Aphrodite

3 Pages 665 Words

Aphrodite’s Vanity

Aphrodite was the goddess of love in Greece. She was also said to have been the most beautiful of all the Goddesses and to have been born from sea foam. Although she was beautiful, some saw her as treacherous and malicious. She was known to have a bewitching power over men that more times than not brought about their own destruction. Aphrodite also involved herself on several occasions with the affairs of the Gods and Goddesses on Mount Olympus, as well as the Greek mortals. Aphrodite was legendary for her beauty, but she was also very vain. It was her vanity that started the Trojan War.

The day of Peleus and Thetis’s wedding ceremony, all gods and goddesses were invited to attend, all except Eris, the goddess of Discord. Feeling very insulted Eris set out revenge on the newly wed couple. She devised a plan to bring turmoil to the couple’s wedding day. When the sun set, the feast began. She waited until the last dish to roll a golden apple into the hall. Everyone took notice at the vividly sparkling apple. A wedding attendant picked it up and read the inscription “For the fairest.” All the Goddesses immediately broke out into an argument of who deserved the apple. Soon there were just three choices left Athena, Hera and Aphrodite. The three Goddesses asked Zeus to be the judge, and award the apple to the most deserving.

Zeus was far too wise to involve himself in such a thing. He quickly suggested they send Hermes; messenger of the gods, to Troy where Paris, the son of King Priam could be found on Mount Ida. Because of a prophecy warning that his son would one day be the ruin of Troy, he sent Paris to live as a shepherd. Hermes appeared to Paris and told him he must travel with him to Mount Olympus where he was to perform his task for Zeus. Paris did as he was told and left Mount Ida with Hermes. He soon arrived on Olympus and was told by Zeus to award the golden apple to the fairest of the three...