The Trojan Horse is not in the Iliad. The Iliad ends with the death of Hector.
That Troy existed is beyond dispute. Troy is a fact. Probably the “Trojan War” which resulted in the city’s destruction is a fact, but that’s not as certain as the fact that Troy was a city.
Spot on. The Trojan Horse story is, in a way, a metaphorical Trojan Horse.