Golden Apple of Greek Mythology

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INDEX

Apple of Gold, amazing to behold 

We all know about the great war of troy. But what we do not know is where all these started from or who initiated it in the first place. The fall of Troy and Paris is not unheard of. Paris abducting the wife of Menelaus, Helen-the most beautiful woman on the earth, ignited the Trojan War. 

True, but that is only half the story. 

It all started with a golden apple. 

A question may arise, how come a golden apple has the power to start a war that people will never forget? Let's get a little more of the story.

The back-drop

It all began with a banquet on Mount Olympus that Zeus was holding. It was in the celebration of mortal Peleus and the sea nymph-Thetis getting married.  Each God was invited to the banquet except Eris. Eris, the Goddess of strife and discord, did not get the invitation by Zeus because of her nature. 

The rage

Once she found out about her being the only uninvited among all the Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus, she crashed the celebration. Even then, she was not well received. In the rage of taking revenge, she made a plan that justifies her nature and gave birth to everything that happened next. She threw a golden apple on the table of the banquet. The apple was inscribed with "Kallisti." "Kallisti" means "for the fairest."

The mischief

The golden apple appeared in a room where every Goddess was present. Everybody claimed the apple believing she is the fairest of them all. Everyone then fought for it before it came down to Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, beauty, and fertility; Athena, the Goddess of war and Hera, the Goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth. Finally, three of them went to Zeus to decide for them. 

Zeus found it difficult as they were amongst the most powerful Goddesses. However, he did not want to decide by himself, as choosing one among the three may make the other two Goddesses resent. Hera was his wife. 

He then gave the apple to his son-Hermes and asked him to take that apple to Paris, son of Priam-king of Troy. And he made three of the Goddesses swear that they will accept whatever judgment Paris comes to. The Goddesses, agreeing with Zeus, left the banquet.

The error of judgment

When the decision of judgment fell upon him, Paris was pasturing his father's ships on mount Ida. To his surprise, he saw three beautiful Goddesses coming down to him. Each of the Goddesses wanting the golden apple, stripped off their clothes to seduce Paris. They did not stop at becoming naked before Paris, and they also started bribing him with life-altering promises. 

Athena offered him to make him the mighty warrior of all time. Armies and cities that he wants to invade will fall to his feet. Then, Hera offered him to make him the ruler of Europe and entire Asia. Listening to two of them, Paris turned to aphrodite and asked what she has in offer for him. Aphrodite said that she would make Paris get the love of the most beautiful woman on earth, Helen. Aphrodite started describing Helen; Paris immediately gave the apple to Aphrodite-the God of love and beauty.

The catastrophic end

Helen was the daughter of Zeus and the nymph Leda. Her beauty was known to the entire world. While this was happening, she was married to Menelaus- king of Sparta. After Paris abducted her, they started the great war that destroyed troy into pieces. 

The fall of Troy and Paris was a plan made by Athena and Hera. The judgment of Paris made them furious, but they were not allowed to discard Paris' decision on the golden apple as they promised Zeus. But they ensured the fall.

The apple of discord

The golden apple that Eris used for a purpose was not just any apple. It has its back-drop. The Golden Apple was a gift from mother Goddess Gaia to Zeus and Hera as a wedding present. These apples were safeguarded in a garden. Hesperides-daughter of the Night Goddess, secured the garden. Ladon, a hundred-headed dragon who never slept, was also kept as a guard to the garden. 

Those golden apples were known for their immortal power. These were precious as anyone who eats the apple will be free from thirst, hunger, or illness. 

Eris took one of those apples from the garden that day and used it as a weapon. This was the inception of the great battle of Troy and its fall!

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