[11,60] ἀλλ´ ᾑρεῖτο ἀκολουθεῖν εἰς Τροίαν, ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος ἀδεῶς καὶ μετὰ τοσαύτης ἐξουσίας ἔπραττε τὸ πρᾶγμα, ὥστε οὐκ ἦν ἱκανὸν αὐτῷ τὴν γυναῖκα ἀπαγαγεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ χρήματα προσεπέθετο—καὶ μηδὲ ἐπαναχθῆναι μηδένα αὐτῷ, μήτε τῶν τοῦ Μενελάου μήτε τῶν τοῦ Τυνδάρεω μήτε τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς τῆς Ἑλένης, καὶ ταῦτα νεῶν οὐσῶν ἐν τῇ Λακωνικῇ, ἔτι δὲ πρότερον πεζῇ ἀπὸ Σπάρτης ἐπὶ θάλατταν κατιόντων, παραχρῆμα, ὡς εἰκός, περιβοήτου γενομένης τῆς ἁρπαγῆς; καὶ οὕτω μὲν οὐ δυνατὸν ἐλθεῖν Ἑλένην μετὰ Ἀλεξάνδρου· γάμῳ δὲ παρ´ ἑκόντων δοθεῖσαν τῶν οἰκείων. (61) οὕτω γὰρ εὔλογον ἦν τήν τε Αἴθραν ἀφικέσθαι μετ´ αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ χρήματα κομισθῆναι. οὐδὲν γὰρ τούτων ἁρπαγῆς, ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον γάμου σημεῖόν ἐστιν. ἐπεὶ δέ, ὡς ἔφην, γαμήσας ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος ἀπηλλάγη μετ´ αὐτῆς, ὅ τε Μενέλαος ἠνιᾶτο τῆς μνηστείας ἀποτυχὼν καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ᾐτιᾶτο, (62) καὶ ἔφη προδοθῆναι ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ, ὅ τε Ἀγαμέμνων ἐκείνου μὲν ἧττον ἐφρόντιζε, τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον δὲ ἐφοβεῖτο καὶ ὑπώπτευε μήποτε ἀντιποιήσηται τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι πραγμάτων, προσηκόντων αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν γάμον. οὕτω δὴ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους συγκαλεῖ τοὺς μνηστῆρας τῆς Ἑλένης, καὶ ἔφη ὑβρισθῆναι αὐτοὺς ἅπαντας, καὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα καταφρονηθῆναι, καὶ τὴν ἀρίστην γυναῖκα οἴχεσθαι εἰς τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐκδοθεῖσαν, ὡς οὐδενὸς ὄντος ἀξίου παρ´ αὐτοῖς. (63) ταῦτα λέγων τὸν μὲν Τυνδάρεων παρῃτεῖτο καὶ συγγνώμην ἔχειν ἐκέλευε· παραλογισθῆναι γὰρ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ δώρων· τὸν δὲ Ἀλέξανδρον αἴτιον ἁπάντων ἀπέφαινε καὶ τὸν Πρίαμον· καὶ παρεκάλει συστρατεύειν ἐπὶ τὴν Τροίαν· πολλὰς γὰρ ἐλπίδας ἔχειν αἱρήσειν αὐτὴν συναραμένων ἁπάντων. γενομένου δὲ τούτου πολλὰ χρήματα διαρπάσειν αὐτοὺς καὶ χώρας κρατήσειν τῆς ἀρίστης. εἶναι γὰρ τὴν μὲν πόλιν πλουσιωτάτην ἁπασῶν, τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους ὑπὸ τρυφῆς διεφθαρμένους· ἔχειν δὲ καὶ συγγενεῖς πολλοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ τοὺς ἀπὸ Πέλοπος, οἳ συμπράξουσιν αὐτῷ, μισοῦντες τὸν Πρίαμον. (64) ταῦτα δὴ ἀκούοντες, οἱ μέν τινες ὠργίζοντο καὶ ἀτιμίαν τῷ ὄντι ἐνόμιζον τῆς Ἑλλάδος τὸ γεγονός, οἱ δέ τινες ἤλπιζον ὠφεληθήσεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς στρατείας· δόξα γὰρ ἦν τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ πραγμάτων ὡς μεγάλων καὶ πλούτου ὑπερβάλλοντος. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἡττήθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Μενελάου μνηστεύοντες τὴν Ἑλένην, οὐκ ἂν ἐφρόντισαν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἐφήδεσθαι ἔμελλον αὐτῷ· νῦν δὲ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον ἐμίσουν ἅπαντες, αὐτὸς ἕκαστος ἡγούμενος ἀφῃρῆσθαι τοῦ γάμου. οὕτω δὲ τῆς στρατείας γενομένης, πέμψας ὁ Ἀγαμέμνων ἀπῄτει τὴν Ἑλένην· προσήκειν γὰρ αὐτὴν Ἑλληνίδα οὖσαν γαμηθῆναί τινι τῶν Ἑλλήνων.

[11,60] but she must deliberately follow along to Troy, and Paris conducted the affair so boldly and with such licence that it was not enough for him to abduct the wife, but he took the treasure too !—and that not a single soul should have put out after him, none of the people of Menelaus or of Tyndareüs, nor Helen's brothers, though there were ships in Laconia and, what is more, though the pair had first to get down on foot from Sparta to the coast, and the news of her abduction was probably published at once ? It would have been impossible for her to go with Paris in any such way, but possible if she was given in marriage with the full consent of her kinsfolk. Thus only was it reasonable that Aethra arrived with her and that the treasures were taken along. None of these facts points to an abduction, but much rather to a marriage. " But, when, as I said, Paris married Helen and departed with her, Menelaus brooded over the failure of his suit and upbraided his brother, declaring that he had been betrayed by him. But Agamemnon was not so much concerned about him as he was fearful of Paris, who, he suspected, might interfere some time in the affairs of Greece, which concerned him now on account of his marriage with Helen. For this reason he convoked the others who had been Helen's suitors and declared that they had one and all been outraged and Greece treated with contempt, and that the best woman among them had been given in marriage to barbarians and was gone, as though there were no one among themselves who was worthy of her. In such terms, he sought to excuse Tyndareüs and urged them to forgive him as having been blinded by the gifts ; but he laid the entire blame upon Paris and Priam and exhorted his countrymen to make war together upon Troy, declaring that he had great hopes of taking it if they would all join in, and of their reaping a rich harvest of booty in that event and securing dominion over the fairest of countries ; for of all cities, he said, Troy was the wealthiest, and its people had been enervated by luxury. Besides, he had many relatives in Asia who belonged to the house of Pelops and would make common cause with him because they hated Priam. (64) " Now some of the suitors were furious on hearing these words, feeling that the occurrence was indeed a disgrace to Greece, while others expected to profit from the campaign ; for the notion prevailed that Asia was a land of big things and of wealth untold. Now had it been Menelaus who had defeated them in the suit for Helen's hand, they would not have cared themselves ; nay, on the contrary, they doubtless would have rejoiced in his happiness. But as it was, they all hated Paris, each man feeling as though his own bride had been torn from him. Thus it was that the campaign began, and Agamemnon sent to demand the return of Hclen on the ground that she, a Greek woman, should be married to some one of the Greeks.