The Judgment of Paris

The evil goddess of discord, Eris, was naturally unpopular in Olympus. She was, after all, responsible for bringing about drama in people’s lives. The other gods hardly ever asked her to hang out or go to any parties. This made Eris very resentful and vindictive, and so she decided to cause some trouble. At the next major social event—that of the marriage between King Peleus and Thetis, a sea nymph—every deity except for Eris was invited; and so she threw into the banquet a golden apple engraved “To: The Fairest.” Of course all the goddesses wanted it, and Eris knew they’d a fight over it. In the end it was narrowed down to a tie between three: Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. They asked Zeus to judge the contest, but he wisely refused. Instead he told the goddesses to go to Mount Ida, near the city of Troy. There a young prince lived. His name was Paris, and he was an excellent judge of beauty. His father, however, had been warned that his son would one day be responsible for the downfall of his country, and so he had sent him away to do shepherd’s work in the countryside. At this moment Paris, though a royal prince, was herding sheep and living with a lovely nymph. You could imagine his amazement when the wondrous forms of three goddesses appeared before him.

“We want you to choose which one of us is the best,” said Hera. She did not tell him to choose who was the most beautiful, but only to consider who made the best offer. This did not make the choice any easier. Hera promised to make him Lord of Europe and Asia.

“I promise you will lead the Trojans to victory against the Greeks,” said Athena.

Aphrodite then promised Paris the fairest maiden alive. “The most beautiful woman in the world shall be yours.”

Paris, an impulsive prince and also somewhat of a coward, chose the most beautiful woman in the world. He gave the golden apple to Aphrodite.