Paris’s seduction of Helen was the result of an incident known as the Judgment of Paris. Eris, the goddess of strife and discord, was angry at not having been invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, so she disrupted the party by casting in the midst of the divine guests a golden apple, inscribed “To the Fairest.” A dispute arose among the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite over who deserved the honor, and Paris, prince of Troy, was chosen as the judge.
Right: This depiction of Helen, by German artist Franz von Stuck (1863—1928), was painted in the early 20th century. It shows Helen in classical pose surrounded by furniture and images of antiquity.
Right: The fourth-century-BCE sketchings on this bronze mirror depict Menelaus and Helen. The scene, one of the most popular in ancient Greek art, shows the moment when, after Troy has fallen, Helen reveals herself naked to her husband to stop him from killing her.
The three contestants were brought to the wilds of Mount Ida in Anatolia, where Paris, who lived as a shepherd, was tending his flocks. Each goddess offered a reward should he choose her. Hera offered rule over men; Athena, victory in battle; and Aphrodite, the most beautiful woman on earth. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite, but soon discovered that his prize, Helen, was already married.
Intending to seduce Helen, Paris went as a guest to the house of Menelaus, where he succeeded in winning her over. Paris took Helen away, together with precious objects from the palace. This violation of hospitality angered the gods, particularly Zeus, protector of the relationship between host and guest, and Hera and Athena, who had a grudge against Paris because he chose Aphrodite over them.
World History
