The Apple of Discord
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The Apple of DiscordEris, the goddess of strife, was offended at not being invited to a feast and decided to take her revenge. She wrote "To the Fairest" on an apple and tossed it before Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The three goddesses fell into an argument, unable to concede the title to one another.
To settle who was fairest, they turned to Paris. Each goddess tried to win him over and sway him to her side by different means. Hera offered to make Paris the most powerful man and ruler of Asia. Athena offered him the greatest wealth, wisdom, beauty, and victory in every battle. But Aphrodite won, by offering him the love of the most beautiful mortal woman in the world. That woman turned out to be Helen — wife of the king of Sparta. And so began the Trojan War. Hera and Athena, meanwhile, did everything in their power to take revenge and destroy his homeland.
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