Palladium

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A tip from a captive Trojan encouraged the Greeks. Helenus had hoped to marry Helen after Paris’ death. When she was given to his brother Deiphobus instead, he got his revenge by revealing a secret vital to Troy’s survival. Troy could never fall so long as it was under the protection of the Palladium, an image of Pallas Athena said to have been cast down from heaven by the goddess herself.

The Greeks decided to steal the statue. Odysseus volunteered. Disguised as a beggar, he gained entrance to the city for reconnaissance. Eventually he slipped back outside the city, but Odysseus returned with Diomedes under the cover of darkness. The two entered the city through an unguarded drain. Between them they managed to remove the statue from the temple. They exited as they had entered. Troy lost its luck.