notes:
At the wedding of Peleus, King of Thessaly, to the Nereid, Thetis, the gods and goddesses were very happy. They were dancing and playing, when suddenly Eris, the goddess of strife, who was angry because she had not been invited, threw a golden apple into their midst crying, "The fairest shall have it!" Now Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena each thought herself the prettiest, so they all ran to pick it up. When they saw that all three of them wanted it, they became angry, and started a big argument. The wedding broke up angry and confused, and the gods and goddesses went back to Mount Olympus. The goddesses were still fighting, and Zeus decided that someone must be the judge of the three, so to end the quarrel. He looked down on Earth, and he saw Paris, the son of King Priam, the King of Troy. Paris was very handsome, and Zeus thought he would make a good judge. The goddesses went to him, and each one tried to bribe him to give her the apple. Hera said she would give him Power and wealth. Athena said she would give him wisdom and victory in battle, and Aphrodite said she would give him the most beautiful maiden there was, Helen of Troy. At the time, Helen was married to Menelaus, King of Sparta, but Aphrodite said she would simply make Helen fall in love with Paris. So Paris ended up giving her the apple. Aphrodite then sent Eros, her little son, down to shoot Helen with one of his arrows, to make her fall in love with Paris. Paris came and got her, and they ran away to Troy...
