|
JUDGMENT OF
PARIS
Some say
A company of horsemen
Others a legion of foot soldiers
And others a fleet of ships
Is the most beautiful to behold on this black earth
I say
The most beautiful
Is whomever
One loves.
. . .
Shall I compare you
To a lone red apple
High atop the tallest tree
Some say all who came
Passed it by
I say none
Can reach that high.
Sappho, 7th century B.C.
|
Lucas Cranach (1508)
Other versions of the same work:
1 - 2 -
3 - 4
|
The story of Helen and
Paris love affair which led to
the Trojan War, starts when Paris,
the son of Priam the Trojan king, was living as a shepherd on
Mount Ida. His mother, Hecuba, had left him at birth because
of a bad dream. The young Paris was
present at a contest in which the beauties of the goddesses Athena,
Hera, and Aphrodite were
being compared. The prize was the Golden Apple of Eris inscribed
with "For the Most Beautiful". The unpopular Eris, Goddess of
Discord, threw the apple on a table in a wedding party where all other gods
were invited, in order to cause a fight. Paris
was made the judge by Zeus , and chose
Aphrodite who promised him the most beautiful woman in the world,
Helen of Sparta.
Helen was the daughter of Zeus
by Leda (subject of
another Artful Romance). She married Menelaus,
king of Sparta, among 99 suitors. Later, Paris
went to Sparta and won Helen's
love and took her with him back to Troy, and this caused the 10-year
Trojan War.
During the War Paris killed
Achilles, the greatest Greek hero, by shooting an
arrow at his heel. This was after Achilles defeated
and killed Hector, the greatest Trojan hero and Priam's
elder son. During the fall of Troy, Paris
was shot by Philoctetes who had Heracles'
bow. Helen who had taken refuge in the sanctuary of Apollo,
was found and forgiven by her husband. Their return home, but, took eight years
and was beset with misfortune. According to Homer's version of
the story, she lived a faithful life and was deified at the end. Not a very
romantic and exciting ending, I guess :-)
