Paris (mythology)

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Paris (mythology)

Paris (Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
: ; also known as Alexander or Alexandros, c.f. Alaksandu
Alaksandu

Alaksandu was a king of Wilusa who sealed a treaty with Muwatalli II ca. 1280 BC. This treaty implies that Alaksandu had previously secured a treaty with Muwatalli's father, Mursili II, as well....
of Wilusa
Wilusa

Wilusa was a city of the late Bronze Age Assuwa confederation of western Anatolia.It is known from six references in 13th century BC Hittite language sources, including...
), the son of Priam

Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
, king of Troy

Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
, appears in a number of Greek legends

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen

Helen

Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War

Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
. Later in the war, he fatally wounds Achilles

Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
in the heel with an arrow, as foretold by Achilles's mother, Thetis

Thetis

Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths as Proteus ....
.

s was a child of Priam

Priam

Hecuba

Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of said children was Hector of Troy....
(see List of King Priam's children

List of King Priam's children

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Paris (Greek

Greek language

Priam

Troy

Greek mythology

Helen

Sparta

Trojan War

Achilles

Thetis

Paris's childhood

Paris was a child of Priam

Priam

Hecuba

Hecuba was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of said children was Hector of Troy....
(see List of King Priam's children

List of King Priam's children

Priam, the mythical king of Troy during the Trojan War, supposedly had 50 sons and 50 daughters. Priam had several wives, the primary one Hecuba, daughter of Dymas, and several concubines, who bore his children....
). Just before his birth, his mother dreamed that she gave birth to a flaming torch. This dream was interpreted by the seer

Oracle

An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophecy opinion; an infallible authority, usually Spirituality in nature....
Aesacus

Aesacus

Aesacus or Aisakos, in Greek mythology, was a son of King Priam of Troy. Aesacus sorrowed for the death of his wife or would-be lover, a daughter of the river Cebren, and was transformed into a bird....
as a foretelling of the downfall of Troy, and he declared that the child would be the ruin of his homeland. On the day of Paris's birth it was further announced by Aesacus that the child born of a royal Trojan that day would have to be killed to spare the kingdom, being the child that would bring about the prophecy. Though Paris was indeed born before nightfall, he was spared by Priam; Hecuba, too, was unable to kill the child, despite the urging of the priestess of Apollo

Apollo

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, Apollo , is one of the most important and many-sided of the Twelve Olympians. The ideal of the kouros , Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more....
, one Herophile. Instead, Paris's father prevailed upon his chief herdsman, Agelaus

Agelaus

Agelaus or Agelaos is, in Greek mythology, the name of various individuals.#Agelaus, or Agelaos, son of Damastor was a suitor of Penelope, killed by Odysseus....
, to remove the child and kill him. The herdsman, unable to use a weapon against the infant, left him exposed on Mount Ida

Mount Ida

In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida, Crete, and Mount Ida, Turkey, known as Mount Ida, Turkey in Classical times....
, hoping he would perish there (cf: Oedipus

Oedipus

Oedipus was a Greek mythology monarch of Thebes, Greece. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family....
); he was, however, suckled by a she-bear. Returning after nine days, Agelaus was astonished to find the child still alive, and brought him home in a backpack (p??a, hence Paris's name, which means "backpack") to rear as his own. He returned to Priam bearing a dog's tongue as evidence of the deed's completion.

Paris's noble birth was betrayed by his outstanding beauty and intelligence; while still a child he routed a gang of cattle-thieves and restored the animals they had stolen to the herd, thereby earning the surname Alexander ("protector of men"). It was at this time that Oenone

Oenone

In Greek mythology, Oenone was the first wife of Paris Troy, whom he abandoned for the Queen consort Helen of Sparta.Oenone was a mountain nymph on Mount Ida Phrygia, a mountain associated with the Mother Goddess Cybele....
became Paris's first lover. She was a nymph

Nymph

In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human form. They were typically associated with a particular location or landform....
from Mount Ida in Phrygia

Phrygia

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the Southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges, changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont....
. Her father was Cebren

Cebren

Cebren was a Greek mythology river-god, whose river was located near Troy. He was the son of Oceanus and Tethys and he was the father of Asterope, Hesperides, who are sometimes considered to be each other, and Oenone....
, a river-god (other sources declare her to be the daughter of Oeneus

Oeneus

In Greek mythology, Oeneus, or Oineus was a Calydonian king, son of Porthaon, husband of Althaea and father of Deianira, Meleager and Melanippe....
). She was skilled in the arts of prophecy

Prophecy

Prophecy, generally, describes the disclosing of information that is not known to the prophet by any ordinary means. In religion, this is thought to be a divinely inspired revelation or interpretation....
and medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, which she had been taught by Rhea

Rhea (mythology)

This page is about the Greek mythological figure. For the bird, see Rhea .Rhea was the Titan daughter of Ouranos , the sky, and Gaia , the earth, in Classical Greece mythology....
and Apollo

Apollo

Helen

In Greek mythology, Helen , better known as Helen of Sparta later Helen of Troy, was the daughter of Zeus and Leda , wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and sister of Castor and Pollux, Castor and Pollux and Clytemnestra....
she told him that if ever he was wounded, he should come to her for she could heal any injury, even the most serious wounds.

