The Horse Symbol - Historum

**Richard Stanbery** · May 5th, 2009, 08:30 PM

I read somewhere ( a few places) that the horse, or the head of a horse, was an ancient symbol associated with the Phoenicians...And then we come to the legend of the Horse of Troy. Was the horse the city or cultural symbol of Troy?
Can we extrapolate that the city and culture of Troy was somehow associated with the Phoenician peoples?

Mus3 · May 6th, 2009, 08:12 AM

That would be a safe assumption, just from the the time range, and the fact that the Phoenicians were the most prolific traders at that time (selling purple dye to the Greeks) and sailors (sailing around South Africa before anyone else). So the seafaring nature of the people, and the trading can easily influence any of the surrounding nations.

Trevor Lane · May 6th, 2009, 08:18 AM

I've also read some stuff that says the horse was a spy/spies... who let the Greeks into the city not a literal giant wooden horse.

**Bucephalus** · May 6th, 2009, 09:27 AM

Why would anyone in their right mind want to use a horse's head as a symbol?

**Toltec** · May 6th, 2009, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Stanbery

Can we extrapolate that the city and culture of Troy was somehow associated with the Phoenician peoples?

With as much credibilty as we could extrapolate Troy was connected to the wessex culture of prehistoric britain, as they put horses on thier coins and hillsides.

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl...-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Mus3 · May 6th, 2009, 10:02 AM

Another Possibility is that They aquired the Horse through trade and became infatuated with it. The horse does come from that region of the world (Black Sea) (Cite: Guns, Germs, and Steel).

The Horse was domesticated around 3000 BCE in Ukraine and Kazakstan, and in 2000 BCE Many Horse bones were found in northwestern Europe. So while Phoenicians at least had trading say in the culture with coins etc, and trade items. The horse was most likely adopted through trade.

**Toltec** · May 6th, 2009, 10:41 AM

Horses were widespread throughout Europe from the end on the ice age, the
though they were hunted to extinction in many places, others they continued. In Uffington where the white horse is, prehistoric horses survived, so I doubt foreign influence.

Gerard. · May 6th, 2009, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toltec

With as much credibilty as we could extrapolate Troy was connected to the wessex culture of prehistoric britain

No kidding, this sound like Franks, Gauls and French kings also connected to Troy.

Gerard. · May 6th, 2009, 10:44 PM

In 2007, there was an exhibition in Paris about Phoenician, there is nothing about horses in the catalog. This legend of Troy was written by Homer, may be from another Middle East story where a general brought his soldiers in a city, these one hidden in bags hanging on donkeys. Homer himself could well been a legend created c. 500 BCE by Xenophanes & Herakleitos (Source: Trevor Bryce - The kingdom of the Hittites).

Gerard. · May 6th, 2009, 11:48 PM

It is say that the figure head on phenician boats was the head of a horse, others think this is more likely an hypocampe http://www.itinerairesbis.com/choix_...oaqua/hypo.htm