The Myth of Paris | The Judgment of Paris, the Golden Apple, Helen, and the Cause of the Trojan War

A goddess who was not invited to a wedding banquet throws a single apple into the feast. Because of the one line written on that apple, three goddesses begin to quarrel, and the person chosen to judge the dispute was Paris.

With a single choice in this judgment, Paris becomes entangled with Helen, and ultimately becomes a figure remembered as the cause of the Trojan War. In this article, we will trace in order how that choice unfolded, and how it later came back as a result on the battlefield.

The Wedding Feast of Peleus and Thetis, and the Thrown Golden Apple

According to the tradition handed down by Apollodorus, Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding feast of Peleus and Thetis. In response, she threw a golden apple into the middle of the banquet.

Over this apple, three goddesses — Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite — began to quarrel, each claiming it as her own. Since all three goddesses stood close to Zeus, the king of the gods, this was a dispute that no one could easily bring to an end.

Why Zeus Passed the Judgment to Paris

Unable to take the side of any of the three goddesses, Zeus decided not to handle the verdict himself. Instead, he passed the judgment to Paris, a prince of Troy.

For Zeus, whichever side he chose, he would inevitably incur the resentment of the remaining two goddesses. The one made to shoulder that burden was Paris.

The Offers of the Three Goddesses and Paris's Choice

Before Paris, the judge, each of the three goddesses put forward a different offer. Each promised a fitting reward if the apple were given to her.

Paris accepted the offer of Aphrodite. The condition Aphrodite set was that she would make him win the most beautiful woman in the world — and that woman was Helen of Sparta.

The problem was that Helen was already married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris's choice did not end with picking an apple; he also chose a condition that would lead to a dispute over a woman who was already married.

The Dispute over Helen Spreads into War

As Paris returned to Troy with Helen, the Spartan side came to regard the matter as an incident they could not simply let pass. Taking Helen away became, in effect, a cause for war for Menelaus and the various kings of Greece.

At this point, the details differ somewhat from tradition to tradition, but the overall flow — that the judgment of the golden apple led to the great event known as the Trojan War — is commonly confirmed. And at the very center of that war, Paris comes face to face with Menelaus, Helen's original husband.

Book 3 of the Iliad: The Agreement to Settle It by Duel

In Book 3 of the Iliad, the two armies reach one agreement as a way to end the long war: Paris and Menelaus, the two men themselves, would fight a duel, and Helen's place would be decided by its outcome.

Under this agreement, the two men arm themselves and face each other while both armies look on. It was the moment when a reckoning long postponed was to be settled in a single duel.

In the Midst of the Duel, the Contest Tilts

Paris threw his spear first, but it was blocked by Menelaus's shield and the tip snapped. Menelaus's thrown spear then pierced Paris's shield and grazed the edge of his armor, but Paris dodged and saved his life.

Next, Menelaus raised his sword and struck down on Paris's helmet — but the sword shattered on the spot. Having lost his sword, Menelaus instead grabbed the strap of Paris's helmet ornament and began dragging him toward his own army's lines.

Paris was being dragged along, practically strangled, and as things stood, the duel was about to end in Menelaus's victory. But then the strap of Paris's helmet snapped below his chin, leaving only the empty helmet in Menelaus's hand.

Aphrodite's Intervention: Paris Vanishes into Mist

At that very moment, Aphrodite stepped in. Wrapping Paris in thick mist so that he was completely hidden from the eyes of both armies, she carried him off to a sweetly scented chamber inside the walls of Troy.

Menelaus, left holding only the empty helmet in his hand, wandered the battlefield searching for the vanished Paris. But no Trojan soldier hid him, and Menelaus could not find him among the people.

Helen's Chamber: The Story Continues

Aphrodite then transformed herself into the appearance of an old woman, went to Helen, and urged her to go to the chamber where Paris was. Helen, who knew how Paris had just been losing on the battlefield, did not at first move lightly.

Entering the chamber, Helen hinted to Paris that, as one defeated in the duel, he should face Menelaus again. Paris replied in the vein that Aphrodite had merely helped him this time, and that the next outcome might be different.

In the end, the two close the scene by remaining together in the same chamber. A moment on the battlefield where lives nearly hung in the balance leads, inside the walls, to a completely different ending.

The Duel Ended, but the War Did Not

Had things gone as both sides had agreed, the entire war should have been concluded by the outcome of this duel. But because Paris vanished into the mist, the duel fizzled out without a decisive verdict.

From Menelaus's side, the situation was one in which he could claim the duel as his victory, but with his opponent vanished, there was no way to confirm that claim. In the end, both armies took up their weapons again, and the war continued on after the duel.

Exactly how the rest of Paris's life and his relationship with Helen concluded differs in detail from tradition to tradition, making it difficult to settle as one within the scope of this material. However, the flow — that the choice begun in the judgment of the golden apple runs in a single line all the way to the duel scene — is clearly confirmed in the source text.

Figures Leading into the Next Stories

The story of Helen, who came to Troy through Paris's choice, can be explored further in the myth of Helen. The story of the goddess Paris chose in the judgment, and of Aphrodite, who saved him in the duel scene, continues in the myth of Aphrodite.

The story of Hector, the brother who was with Paris inside the walls of Troy, can be found in the myth of Hector.