“How I wish I had never been born! Alas! Zeus has set a miserable destiny on me and my husband, the cowardlyParis, so that our lives will be made into stories for men of the future.”
These are the sad words of lamentation uttered by Helen. Why would such a woman, who was reputed to be the most beautiful woman of her time, wish that she might have died sooner? Why does she have to weep over her fate? What does the future have in hold for her? To answer these questions, we must go back a long way, to the marriage reception of Thetis and Peleus.
All the gods in Olympus were invited to their marriage—all the gods, that is, except Eris. The other gods were terribly afraid that Eris, the goddess of Discord, would ruin the party. They therefore decided not to invite her, which proved to be a big mistake. Before Eris learned of this terrible insult to her dignity, she had promised herself that she would be on her best behavior at the party, and would cause only a little trouble. But when she found out she wasn’t even invited, she flew into a rage. She became determined to wreak havoc, and on a grand scale.
What she did was that she tossed a golden apple into the wedding banquet hall, an apple on which was inscribed“To the Fairest.” Much to Eris’s delight,
from that moment on, everything went out of control: Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena, the vainesttrio of all the Greek goddesses, began to fight for the apple, for each thought of herself as the fairest in the universe. They quarreled incessantly during the whole party and turned the wedding celebration into a day of bickering. Their quarrel went on for many months and appeared to be interminable. Finally, Zeus was asked to settle the dispute to restore peace to heaven. Zeus, however, knew only too well whom he was dealing with. To avoid offending any party, he told the goddesses to turn to Paris.
Paris was the son of Priam, King of Troy. Priam had sent him away from Troy to the countryside to be a shepherd, because a prophecy had said that one day Paris would bring ruin to all of Troy. As Paris tended his sheep, suddenly the three goddesses appeared before him. They asked him to judge fairly who among them was the fairest. He was not allowed to look at them, however, but to consider the bribes each offered him. Athena said she would grant Paris valor and wisdom, which would make him victorious in any war. Hera, the Empress of Heaven, would make Paris king of Europe and Asia. And Aphrodite, the goddess of love, offered him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris was a coward. He hated war, nor did he need any headaches that would come from governing a vast empire. But he always loved the company of beautiful women. Thus, without so much as an apology, he accepted Aphrodite’s offer and he pronounced her the fairest.
His decision became known as the Judgment of Paris. For a time it settled the quarrel among the three goddesses. There was only one problem: Helen was already married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta! Aphrodite would never allow such a small obstacle to stand in her way so she made Helen run away with
Paris. Furious, Menelaus assembled all of Greece to go to Troy to get Helen back. This resulted in the Trojan War, which lasted ten full years and took the lives of countlessbrave men from both sides, some to defend Helen, others to win her back.
Thus we begin to see the reasons for Helen’s lament. The story of the Trojan War was so memorable that countless generations of poets and writers would write about it, thus ensuring that Helen would always be remembered as the cause of so many human tragedies. For example, the English poet Marlowe, who lived more than two thousand years after Helen, imagined a face “that launched a thousand ships”! But was this really Helen’s fault? After all, it was Zeus who appointed Paris to make the judgment, and Aphrodite who took her away from Menelaus, not to mention the jealousy of Menelaus that brought about the war! Finally, totop it off for Helen, throughout the Trojan War her second husband behaved disgracefully. He rarelyparticipated in any battles to defend his country, and when he finally did, he ran away. Who in her right mind would want such a coward for a husband?
With such a fate, it is no wonder that Helen wished she had never been born!
furious [`fyurIJs]adj.震怒的assemble [J`sEmbL]v.t.聚集；集結
countless [`kZUntlIs]adj.無數的
brave [brev]adj.勇敢的
defend [dI`fEnd]v.t.保護
ensure [In`SUr]v.t.確定
tragedy [`trAdjJdI]n.悲劇
*Marlowe [`marlo]n.馬羅（1564-93），英國戲劇家
及詩人 / launch [lOntS]v.t.啟航（指船隻、飛機、太空梭）
jealousy [`djElJsI]n.妒忌
rarely [`rErlI]adv.很少地
participate [par`tIsJ"pet]v.i.參加
result in 導致
to top it off 更甚者
True or False:Mark T for a true statement and F for a false statement.
1. Menelaus was Helen’s first husband.
2. It was Zeus who decided that Aphrodite was the most beautiful of the three goddesses.
3. Helen had a “face that launched a thousand ships.”
4. Helen was unhappy because she didn’t get the golden apple.
5. Eris was the goddess of wisdom.
Multiple Choice:Choose the best answer based on the reading.
1.What is the main idea of the whole passage?
(Ａ)The three goddess’ dispute was settled down by Paris.
(Ｂ)It was Eris’ revenge that caused the ten-year war between Sparta and Troy.
(Ｃ)The reason why Helen was unhappy was because she couldn’t choose her fate.
(Ｄ)Paris chose to marry the most beautiful woman in the world, causing a big war.
2.The reason why Eris tossed a golden apple to the wedding was
.
(Ａ)she wanted to bless the bride and groom
(Ｂ)she intended to break the peaceful atmosphere
(Ｃ)she was invited to but failed to present at the wedding
(Ｄ)the golden apple was a traditional gift to newly-wed couples
3.Who finally settled the quarrel of the three goddesses?
(Ａ)Eris.
(Ｂ)Paris.
(Ｃ)Zeus.
(Ｄ)Aphrodite.
4.In the 6th paragraph, the Judgment of Paris refers to .
(Ａ)a judgment that occurred in Paris
(Ｂ)a judgment that people made for Paris
(Ｃ)a judgment made by Paris, the son of Priam
(Ｄ)a judgment made by a judge in the Supreme Court of Paris
5.Which of the following sentencesCANNOT prove that Paris was a coward?
(Ａ)When he finally took part in the battle, he ran away.
(Ｂ)He rarely participated in any battles to defend his country.
(Ｃ)He was not allowed to look at the three goddesses, however, but to consider the bribes each offered him.
(Ｄ)He hated war, nor did he need any headaches that would come from governing a vast empire.
Match the words:Please fill in the blanks using the following words.
bribeapologydeterminedlamentrage
wayparticipateensureassemblewreak havoc
It was easy to sense Mitch’s . He was very unhappy because he accidentally knew that his best friend, Johnson, wanted to cheat in the exam. When he tried to persuade Johnson to give up the idea, Johnson provided Mitch with a considerable , trying not only to keep Mitch silent but also to invite Mitch to in this dirty trick. Mitch turned down Johnson’s invitation, causing Johnson to fly into a . Johnson warned Mitch not to stand in his , or a group of gangsters would in front of Mitch’s home to . Feeling betrayed and threatened, Mitch was to report his bullying to his teacher. He had to that his best friend couldn’t make mistakes like this anymore. Besides, Mitch did deserve an from Johnson.