Sunday, March 7, 2010

Myths and Legends: The Judgment of Paris

The Judgment of Paris. To find out more about the three goddesses vying for the favor of Paris, Prince of Troy, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This lovely image of the Judgment of Paris is by Botticelli. You can see Paris, the prince of Troy, there, compelled to decide which of the three goddesses - Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite - deserves the apple that is "for the fairest." Aphrodite offers the most attractive bribe (Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta!), so Paris awards the apple to her... and eventually that simple act will lead to the Trojan War.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of March 4-10 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.