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

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

From the Aeneid (canto 2, v. 15 ff.) by the Roman poet Virgil (Publius Virgil Maro, 70-19 BC), who made a Latin transcription of an episode from the poem "Odyssey" legendary poet Ancient Greece Homer (IX century BC).

The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, decided to go for a trick: they built a huge wooden horse, inside which the best warriors hid. They left this building at the walls of the city, and they themselves pretended to leave the city, and boarded the ships that were on the Troad River. The townspeople went 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 cunning of the enemy, 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 came out of the horse's belly, 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 Laocoön 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 and they slew him. This scene is captured in the famous ancient Greek sculpture (1st century BC) of three masters - Agesander, Athenodorus and Polydorus.

Allegorically: a warning against any gift, any concessions from the enemy.

encyclopedic Dictionary winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

See what "I'm afraid of the Danes, even those who bring gifts" in other dictionaries:

See I'm afraid of the Danes, even those who bring gifts. Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. Moscow: Locky Press. Vadim Serov. 2003 ...

Greek gift. Trojan horse The expression is used in the meaning: insidious gifts that bring 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 winged words and expressions

The expression is used in the meaning: 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 a trick: they built a huge ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Greek gift

Greek gift- only pl., sustainable combination, bookstore Insidious gifts that bring death to those who receive them. Etymology: From the Greek Danaoi ‘Danaans’. Encyclopedic commentary: Danans 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! it means: I am afraid of the Danes, even when they come with gifts. But here, yours, you deign to see not the Danaans, but devoted subordinates (speech of the Vice ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary

Trojan horse- wing. sl. Greek gift. Trojan horse The expression is used in the meaning: insidious gifts that bring 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 quotations related to Latin proverbs In many languages ​​​​of the world, including ... Wikipedia

- (Greek Danaói) the name of the most 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 near the walls of the city, inside which ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

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

Often while watching a movie or news, you can hear famous expression: "Fear the Danes who bring gifts." The meaning, however, of this phrase is not entirely clear. Who are the Danaans and why should one be so wary of their gifts? The fact is that the expression is already more than one thousand years old, and therefore modern man does not understand the meaning. However, to understand the meaning of the phrase, it is enough to recall the ancient legends.

The myth of Troy and the very gift of the Danaans

The existence of the once majestic Troy, the Danes and their "gift" became known to modern man from Homer's poem "The Iliad". However, the expression "Fear the Danes who bring gifts" can still be found in the work of another Greek poet - Virgil. Both of them retell the same myth about the siege and capture of the city of Troy. The legend is so instructive that the phrase from it simply could not help but become winged.

So what happened in Ancient Greece that people remember this event to this day? In the 13th century BC, between the Danaans (ancient Greeks descended from the mythical king Danae) and the Teucres (inhabitants of Troy and Hittite kingdom) war broke out. The reason for this is the love of young Paris for the beautiful Helen, whom he stole from the king of the Danaans, Menelaus. Tom had no choice but to go to war against Troy. According to myth, the siege ancient city lasted more than one year, but the inhabitants steadfastly held the line. Everything changed when the Danes decided to go to the trick.

So, one morning the Trojans saw that there were no Danaans. They also noticed a beautiful statue of a horse left by the besiegers as a gift. They decided that the enemy admitted defeat and admired the courage and stamina of the unconquered Troy. The statue was so large that it was necessary to open the gate and dismantle part of the fortress wall in order to bring it into the city. No one suspected anything, except for the priest Lacoon. It was he, according to the myth, who said as a warning: "Beware of the Danaans who bring gifts." Nobody listened to him, and at night the Danaans hiding inside the horse opened the gates with their fellow tribesmen. Thus fell majestic Troy.

And what does it all mean?

More than one thousand years have passed since then, but in different time these words could be heard. And not only in personal correspondence and fiction but also in entertainment films. So, in the popular Hollywood action movie "The Rock" the hero utters this very phrase in response to the suggestion of the FSB officers. What did he mean by this? The same as others when they say: "Fear the Danes who bring gifts." The meaning of this phrase for modern man enclosed in the following. Today, such gifts are synonymous with deceit, treachery and deceit. Most often, the expression is used when they want to protect themselves from false gifts that bring only misfortunes and troubles to the new owner. Quite often, the phrase is not fully pronounced, speaking only about the gifts themselves or the Danes, because it is already clear what was meant.

History teaches nothing

Although the myth of the capture of Troy was told by Virgil and Homer as a warning to posterity, a similar story was repeated over and over again. Moreover, the "Trojan horse" was given more than once even to the highest-ranking officials. So, in order to organize a tapping of the American Embassy, ​​one of its employees was presented with a magnificent wooden eagle. With its help, the KGB for 6 years freely received information, so to speak, first-hand, until they accidentally found a bug inside it during cleaning. And it was in the middle of the 20th century.

And this is far from the only case when the insidious gifts of the Danaans were presented as a gift. How many times unwanted members royal families received poisoned clothes and food that killed them slowly and imperceptibly. With the advent of intelligence and counterintelligence, the expression "Fear the Danes who bring gifts" has become even more relevant. All friendly gifts were carefully checked, but this, as history has shown, did not always save.

