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Greek Mythology
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Paris and Eris
18-02-2013 20:18Paris was son of Priamos, king of Troy and his wife Hekabe and was destined to cause the destruction of his city by one of the mightiest wars in history, the Trojan War by the abduction of Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, Menelaos.
When Hekabe was pregnant to Paris, she had a sinister dream in which she saw herself giving birth to a flaming torch that burned down the city. After interpreting this weird dream, Priamos ordered that his forthcoming child should be exposed at birth to avoid the oracle from fulfillment. The newborn baby was abandoned on Mount Ida, but was rescued by a shepherd who raised him as his son.
One day while Paris was taking care of the cattle, he saw some of the king’s servants to take away his favorite bull to be given as a prize to the athletic games that were being held in the kingdom. So he went to Troy to win his bull back again and he was victorious in every event. Paris’ true identity was soon revealed by his sister Kassandra, who was gifted with prophetic powers and Priamos then acknowledged him as his son and invited him to take his position in the palace as a member of the royal family.
But he was soon to cause the damage foretold in his mother’s dream. During the wedding-feast of Thetis married to Peleus, Eris, the personification of Strife provoked a furious quarrel between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite by hurling an apple in front of them marked with the inscription ‘to the most beautiful’ , as she was not invited in the wedding. Zeus instructed Hermes to escort the three goddesses to Mount Ida in the land of Troy to be judged for their beauty by Paris, the Trojan prince.
Hera promised him royal sway, Athena success in war, and Aphrodite the loveliest of women as a wife, Helen. Paris decides in favor of Aphrodite by giving the apple of Eris, earning the undying hatred of the other goddesses. In claiming his promised gift, Paris proceeds in sailing to Sparta to abduct Helen and takes her to Troy.
When Helen got married to Menelaos, her father Tyndareos feared that the rejected suitors might cause trouble in the future. He therefore demanded that they should all swear beforehand that they would come to the aid of the chosen suitor if he should be threatened or robbed of his wife. This oath obliged many of the Greeks to fight at Troy after Helen was abducted by Paris and the Trojan War would therefore be set.
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