The three goddesses Paris was asked to pass judgement upon were Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena.
While attending the wedding celebration of Peleus and Thetis, Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited. Upset, she took a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and threw it among the revelers as a prize of beauty. The three goddesses laid claim to the apple and asked Zeus to judge with of them was most beautiful. Zeus chose Paris to pass judgement, rather than judge them himself.
Each goddess promised bribes to Paris in an attempt to win his favor. Athena promised wisdom and skill in battle and Hera promised to make him King of Europe. Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen of Sparta, wife of King Menelaus. Paris chose to accept Aphrodite's gift and awarded her the apple.
In Greek mythology the Judgment of Paris was a beauty contest between three of the most beautiful goddesses on Mount Olympus: Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Hera, wife of mighty Zeus and Queen of the Gods; and Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. The winner of the contest will receive the prize of a golden apple.
It all started at the wedding of Thetis, the sea-goddess, and Peleus, the mortal. Angry at not being invited to the wedding, the goddess of discord, Eris, throws a golden apple among the assembled guests. The apple is inscribed with the words "To the fairest" and Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all think that means them. Zeus intervenes in the dispute and decides that the only way to settle the issue is to get Paris, prince of Troy, to judge which goddess is the most beautiful. All three goddesses offer Paris gifts to make him choose them. But it's the wily Aphrodite who wins the contest. She offers Paris the prize of Helen, the beautiful wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Paris's subsequent abduction of Helen is the catalyst for the Trojan War.
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