Paris's chief distraction at this time was to pit Agelaus's bull

Bull

A bull is an adult male of various large mammal species including elk, moose, bovinae , elephants, whales, pinniped, and sea lions.Things...
s against one another. One bull began to win these bouts consistently, and Paris began to set it against rival herdsmen's own prize bulls; it defeated them all. Finally Paris offered a golden crown to any bull that could defeat his champion. Ares

Ares

In Greek mythology, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Twelve Olympians God of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."...
responded to this challenge by transforming himself into a bull and easily winning the contest. Paris gave the crown to Ares without hesitation; it was this apparent honesty in judgment that prompted the gods of Olympus to have Paris arbitrate the divine contest between Hera

Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
, Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
, and Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
.

The Judgment of Paris

In celebration of the marriage of Peleus

Peleus

In Greek mythology, Pele?s was a Greek hero cult who was already known to Homer. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Ende?s, the oread of Mount Pelion in Thessaly; he became the father of Achilles....
and Thetis

Thetis

Zeus

Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky father and List of thunder gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull , and oak....
, father of the Greek pantheon, hosted a banquet on Mount Olympus. Every deity and demi-god had been invited, except Eris

Eris (mythology)

Eris is the Greek mythology goddess of strife, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia. Her Greek opposite is Harmonia , whose Latin counterpart is Concordia ....
, the goddess of strife; no one wanted a troublemaker at a wedding. For revenge, Eris threw the golden Apple of Discord

Apple of Discord

An apple of discord is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord which, according to Greek mythology, the goddess Eris said that she would give "to the fairest" at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, sparking a vanity-fueled dispute between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War ....
inscribed with the word "Kallisti" — "For the most beautiful one" — into the party, provoking a squabble among the attendant goddesses over for whom it had been meant.

The goddesses thought to be the most beautiful were Hera

Hera

In the Twelve Olympians of classical Greek Mythology, Hera or Here was the wife and older sister of Zeus. Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage....
, Athena

Athena

In Greek mythology, Athena is the shrewd companion of Hero and the goddess of Hero endeavour. She is the virgin patron of Athens, which built the Parthenon to worship her....
, and Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
, and each one claimed the apple. They started a quarrel so they asked Zeus to choose one of them. Knowing that choosing any of them would bring him the hatred of the other two, Zeus did not want to take part in the decision. He thus appointed Paris to select the most beautiful. Escorted by Hermes

Hermes

Hermes is the messenger of the gods in Greek mythology. An Twelve Olympians, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travelers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of general commerce, and of the cunni...
, the three goddesses approached Paris as he herded his cattle on Mount Garagarus. They immediately attempted to bribe him to choose among them - Hera offered ownership of all of Europe and Asia; Athena offered skill in battle, wisdom and the abilities of the greatest warriors; and Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth, Helen

Helen

In Greek mythology, Helen , better known as Helen of Sparta later Helen of Troy, was the daughter of Zeus and Leda , wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and sister of Castor and Pollux, Castor and Pollux and Clytemnestra....
of Sparta. As if further convincing arguments were needed, Aphrodite then let her robe fall, exposing her nudity. Paris chose Aphrodite—and Helen.

Helen was already married to King Menelaus

Menelaus

Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria....
of Sparta, so Paris had to raid Menelaus's house to steal Helen from him. (According to some accounts, she fell in love with Paris and left willingly.) The Greeks' expedition to retrieve Helen from Paris in Troy is the mythological basis of the Trojan War. This triggered the war because Helen was famous for her beauty throughout Achaea

Achaea

Achaea is an ancient province and a present prefectures of Greece of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus projects....
(ancient Greece), and had many suitors of extraordinary ability. Therefore, following Odysseus

Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
's advice, her father Tyndareus

Tyndareus

In Greek mythology, Tyndareus ???da?e?? was a Sparta king, son of Oebalus and Gorgophone , husband of Leda and father of Helen, Castor and Polydeuces, Clytemnestra, Timandra , Phoebe and Philonoe....
made all suitors promise to defend Helen's marriage to the man he chose for her. When she disappeared to Troy, Menelaus invoked this oath. Helen's other suitors—who between them represented the lion's share of Achaea's strength, wealth and military prowess—were obligated to help bring her back. Thus, the whole of Greece moved against Troy in force. The Trojan War

Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
had begun.

