decision with a bribe. Hera offered him power over all the kingdoms
of Asia if he awarded her the apple. Athena promised him victory
in all his battles. Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman
in the world. Without hesitation, Paris declared Aphrodite the fairest,
and awarded her the golden apple—thus incurring the eternal hatred
of Hera and Athena.
This Judgment of Paris later led to the Trojan War. Paris the
shepherd was a prince of Troy. The most beautiful woman in the
world was Helen, the wife of Menelaus, a Greek king. Paris collected
his reward by abducting Helen, taking her with him back to Troy.
This act instigated a war between the Greeks and the Trojans that
lasted for ten years and ended with the destruction of Troy.
Five Olympians arrayed themselves on the side of the Greeks:
Hera and Athena (whose partisanship for the Greek heroes was
colored by their animosity toward Paris), joined by Poseidon, Her-
mes, and Hephaestus. Four gods and goddesses took the side of the
Trojans: Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, and Artemis.
The Judgment of Paris also inspired some of the greatest literature
and drama in Western civilization. The events set in motion by that
decision were immortalized in the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid
(the three great classical epics), as well as in the tragedies of Aes-
chylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
UPDATING THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS
Each contemporary woman faces her own personal Judgment of
Paris. The questions are the same ones presented to the Olympian
guests: “Which goddess gets the golden apple?” and “Who is to
judge?”
WHICH GODDESS GETS THE GOLDEN APPLE?
In the myth, only three of the goddesses present claimed the apple
for themselves. The three were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. In an
individual woman’s psyche, however, the competitors may differ.
Maybe only two are vying for the apple, or three, or four—any
combination of the seven goddesses may
Goddesses in Everywoman