Caballo de Troya
Encyclopedia
Caballo de Troya is a novel
(the first of a series of nine so far) written in 1984 by Spanish
journalist
, writer and ufologist
Juan José Benítez
. It has reached considerable success in most Spanish-speaking countries as well as in Brazil
. To this date, however, it has not been translated into English
even though translations into Portuguese
, French
and Italian
already exist.
The plot of the book unveils the last period in the life of Jesus Christ as revealed through the first-hand experience of two pilots (or rather "timenauts"), members of a US Air Force top-secret military experimental project on time travel codenamed "Operation Trojan Horse", who in 1973 supposedly succeeded in travelling back in time to the land of Palestine
in the year 30 A.d.
A lengthy, detailed "technical" description of the time travel process ("inversion of quantum
swivel
s") is provided. The time-traveller and the time-travelling vehicle are said to have been wrapped by an artificial skin to avoid biological contamination. The Major, who becomes the narrator of the story, is codenamed "Jasón" during the mission, and has to learn fluent Aramaic and Greek
as a necessary skill to interact with people of this era and place during the mission, as well as other extensive training.
It is "revealed" that many of the amazing stories of eclipses, earthquakes after Jesus's death and his transfiguration were linked to extraterrestrial influences. Jesus's physical appearance is described as almost Nordic
, with hazel eyes and very tall (he is sometimes called "The Giant", physically and metaphorically in the book).
Even as the 1970s UFO mania has lost traction in Spanish-speaking countries, Benítez has retained solid sales and certain celebrity on the basis of his book series.
The following 8 sequels expand on the issued and reveal more detail. Caballo de Troya 9, Caná was published in Spain recently.
He wrote in his website that he first became interested in the "real" life of Jesus around that time, when a team of researchers said that the Shroud of Turin
showed traces of Jesus' body. These claims have later come under scrutiny, but the fact has not stopped the flow of new Caballo de Troya books.
The author has claimed the time-travel part of Caballo de Troya is fiction
, but that it contains "more truth than people think" suggesting, given he purports to be "a UFO researcher", that he might be claiming alien
contact. If Benítez had no further ambitions other than to remain confined within the realm of pure fiction, perhaps they would stand alone by whatever literary or imaginative merits they might have. But the author insists that most, if not all, events in his novels are real.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
(the first of a series of nine so far) written in 1984 by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, writer and ufologist
Ufology
Ufology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...
Juan José Benítez
J. J. Benítez
Juan José Benítez, born September 7, 1946, in the city of Pamplona, Navarre, is a Spanish author. He received a journalism degree from the University of Navarra in 1965 and started his work as a journalist in the newspaper La Verdad of Murcia in January 1966...
. It has reached considerable success in most Spanish-speaking countries as well as in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. To this date, however, it has not been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
even though translations into Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
already exist.
The plot of the book unveils the last period in the life of Jesus Christ as revealed through the first-hand experience of two pilots (or rather "timenauts"), members of a US Air Force top-secret military experimental project on time travel codenamed "Operation Trojan Horse", who in 1973 supposedly succeeded in travelling back in time to the land of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in the year 30 A.d.
Plot summary
The book is narrated as if it is a true report of how the author was approached by an unnamed retired US Air Force pilot, referred to as "The Major" throughout the book (Jasón in later books), who in an elaborated indirect way tells the author how to find classified documents telling the story of the Operation Trojan Horse, in which The Major took part as a time traveller sent to witness the last weeks of Jesus's life through a time-travelling device sent back in time by the US military in an Israel base in 1973.A lengthy, detailed "technical" description of the time travel process ("inversion of quantum
Quantum
In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete...
swivel
Swivel
A swivel is a connection that allows the connected object, such as a gun or chair, to rotate horizontally and/or vertically. A common design for a swivel is a cylindrical rod that can turn freely within a support structure. The rod is usually prevented from slipping out by a nut, washer or...
s") is provided. The time-traveller and the time-travelling vehicle are said to have been wrapped by an artificial skin to avoid biological contamination. The Major, who becomes the narrator of the story, is codenamed "Jasón" during the mission, and has to learn fluent Aramaic and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
as a necessary skill to interact with people of this era and place during the mission, as well as other extensive training.
It is "revealed" that many of the amazing stories of eclipses, earthquakes after Jesus's death and his transfiguration were linked to extraterrestrial influences. Jesus's physical appearance is described as almost Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
, with hazel eyes and very tall (he is sometimes called "The Giant", physically and metaphorically in the book).
Even as the 1970s UFO mania has lost traction in Spanish-speaking countries, Benítez has retained solid sales and certain celebrity on the basis of his book series.
The following 8 sequels expand on the issued and reveal more detail. Caballo de Troya 9, Caná was published in Spain recently.
He wrote in his website that he first became interested in the "real" life of Jesus around that time, when a team of researchers said that the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...
showed traces of Jesus' body. These claims have later come under scrutiny, but the fact has not stopped the flow of new Caballo de Troya books.
The author has claimed the time-travel part of Caballo de Troya is fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, but that it contains "more truth than people think" suggesting, given he purports to be "a UFO researcher", that he might be claiming alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
contact. If Benítez had no further ambitions other than to remain confined within the realm of pure fiction, perhaps they would stand alone by whatever literary or imaginative merits they might have. But the author insists that most, if not all, events in his novels are real.
List of volumes in "Caballo de Troya" series
- Caballo de Troya 1: Jerusalén (1984)
- Caballo de Troya 2: Masada (1986)
- Caballo de Troya 3: Saidan (1987)
- Caballo de Troya 4: Nazaret (1989)
- Caballo de Troya 5: Cesarea (1996)
- Caballo de Troya 6: Hermón (1999)
- Caballo de Troya 7: Nahum (2005)
- Caballo de Troya 8: Jordán (2006)
- Caballo de Troya 9: Caná (2011)
Influences
- There have been accusasions of plagiarism for a previous novel of his called La rebelión de Lucifer (Lucifer's insurrection). In that novel, the male main character (Sinuhé), who is a member of a secret society, learns and then teaches several revelations to the female protagonist. These revelations bare a lot of resemblance to those portrayed in The Urantia BookThe Urantia BookThe Urantia Book is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, Jesus, science, cosmology, religion, history, and destiny. It originated in Chicago, Illinois, sometime between 1924 and 1955...
. Later on, these two characters participate in an adventure in which the material from The Urantia Book becomes merely the location where the action takes place. Therefore, the novel itself is not plagiarized, but instead the material described in the revelations forms a foundation from which the plot of the novel develops.
External links
- Benítez official page on the series (in Spanish)