beware of Greeks bearing gifts

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English

Etymology

Alludes to the ancient story of the Trojan horse, a gift for the Trojans which secretly contained Greeks.[1] The prototype of the phrase is found in a Latin phrase in the Aeneid, book 2, lines 48–49: equō crēdite, Teucrī. / Quidquid id est, timeō Danaōs et dōna ferentēs. (Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even bearing gifts.)

Proverb

beware of Greeks bearing gifts

  1. One should not trust one's enemies.

References

  1. ^ Gary Martin (1997–) “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, in The Phrase Finder, retrieved 29 December 2016.