And what about computers?

But who is familiar not only from legends, but also to active computer users. And the fact is that often users are prompted to download to their HDD an interesting file (most often a video or a game), and a virus program is also loaded with it. True, it is very similar to the gift of the Danes? As a result, the attacker gains access to the information of interest to him or uses the program to send spam. The owner himself may not suspect anything.

Of course, you can follow the advice: "Beware of the Danes who bring gifts" - and not upload unverified information to your computer. However, this is not always possible. Much easier and more convenient to install a special antivirus program so that no "Trojan horse" gets in. Good antivirus not only rejects suspicious files, but also cures already infected ones.

Instead of a conclusion

Sometimes a phrase taken out of context takes on a completely different meaning, especially over time. And the expression "Fear the Danes who bring gifts" (Latin: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes) still reminds of the deceit of people.

Attention, only TODAY!

". It is used when a gift or good deed represents potential danger for the recipient of this imaginary help.

A source

Aut hoc inclusi ligno occultantur Achivi,
aut haec in nostros fabricata est machina muros,
inspectura domos venturaque desuper urbi,
aut aliquis late error; equo ne credite, Teucri.
quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. Or the prisoners in this hide the tree of Ahiva,
Or was this mass created for the destruction of our walls,
To watch the houses and fall down on the city from above,
Or here another deceit is hidden: do not believe the horse, O Tevkry.
Whatever is here I'm afraid of Danaev and those who bring gifts! (translated by Valery Bryusov and Sergey Solovyov)

Options

• Be afraid of the Danes who bring gifts

Often used derivatives of this phrase in Russian:

• Fear the Danes
• Greek gift

Usage examples

• I'm bored, dear Asmodeus, I'm sick, I want to write - but I'm not myself. I care about you: Gnedich wants to buy the second edition of Ruslan from me and Caucasian prisoner- but timeo danaos, t.s. I'm afraid he won't treat me the way he used to. I promised him a preface - but the prose makes me sick. A. S. Pushkin - P. A. Vyazemsky, 19. VHI 1823 (PSS, g. 10, p. 63).

• The lieutenant-governor stood up and, when everything was silent, said:

Your Excellency! one ancient said: Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes! This means: I am afraid of the Danes even when they come with gifts ... An approving whisper is heard all around; the adviser to Zvenigorodtsev turns pale, because "Timeo Danaos" was included in his speech; he considers how to replace this quotation with another: "sit venia verbo"; the operator of the medical council in an undertone explains to his neighbor: “timeo - I'm afraid, but I'm not afraid; et dona ferentes - and the gifts of those who bring, and not "even when they come with gifts"; consequently, “I am afraid of the Danes and those who bring gifts” - this is how it should be truly translated. But the vice-governor does not hear this malicious explanation and, encouraged by the general attention, continues: - ... with gifts. But here, Your Excellency, you deign to see not "Danaans" who come to you with gifts, but subordinates devoted to you, bringing you - and not the gifts that the ancient one speaks of - but the gifts of your heart. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, Pompadours and pompadours (SS, 1, 8, pp. 18-19).

• This phrase is used in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (chapter XXIII, M. de Treville's speech).
• One of the episodes of the series "Xena - Warrior Princess" is called "Fear the Greeks who bring gifts." The events of the series take place at the end

Greek gift
Greek gift. Trojan horse
The expression is used in the meaning: 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 a trick: they built a huge wooden horse, left it at the walls of Troy, and pretended to swim away from the coast of the Troad. The priest Laocoön, 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, who hid inside the horse, went out, killed the guards, opened the city gates, let in their comrades who returned on ships, and thus captured Troy (Homer's Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid). Virgil's half-line "I'm afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts", often quoted in Latin: "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes", has become a proverb. From here arose the expression "Trojan horse", used in the meaning: a secret, insidious plan.

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• Dictionary of winged words and expressions

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• - Ryaz. Give gifts to the newlyweds after the wedding. DC, 136...
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I'm afraid of the Danes, even those who bring gifts

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

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

From the Aeneid (canto 2, v. 15 et seq.) by the Roman poet Virgil(Publius Virgil Maron, 70-19 BC), who made a Latin transcription 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 go for a trick: they built a huge wooden horse, inside which the best warriors hid. This building was left at the walls of the city, and they themselves pretended to leave the city and plunged into the ships that stood on the Troad River. The townspeople went 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 the cunning of the enemy, exclaimed: "Quidquid idest, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes"[quidquid id est, timeo danaos et dona farentes] - "Whatever it is, I'm afraid of the Danaans, who bring gifts further!"

At night, the Danaan warriors came out of the horse's belly, 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 Laocoön 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 to Laocoön and his sons, and they killed him. This scene is captured in the famous ancient Greek sculpture (1st century BC) of three masters - Agesander. Athenodorus and Polydorus.

Allegorically: a warning against any gift, any concessions from the enemy.

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