Paris (mythology)

Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the most well known was his abduction of, or elopement with Helen of Troy, 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.

According to Greek mythology, Paris was invited by the three goddesses to decide which of them was most attractive. As an incentive to choose her, Aphrodite (goddess of love) offered to give him the most beautiful human woman in the world. He chose her, and his reward was Helen, who, unfortunately, was already married to King Menelaus.

There is an icon showing Paris presenting an apple to (one of) the Goddesses Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. This icon is most commonly interpreted as the "Judgement of Paris", the assumption being that he is deciding which of the three is the most beautiful. An alternative interpretation is that Paris is shown receiving the gift of life from the trio of Goddesses. This interpretation is supported by the contention that the three goddesses represent a single goddess in her three aspects of nymph, mother and crone and that to choose the most beautiful makes no sense in this context.