=== パリスの審判 ===
ゼウスがギリシャ沖の海で出会った海の妖精テティスの息子は、父親より偉大になるという予言があった<ref>Scholiast on Homer’s ''Iliad''; Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 54; Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 11.217.</ref>。そのためか<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.1.1&redirect=true 3.168].</ref>、テティスはゼウスの命令で<ref>Pindar, ''Nemean'' 5 ep2; Pindar, ''Isthmian'' 8 str3–str5.</ref>、あるいは自分を育ててくれたヘラを喜ばせるために、人間の老いた王、アイアコスの子ペレウスと婚約することになった<ref>Hesiod, ''Catalogue of Women'' fr. 57; ''Cypria'' fr. 4.</ref>。
A prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph [[Thetis]], with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father. Possibly for this reason,<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.1.1&redirect=true 3.168].</ref> Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king, [[Peleus]] son of [[Aeacus]], either upon Zeus' orders,<ref>[[Pindar#Chronological order|Pindar]], ''Nemean'' 5 ep2; Pindar, ''Isthmian'' 8 str3–str5.</ref> or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her.<ref>Hesiod, ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' fr. 57; ''[[Cypria]]'' fr. 4.</ref> All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of [[Achilles]]) and brought many gifts.<ref>Photius, ''Myrobiblion'' 190.</ref> Only Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited and was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus' order. She was annoyed at this, so she threw from the door a gift of her own:<ref>[[Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' 92.</ref> a [[golden apple]] inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, "To the fairest").<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DEpitome%3Abook%3DE%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D2 E.3.2].</ref> [[Aphrodite]], Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.
The goddesses quarreled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. They chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]], a [[Troy|Trojan]] prince. After bathing in the spring of [[Mount Ida]] where Troy was situated, they appeared before Paris to have him choose. The goddesses undressed before him, either at his request or for the sake of winning. Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they resorted to bribes. Hera offered Paris political power and control of all of [[Asia Minor|Asia]], while Athena offered wisdom, fame, and glory in battle, and Aphrodite offered the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was [[Helen of Troy|Helen]], who was, unfortunately for Paris, already married to King [[Menelaus]] of [[Sparta#Prehistory, "dark age" and archaic period|Sparta]]. The other two goddesses were enraged by this and through Helen's abduction by Paris, they brought about the [[Trojan War]].