Everyone knows how the Greeks laid siege for ten long years to the city of Troy to win back Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, for her husband, the king of Sparta. It was Paris, a son of the old Trojan king, who stole her away from home; and because of her beauty, neither king nor folk would heed the warnings of the seers and wise men that the wrath of the gods would fall on Troy unless they gave up Helen. Year after year the war went on; the flower of both armies fell in battle; the losses and hardships of the besieged grew ever greater; but still they would not hear of giving Helen back. Even those who were ready to curse her forgot all the woes she had brought on Troy whenever they looked on her face. Once the elders of the city, grave and ancient men, were sitting together on the ramparts when Helen passed by, and one said to another, "Small blame to the Greeks and Trojans that they have fought and suffered those many years for the sake of such a woman as this, for she is like an immortal goddess to look upon." So great was the power of Helen's beauty on all who beheld it.

👉 And that's it for now! Subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already: Classicsness.com. And if you want to know more about classics and even learn Latin online, check out LatinFromScratch.com.

📚 Source: Evergreen Stories (1920?) by W. M. L. Hutchinson (1868-1936).