoon pleaded against accepting the gift and bringing the horse into the city, declaring, “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes” – roughly translated, as “I fear the Greeks, even those bearing gifts.” It was adapted over the years to the expression we have today.
But, as the story goes, Laocoon and his sons were strangled by two large serpents, sent by the gods. The Trojans saw this as a sign that the priest was wrong, and the horse was a sincere gesture of peace.

History Extra

History Trivia - King Henry VIII of England orders bowling lanes at Whitehall

October 15

70 BC, Virgil was born. He is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Roman Empire.

533 Byzantine general Belisarius made his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.

1389 Pope Urban VI died. The election of Urban sparked the Western Schism, which lasted nearly 40 years.

1501 English crown prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon.

1520 King Henry VIII of England ordered bowling lanes at Whitehall.

1537 Prince Edward Tudor was baptized.

History Trivia - Richard I the Lion hearted captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria

Sept 21

 19 BC Virgil, the great Roman poet, died in Rome at age 50.

454 AD Falvius Actius, Roman general and statesman was born.

1192 Richard I the Lion hearted was captured near Vienna by Leopold V, Duke of Austria who accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat.

1327 Edward II of England was murdered by order of his wife Isabella, daughter of King Philip IV of France.



 

History Trivia - Henry VIII orders bowling lanes at Whitehall

October 15

70 BC, Virgil was born. He is considered to be one of the greatest poets of the Roman Empire. 5

33 Byzantine general Belisarius made his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.

1389 Pope Urban VI died. The election of Urban sparked the Western Schism, which lasted nearly 40 years.

1501 English crown prince Arthur married Catherine of Aragon.

1520 King Henry VIII of England ordered bowling lanes at Whitehall.

1537 Prince Edward Tudor was baptized.

History Trivia - Richard the Lionheart is captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria

Sept 21

19 BC Virgil, the great Roman poet, died in Rome at age 50.

 454 AD Falvius Actius, Roman general and statesman was born.

1192 Richard I the Lion hearted was captured near Vienna by Leopold V, Duke of Austria who accused Richard of arranging the murder of his cousin Conrad of Montferrat.

1327 Edward II of England was murdered by order of his wife Isabella, daughter of King Philip IV of France.

1435 An agreement between Charles VII of France and Philip the Good ended the partnership between the English and Burgundy in the Hundred Years' War.

1745 A Jacobite army under 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' defeated government forces at the Battle of Prestonpans.