page_title: Paris (mythology)
section_title: Judgment of Paris
hierarchical_section_title: Paris (mythology) / Mythology / Judgment of Paris
caption_attribution_description: English: Judgement of Paris, porcelain, Capitoline Museums, Rome, see here. Modeller Filippo Tagliolini. Strictly, this is NOT "Capodimonte porcelain" but Naples porcelain by the Naples Royal Porcelain Manufactory (Real fabbrica delle porcellane di Napoli) or Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea, active 1771-1806
context_page_description: Paris, also known as Alexander, the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends.
  Of these appearances, probably the best known was the elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War. Later in the war, he fatally wounds Achilles in the heel with an arrow as foretold by Achilles's mother, Thetis.
  The name Paris is probably of Luwian origin, and comparable to Pari-zitis, attested as a Hittite scribe's name. The name Paris is etymologically unrelated to the name of the French city of Paris, which derives its name from a Gaulish tribe called the Parisii.
context_section_description: In celebration of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, Lord Zeus, father of the Greek pantheon, hosted a banquet on Mount Olympus.  Every deity and demi-god had been invited, except Eris, the goddess of strife (no one wanted a troublemaker at a wedding).  For revenge, Eris threw the golden Apple of Discord inscribed with "tēi kallistēi" – "For the most beautiful" – into the party, provoking a squabble among the attendant goddesses over for whom it had been meant.
  The goddesses thought to be the most beautiful were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and each one claimed the apple. They started a quarrel so they asked Zeus to choose one of them. Knowing that choosing any of them would bring him the hatred of the other two, Zeus did not want to take part in the decision. He thus appointed Paris to select the most beautiful.
  Escorted by Hermes, the three goddesses bathed in the spring of Mount Ida and approached Paris as he herded his cattle. Having been given permission by Zeus to set any conditions he saw fit, Paris required that the goddesses undress before him (alternatively, the goddesses themselves chose to disrobe to show all their beauty). Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so the goddesses attempted to bribe him to choose among them. Hera offered ownership of all of Europe and Asia. Athena offered skill in battle, wisdom and the abilities of the greatest warriors. Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth: Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite and therefore Helen.
  Helen was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta (a fact Aphrodite neglected to mention), so Paris had to raid Menelaus's house to steal Helen from him - according to some accounts, she fell in love with Paris and left willingly.
  The Greeks' expedition to retrieve Helen from Paris in Troy is the mythological basis of the Trojan War. This triggered the war because Helen was famous for her beauty throughout Achaea (ancient Greece), and had many suitors of extraordinary ability. Therefore, following Odysseus's advice, her father Tyndareus made all suitors promise to defend Helen's marriage to the man he chose for her.  When Paris took her to Troy, Menelaus invoked this oath.  Helen's other suitors – who between them represented the lion's share of Achaea's strength, wealth and military prowess – were obliged to help bring her back.  Thus, the whole of Greece moved against Troy in force and the Trojan War began.
caption: Judgement of Paris, Capodimonte porcelain (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
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