"Yes, [Paris] is vain, selfish, superficial, and morally blind, but he is also charming, remarkably cheerful in the face of criticism, honest in his own way, and filled with a physical grace that is numinous, like Helen's beauty. When Paris runs out to battle at the end of Book 6 Homer's delight in him is palpable, and we can only gaze in admiration at this man who has blithely brought ruin to his entire world."
-Introduction to Homer's Iliad, Stephen Mitchell

















