The Fate of the Trojans
The British trace their heritage back to Troy, as do most other European nations. According to the Aeneid, Rome was founded by the remnants of the fallen Troy. Even the Scandinavians have some connection to Troy's descendents, as the Norse gods are given Trojan counterparts in the Prose Edda.
This explains my observation in reading Shakespeare that the characters would often reference the Trojan heroes - not the Greek heroes - from Homer's epics; the British are simply appealing to the greatness of their ancestors.
The fate of Troy was to fall to the Trojan Horse. Troy's walls were impenetrable, and they successfully defended themselves against the Greeks for almost a decade. They were only defeated by trickery; they unknowingly invited the enemy inside their walls and were destroyed from within.
The posterity of Troy's heroes seem to be repeating their mistakes. Western nations, despite enjoying the best militaries, economies, and technologies, are inviting their conquerors inside their walls. They see only the horse, and they don't even realize Diomedes is crouched within, eagerly awaiting his moment of triumph over the drunken revelers of a soon-to-be failed society.
Are all those who claim Trojan origin destined to share their fate?
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