The Judgement of Paris.

Paris, was the son of Priam and Hecuba. Because of a prophecy that he would destroy Troy, he was abandoned on Mt. Ida, but shepherds rescued him. Later he returned to Troy and was chosen as judge in a dispute among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.

This is a classic Greek myth which has a lot of morals

At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis all the gods were invited with the exception of Eris, also called Discord. None of the gods liked having her around because she was a trouble maker and so negative and always brought the party down.
Enraged at her exclusion, the goddess threw a golden apple among the guests, with the inscription, "For the fairest."

MINERVA was the goddess of wisdom, but on one occasion she did a very foolish thing; she entered into competition with Hear and Venus for the prize of beauty.

Well; Hear, Venus, and Minerva each claimed the apple. Zeus, was not willing to decide in so delicate a matter, he is no dummy, and sent the goddesses to Mount Ida, where the beautiful shepherd Paris was tending his flocks, and to him was committed the decision.

The goddesses accordingly appeared before him each attempting to bias his decision in her own favor.
Hear promised him power and riches
Minerva offered glory and fame in war
Venus promised the fairest of women for his wife.
Paris decided for Venus and gave her the golden apple, thus making the two other goddesses his enemies.


Under the protection of Venus, Paris sailed to Greece, and was hospitably received by Menelaus, king of Sparta.
Now Helen, the wife of Menelaus, was the very woman whom Venus had destined for Paris, the fairest of her sex.
She had been sought as a bride by numerous suitors, and before her decision was made known, they all, at the suggestion of Ulysses, one of their number, took an oath that they would defend her from all injury and avenge her cause if necessary.
She chose Menelaus, and was living with him happily when Paris became their guest. Paris, aided by Venus, persuaded her to elope with him, and carried her to Troy, causing the famous Trojan war.



For the most part Greek (or most for that matter) mythology is an early attempt to explain natural phenomena such as lighting, earth quakes, echoes and so on. In this one, it is more towards human nature and wisdom in general. The general lessons here are to avoid getting sucked into problems that some one else baits you into. Judging on one person as better than an other is bound to cause hard feelings. Taking some ones wife if coming to cause you trouble. If there is an other one, it would be "Think before you act"

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