这里是一些他们打节拍时大声唱出来的诗行，

Lines that were used by the poets of Greece in their stories of warfare,

希腊诗人用于讲述他们战争故事的诗行，

Telling the contests of gods and of heroes in earlier ages.

讲述早期神和英雄之间的争斗。

Verses like this, with six beats to each line, were called "hexameters" by the Greeks.

像这样的诗行，每行诗句有六个音步，被希腊人称作“六音步诗”。

The rhythm suits the Greek language, but it sounds a little unnatural in English.)

韵律适合希腊的语言，但在英语中听起来有些不自然。

You will have heard of the war that arose when Paris, the Trojan,

你已经听说战争是这样引起的，当帕里斯，特洛伊人，

Sided with Venus and gave her the apple of gold in the contest,

为了支持维纳斯，在争斗中将金苹果给了她，

How, as reward, she helped him to seize the beautiful Helen,

作为回报，维纳斯帮助他夺得美丽的海伦，

Wife of the King of the Greeks, Menelaus the Caller in Battle,

希腊国王墨涅依斯的妻子，战争的引起者，

How an army of Greeks laid siege to the city of Troy to regain her,

一支希腊大军如何向特洛伊城进发夺回海伦，

With Agamemnon and Nestor the sage, Achilles and Ajax,

有阿伽门农，圣人内斯特，阿喀琉斯和阿贾克斯，

And countless heroes who fought in that war with the sons of King Priam,

以及无数英雄加入了那场战争，与国王普里阿摩斯的儿子，

Paris and Hector, for ten long summers and winters before the City at last was conquered and razed to the ground by the victors.

帕里斯和赫克托耳一起作战，并围困了特洛伊城达整整十年之久，最后被胜利者征服并夷为平地。