The Judgment of Paris

Retold by: James Davidson

The Trojan War was one of the greatest wars of former times and many men lost
their lives in it. Some say that Gaia, goddess of Earth, complained to Zeus that too
many humans were weighing her down and wearing her out and that Zeus arranged
the war to reduce their number. But others say that it was not Gaia that Zeus was
interested in saving, but himself.
PELEUS AND THETIS
Zeus fell in love with Thetis, a divine nymph of the deepest sea, she who had once
rescued Hephaestus when Hera rejected him. But mischievous Eros made Poseidon,
lord of the sea, fall in love with her also. Thetis was flattered to have two such
powerful gods competing for her attentions, but the other gods were worried that
there would be strife in heaven.
More worried than anyone was the Titan Themis, for it was her job to maintain the
order of things. She could see into the future and what she saw disturbed her, for
should either Zeus or Poseidon succeed in seducing the sea nymph, she saw the end
of the universe as we know it. For Thetis’s son would be mightier than his father.
Zeus would be overthrown, as he had overthrown Cronus before him; there would
be a cosmic revolution. Immediately this was revealed to her, she made an
appointment with Zeus. She was not a moment too soon, for Zeus thought he had
seen Thetis look at him more fondly than before. He was already anticipating her
slippery and salty embrace, and embrace, and running his fingers through her blue-
green hair, little knowing that his lust would lead to catastrophe.
As soon as the titan told Zeus what she knew, all his desire for the sea nymph
vanished, for there was one thing that mattered to Zeus more than seducing beautiful
goddesses: self-preservation. He would force Thetis to marry a mortal. Then her son
would be a mortal also, and even if he was the mightiest of mortals he would still be
inferior to the gods, and would eventually die and be imprisoned at last in the
miserable halls of Hades.
The man he chose for this important mission was Peleus. Zeus revealed Thetis’s
secret cave in Thessaly to him. He told Peleus to hold on tight to her and wished him
the best of luck. When the sea nymph arrived in her sea cave, Peleus was waiting for
her. He grabbed her round the waist and locked his fingers together. The blue-green
goddess turned a blazing orange and became a roaring fire. Peleus thought he would
be burned but still kept his hands locked together. Then the roar of the fire became
a lion’s roar and Peleus was frightened he would be savaged. Then the lion’s mane
became a nest of vipers sinking their fangs into Peleus’s neck and arms and ankles.
When the snakes vanished, he found himself holding a tentacle cuttlefish instead, its
slippery skin pulsing with ripples of changing colors. But then the cuttlefish turned
into Thetis once more, and Peleus lay with her and conceived a child: Achilles.
The gods celebrated the union with a great wedding banquet. Only one goddess was
missed off the guest list: Eris, the goddess of discord. But she had a present for the
happy couple that would lead to the death of their son, a little apple with a dangerous
inscription. It read ‘’’To the fairest’’, and Eris placed it away from the other wedding
presents on a side table. ‘’ Oh, look,’’ said Aphrodite, ‘’ an apple addressed to me.’’
Hera demurred: ‘’ It is not addressed to the most glamorous, but to me. For Zeus,
himself, chose me to be his wife, and who would dare to say his choice was in any
way inferior?’’ ‘’ Well, then,’’ said Athena, ‘’’ let us ask him,’’ for Athena knew
that she was her father’s favorite and that he would give her the apple. But Zeus
refused to make any decision, knowing that if he chose one, the other two goddesses
would resent him forever. He needed a way out of his dilemma. He found one that
would also ensure the death of Thetis’s as yet unborn child. All he needed was time.

THE JUDGMENT
Zeus chose a mortal to judge which goddess was the fairest: Paris, son of Priam, king
of Troy. ‘’ Will you all accept Paris’s judgment, though you are immortal goddesses
and he but a young man?’’ The three divine beauties swore to accept the young
man’s judgment and dashed off the Priam’s palace, pushing past each other to be the
first there, each one certain that she would win.
When they reached the Priam’s halls they found that Paris was but a little baby, still
cradled in his mother’s arms. They would have to wait many years before he was the
young man Zeus had spoken of. But years mean little to ever-living goddesses; there
was just a little more time to get ready. And so, for nearly two decades they primped,
collecting the finest perfumes and the most splendid necklaces, tiaras and earrings
that minor gods and Gaia, Mother Earth herself., could manufacture, while Athena
spent her time weaving the finest cloth that had ever been made on a loom, even
seeking the help of Arachne, a rival in a former contest, whom she had turned into
spider for boasting.
At last, the day of the judgment came. Paris was walking high on Mount Ida
pasturing his father’s flocks. He was amazed to see three beautiful goddesses’
approach, dressed to the nines in glittering armor and dazzling jewelry and figure-
hugging wet-look draperies, and even more amazed when they asked him to
adjudicate between them. ‘’ Choose me and you will be a mighty warrior’’ said
Athena. ‘’No army will defeat you, no city will fail to fall to you, not even Mycenae,
and not even Thebes, not even my beloved Athens.’’ The other goddesses were
shocked at what Athena promised; they had not realized how important the contest
was to her. ‘’ Choose regal Hera,’’ said Hera, ‘’ and you will be ruler whose writ
will run throughout the Europe and all of Asia.’’ ‘’ And what bribes do you offer me
goddess?’’ asked Paris, turning to Aphrodite, for if the gods had no problem with
corrupting the judge, who was the judge to argue? ‘’ I offer you the lustful love of
Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. For she is the chick that hatched from
the hyacinthine egg laid by Leda, and she is the daughter of Zeus himself, for he lay
with Leda in the form of a beautiful swan. ‘’ As she described Helen, Paris found
himself falling in love with her, for Eros, ever Aphrodite’s ally, had made sure of
that.’’ Lustful love?’’ asked Paris. ‘’ Most lustful’’ replied Aphrodite.’’ ‘’ The most
beautiful woman in the world will find you quite irresistible.’’ So, Paris handed
Aphrodite the apple.
The two defeated contestants were furious at the way the Trojan Prince had insulted
them, the one blaming the power of lust, the other blaming men in general. ‘’ No
good will come of this,’’ said Athena. ‘’ No indeed,’’ said Hera. ‘’ We will make
sure of that.’’ ‘’ Zeus made us swear to accept the judgment,’’ said Athena. ‘’ But
he did not make us swear to be happy with it,’’ said the other. Nor did he. For Zeus
knew this would happen when he chose poor Paris for the assignment. He was not
displeased when the goddesses pledged themselves to work together to ensure
Troy’s utter and total destruction.
GAIN INSIGHTS
A. Answer the following questions for discussion.
1. Why is Eris not invited in the celebration in Mount Olympus?
2. In her revenge, how did Eris create trouble in the matrimonial banquet
hall?
3. Why did the three goddesses want to claim the little apple?
4. Why did Zeus pass the duty of proclaiming the holder of the little apple’s
inscription, ‘’ To the fairest’’?
5. Why did Prince Paris give the apple to Aphrodite?
6. If you were in the position of Eris, how would you feel if you were not
invited in an important event? Why?
7. What is the highlight of the story? Explain your answer.

B. Determining the effect of textual aids like advance organizers.

SOMEBODY
Who are the main characters in the
story?

WANTED
What do the characters want?

BUT
What was the main problem?

SO
How did they solve the main problem?

THEN
What happened at the end of the story?

AT THEE END (THEME)