How the War with Troy Began

Once upon a time there was a certain King of Sparta who had a most beautiful daughter, Helen by name. There was not a prince in Greece who did not wish to marry her. The King said to them, “Now you must all swear that you will be good friends with the man whom my daughter shall choose for her husband, and that if anyone is wicked enough to steal her away from him, you will help him get her back.”And this they did. Then the Fair Helen chose a prince whose name was Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, who reigned in Mycenea, and was the chief of all the Kings of Greece. After a while, Helen’s father died, and her husband became King of Sparta. The two lived happily together until there came to Sparta a young prince, Paris by name, who was son of Priam,King of Troy. This Paris carried off the Fair Helen, and with her much gold and many precious stones.

Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon went to the princes and said, “Now you must keep your oath , and help us to get back the Fair Helen.” So they all came to a place called Aulis,with many ships and men. Others also who had not taken the oath came with them. The greatest of these chiefs were these:Diomed, son of Tydeus; Ajax the Greater and Ajax the Less,and Teucer the Archer, who was brother of Ajax the Greater; Nestor, who was the oldest man in the world; the wise Odysseus; Achilles , who was the bravest and strongest of all the Greeks,and with him his dear friend Patroclus.

For nine years the Greeks attacked the city of Troy, but they could not break through the walls; and as they had been away from their homes for all this time, they came to be in great want of food and clothes and other things. So they left part of the army to watch the city, and with the other part they went about and spoiled other cities. Thus came about the great quarrel of which I am now going to tell.

prince /prɪns/ n. 王子

swear /sweə/ vt. 宣誓，发誓

wicked /ˈwɪkɪd/ adj. 坏的，邪恶的，缺德的

reign /reɪn/ vi. 统治，支配

oath /əʊθ/ n. 誓言，宣誓；诅咒

Nestor 涅斯托尔，特洛伊战争中的一位英雄，对希腊人来说是位著名的年高足智的顾问

Achilles 阿基里斯（Achilles’heel指唯一致命的弱点，传说阿基里斯除脚踵外全身刀枪不入）

spoil /spɔɪl/ vt. 损坏，毁掉