English Explanatory Dictionary

beware of Greeks bearing gifts

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. One should not trust one's enemies.

Word forms

beware of Greeks bearing gifts

Etymology

Alludes to the ancient story of the Trojan horse, a gift for the Trojans which secretly contained Greeks. The prototype of the phrase is found in a Latin phrase in the Aeneid, book 2, lines 48–49: equō nē 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.”)

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