Paris (mythology)

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This article is about the mythological character. For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation).
Paris
Prince of
Creusa, Troilus,
and others
Consort(1) Oenone
(2) Helen
OffspringCorythus, Bunomus, Aganus, Idaeus

Paris (

elopement with Helen
sparks the Trojan War, during which he fatally wounds Achilles.

Name

The Ancient Greek name Πάρις is probably of Luwian origin, and comparable to Parizitis, attested as a Hittite scribe's name.[1] The name is etymologically unrelated to that of France's capital city, derived from the Gallic Parisii tribe.

Description

Paris was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the Chronography as "well-grown, sturdy, white, good nose, good eyes, black pupils, black hair, incipient beard, long-faced, heavy eyebrows, big mouth, charming, eloquent, agile, an accurate archer, cowardly, hedonist".[2] Meanwhile, in the account of Dares the Phrygian, he was illustrated as "fair, tall, and brave. His eyes were very beautiful, his hair soft and blond, his mouth charming, and his voice pleasant. He was swift, and eager to take command."[3]

Family

Paris and the nymph Oenone had a son, Corythus.[4] By Helen, he had Bunomus, Aganus ("gentle"[5]), Idaeus and a daughter also called Helen.[6]

Mythology

Childhood

Paris was a child of Priam and Hecuba (see the List of children of Priam). Just before his birth, his mother dreamed that she gave birth to a flaming torch. This dream was interpreted by the seer Aesacus 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 was also unable to kill the child, despite the urging of the priestess of Apollo, one Herophile. Instead, Paris's father prevailed upon his chief herdsman, Agelaus, to remove the child and kill him. The herdsman, unable to use a weapon against the infant, left him exposed on Mount Ida, hoping he would perish there (cf. Oedipus). 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 (Greek pḗra, hence by folk etymology Paris’s name) to rear as his own. He returned to Priam bearing a dog's tongue as evidence of the deed's completion.[7]

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").

river-god or, according to other sources, she was the daughter of Oeneus. She was skilled in the arts of prophecy and medicine, which she had been taught by Rhea and Apollo
, respectively. When Paris later left her for Helen, she told him that if he ever 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

Olympus to have Paris arbitrate the divine contest among Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena
.

Judgment of Paris

Main article: Judgement of Paris

In celebration of the marriage of

romanized
: tē(i) kallistē(i)) 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, Athena, and Aphrodite, 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, the three goddesses bathed in the spring of Mount Ida and approached Paris as he herded his cattle. Having been given permission by Zeus to set any conditions he saw fit, Paris required that the goddesses undress before him[9] (alternatively, the goddesses themselves chose to disrobe to show all their beauty). Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so the goddesses 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. Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman on Earth: Helen of Sparta. Paris chose Aphrodite and therefore Helen.

Helen was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta (a fact Aphrodite neglected to mention), 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 Spartans' 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 (ancient Greece), and had many suitors of extraordinary ability. Therefore, following Odysseus's advice, her father Tyndareus made all suitors promise to defend Helen's marriage to the man he chose for her. When Paris took her to Troy, Menelaus invoked this oath. Helen's other suitors, who between them represented most of Achaea's strength, wealth, and military prowess, were obliged to help bring her back. Thus, the whole of Greece moved against Troy in force and the Trojan War began.

Trojan War

Homer's Iliad casts Paris as unskilled and cowardly. Although Paris readily admits his shortcomings in battle, his brother Hector scolds and belittles him after he runs away from a duel with Menelaus that was to determine the end of the war.[10] His preference for bow and arrow emphasizes this, since he does not follow the code of honor shared by the other heroes.

Early in the epic, Paris and Menelaus duel in an attempt to end the war without further bloodshed. Menelaus easily defeats Paris, though Aphrodite spirits him away before Menelaus can finish the duel. Paris is returned to his bedchambers, where Aphrodite forces Helen to be with him.[11]

Paris's second attempt at combat is equally fated: rather than engage the Greek hero Diomedes in hand-to-hand combat, Paris wounds Diomedes with an arrow through the foot.

Later, after slaying Hector and other heroes, Achilles dies by an arrow of Paris with Apollo's help. According to Hyginus (Fabulae, 107) Apollo disguised himself as Paris.

Later in the war, after

Oenone to plead for healing but is refused and dies on the mountainside. When Oenone hears of his funeral, she runs to his funeral pyre and throws herself in its fire.[12]

After Paris's death, his brother Deiphobus married Helen and was then killed by Menelaus in the sack of Troy.

  • Seduction of Helen by Paris, antique fresco in Pompeii, 1st century
    Seduction of Helen by Paris, antique fresco in Pompeii, 1st century
  • Abduction of Helen, ceiling fresco, Venetian, mid-18th century
    Abduction of Helen, ceiling fresco, Venetian, mid-18th century
  • The Love of Helen and Paris by Jacques-Louis David (oil on canvas, 1788, Louvre, Paris)
    The Love of Helen and Paris by Jacques-Louis David (oil on canvas, 1788, Louvre, Paris)

Later treatments

Paris, in "Phrygian dress", a second-century CE Roman marble (The King's Library, British Museum)

See also

Citations

  1. ^ E. Laroche, Les noms des Hittites (Paris: 1966), 325, 364; cited in Calvert Watkins, “The Language of the Trojans”, Troy and the Trojan War: A Symposium Held at Bryn Mawr College, October 1984, ed. Machteld Johanna Mellink (Bryn Mawr, Penn: Bryn Mawr Commentaries, 1986), 57.
  2. ^ Malalas, Chronography 5.105.
  3. ^ Dares Phrygius, History of the Fall of Troy 12.
  4. ^ Parthenius, Erotica Pathemata 34
  5. ISBN 9780241983386
    .
  6. ISBN 9780241983386
    .
  7. Rank, Otto. The Myth of the Birth of the Hero
    . Vintage Books: New York, 1932.
  8. ^ "Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, page 458". Archived from the original on 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
  9. ^ Neil Phillip. Myths and Legends. Dorling Kindersley.
  10. ^ e.g., Iliad, book 3, lines 38–57.
  11. ^ Iliad, book 3, lines 340–419.
  12. ^ Quintus Smyrnaeus (1913). The Fall of Troy. Loeb Classics. Vol. 19. Translated by Way, A.S. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Book 10, 259–489.
  13. ^ "'Troy: Fall of a City': Bella Dayne, Louis Hunter & More Join BBC/Netflix Epic". Deadline. March 30, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  14. ^ "Total War Troy: Paris guide - bonuses, faction units, builds". Game Guides – Game Pressure.

General references

External links

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