Paris and the Trojan War

In Homer's Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
, Paris is portrayed as fairly unskilled and not incredibly brave. His brother Hector

Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
frequently criticizes him for this, though Paris readily admits his shortcomings in battle. The fact that he prefers to use a bow and arrow emphasizes this, since he does not follow the code of honor of the other heroes, and it is speculated that in order to hit Achilles

Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
, he hit him from behind.

Early in the epic, Paris and Menelaus duel in an attempt to end the war without further bloodshed. Menelaus easily defeats Paris, though Aphrodite

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the classical Greek mythology goddess of love, sex, and beauty. According to Greek oral poet Hesiod, she was born when Uranus was castrated by his son Cronus....
spirits him away before Menelaus can finish the duel. Paris is returned to his bedchambers where Aphrodite forces Helen to be with him.

Paris's second attempt at combat is equally faced; rather than engage the Greek hero Diomedes

Diomedes

Diomedes or Diomed is a hero in Greek mythology, mostly known for his participation in the Trojan War. He was born to Tydeus and Deipyle and later became King of Argos, succeeding his grandfather, Adrastus....
in melee combat, Paris wounds Diomedes with an arrow through the foot.

Tradition holds that Paris killed Achilles

Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
later in the war. Many accounts attribute it to an arrow guided by Apollo.

When Paris was mortally wounded late on in the war by Philoctetes

Philoctetes

In Greek mythology, Philoctetes was the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War....
, Helen made her way to Mount Ida where she begged Paris's former lover Oenone to heal him. She refused and returned to Troy, where he died later the same day. Sources state that her refusal was based on Paris's betrayal of her and saw his death as a just punishment. She felt betrayed in two ways in that Paris left her first, to reclaim his rightful place in Troy and then second, fell in love and took Helen as his wife and didn't bother about her. But, regardless of both reasons, Oenone still loved him, so when she heard of his funeral, she ran onto his funeral pyre and threw herself in its fire.

After Paris's death, his brother Deiphobus

Deiphobus

In Greek mythology, Deiphobus was a son of Priam and Hecuba. He was a prince of Troy, and the greatest of Priam's sons after Hector and Paris ....
married Helen

Helen

Menelaus

Later treatments

In the 1956 film Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy (film)

Helen of Troy is a 1956 in film Warner Bros. epic film, based on Homer's Iliad. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N....
, Paris, as the main character, is portrayed as a heroic character who at first worships peace and love but is later forced to take up arms against the treacherous Greeks.
In the 2004 Hollywood film Troy
Troy (film)

Troy is an epic film released on May 14, 2004, concerning the Trojan War. It is loosely based on Homer's Iliad, but includes material from Virgil's Aeneid and other sources, and frequently diverges from myth....
, the character Paris was played by actor Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom

'Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom' is an England actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean , and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood films, including Troy , Elizabethtown and Kingdom...
. He is not killed by Philoctetes in this version, but leaves the falling city of Troy together with Helen and survives. Paris is portrayed as an irresponsible prince who put his romance before his family and country.
In prose he appears as the main character in Rudolf Hagelstange's book Spielball der Götter (Game of Gods).
The Judgment of Paris and its aftermath are the subject of Michael Tippett
Michael Tippett

Sir Michael Kemp Tippett Order of Merit Order of the Companions of Honour Order of the British Empire was one of the foremost English composers of the 20th century....
's 1962
1962 in music

Events*January 1 - The Beatles and The Tremeloes both audition at Decca Records, a company which has the option of signing one group only. The Beatles are rejected, mainly as they come from Liverpool and the others are Dagenham-based nearer London....
opera King Priam
King Priam

King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus....
.
The song "The Third Temptation of Paris" by Alesana
Alesana

Alesana is a 6-piece United States Post-Hardcore band from Raleigh, North Carolina. Except Shawn Milke who grew up in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada....
tells the story of Helen and Paris from the viewpoint of Paris.
The story was also made into a musical, Paris Prince of Troy, written by Jon English and David Mackay. Barry Humphries stared in the original performance as Sinon.
The song, Crimes of Paris by Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello is an England musician and singer-songwriter. Costello came to prominence as an early participant in London's Pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres, before establishing his own unique voice in the 1980s....
on his album Blood and Chocolate
Blood and Chocolate

Blood and Chocolate may refer to:*Blood and Chocolate , a 1986 album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions*Blood and Chocolate , a 1997 supernatural werewolf novel by Annette Curtis Klause...
asks the question, "Who'll pay for the Crimes of Paris, who's gonna pay for the Crimes of Paris?"

External links

at the