ὡς άρ' ἔφαν: Πρίαμος δ' Ἑλένην ἐκαλέσσατο φωνῇ:
δεῦρο πάροιθ' ἐλθοῦσα φίλον τέκος ἵ̈ζευ ἐμεῖο
ὄφρα ἴ̈δῃ πρότερόν τε πόσιν. πηούς τε: φίλους τε:
οὔ τί μοι αἰτίη ἐσσὶ: θεοί νύ μοι αἴτιοί εἰσιν
οἵ μοι ἐφώρμησαν πόλεμον πολύδακρυν Ἀχαιῶν:
ὥς μοι καὶ τόνδ' ἄνδρα πελώριον ἐξονομήνῃς
ὅς τις ὅδ' ἐστὶν Ἀχαιὸς ἀνὴρ ἠΰς τε μέγας τε:
ἤτοι μὲν κεφαλῇ καὶ μείζονες ἄλλοι ἔασιν:
καλὸν δ' οὕτω ἐγὼν οὔ πω ἴδον: ὀφθαλμοῖσιν:
οὐδ' οὕτω γεραρὸν: βασιλῆϊ γὰρ ἀνδρὶ ἔοικεν:
So they said, but Priam spake, and called Helen to him: "Come hither, dear child, and sit before me, that thou mayest see thy former lord and thy kinsfolk and thy people—thou art nowise to blame in my eyes; it is the gods, methinks, that are to blame, who roused against me the tearful war of the Achaeans—and that thou mayest tell me who is this huge warrior, this man of Achaea so valiant and so tall. Verily there be others that are even taller by a head, but so comely a man have mine eyes never yet beheld, neither one so royal: he is like unto one that is a king."
