"ONCE upon a time there was a certain King of Sparta who had a most beautiful daughter, Helen by name. There was not a prince in Greece but wished to marry her. The King said to them: "Now you must all swear that you will be good friends with the man whom my daughter shall choose for her husband, and that if any one is wicked enough to steal her away from him, you will help him get her back." And this they did."

Alfred J. Church dedicated his life to popularize the classics for young people. His translation of Homer's classic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, is done beautifully in his book while using the same meaning, intonation, and rhythm as when Homer originally composed the poems.

The book is fully illustrated (in black and white) by John Flaxman.