Paris
In Greek mythology, Paris (in ancient Greek: Πάρις), also called Alexander (in ancient Greek: Αλέξανδρος, Alexandros, «The protector of men»), was a Trojan prince, son of King Priam and his wife Hecuba and brother of Hector. Paris was known as "He with the beautiful figure".
Birth and youth
Hecuba, queen of Troy, had a dream during her pregnancy: she dreamed that she would give birth to a burning rock that would destroy the city. Aesacus, stepbrother of the future prince, possessed the gift of interpreting dreams and advised that, at his birth, they abandon the newborn. That is how Priam, the king and father of the creature, ordered his servant Agelaus to abandon the child in the Mount Ida. Agelaus, at the last moment, took pity on the newborn and decided to raise him as if he were his son.
The little boy grew up with the name of Paris, and became a handsome and strong young man who mastered the art of music. His first love story was with the nymph Oenone, daughter of the river-god Cebrén. Possessing the gift of prophecy and medicine, she predicted that she would be the only one who could save him from a fatal wound.
The Judgment of Paris
On Olympus, Eris, the Goddess of Discord, promised to give the golden apple she threw at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus to the most beautiful goddess. That was how no deity dared to choose between Hera, Athena or Aphrodite. In order to end the problem, Zeus decided that Paris would give the answer.
The messenger god Hermes presented the three goddesses to Paris and proposed the dilemma. Each promised her something if she turned out to be the chosen one: Hera promised to be ruler of the world, Athena to be invincible in war, and Aphrodite promised to give her Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Finally, the young man chose Aphrodite, who also became his protector, and the other two deities swore revenge. What he did not know was that this decision would end up triggering the Trojan War.
Funeral games in honor of Paris
Priam, king of Troy and biological father of Paris, held games every year in honor of his son, who he believed to be dead. On one occasion, the king's servants took his favorite bull to use it as a prize in the aforementioned games. Paris, who was one of the players, won and took the bull, causing indignation in his brothers to believe that they had been defeated by a simple shepherd . Ready to kill him, they were stopped by Cassandra, who thanks to her divinatory powers recognized that the simple shepherd was the son of King Priam.
The Kidnapping of Helena
Paris was welcomed into the royal court of Troy and had the opportunity to embark for Greece, where her aunt Hesione lived after Telamon had kidnapped her some time before. Prince Paris offered to lead the expedition and decided to lead Castor and Pollux, who lived in Lacedaemon. His father gave the go-ahead, despite the fact that Helenus had already revealed that if the trip went ahead, Troy would pay the price.
After being at the home of Castor and Pollux, Paris arrived in Sparta, where Menelaus and his wife Helen reigned, the most precious woman in the world who had once been promised by Aphrodite. The Trojan prince soon made her fall in love with the goddess's help and, taking advantage of the fact that Menelaus was in Crete celebrating her grandfather's funeral, Paris and Helena fled to Troy. Some versions say that the young woman was kidnapped and did not leave of her own free will and others say that what escaped with Paris was a phantasmagorical image of her, thus fulfilling Hera's revenge for not having been chosen as the most beautiful goddess. pretty.
On their voyage they took a great deal of wealth, but not Helena's 9-year-old daughter, Hermione. On their voyage, a storm caused by the goddess Hera caused the ship to end up in Sidon, a city that the Trojans looted. Upon arrival in Troy, the citizens did not accept Helen, considering it an offense against King Menelaus, and wanted to return her. Despite this, the decision of the Trojan royal family was that Helen could stay in Troy with Paris.The nymph Oenone, Paris's first love, and her father, Cebrén, left the city in spite.
The Trojan War
When Menelaus found out what had happened, he assembled a large fleet to conquer Troy. Thus began the war, a war in which Paris proved to be a good archer. On the plain, the prince challenged Menelaus: whoever won would get Helen. Paris was wounded, and would have died had Aphrodite not brought him to the walls. Some versions suggest that it was he who killed Achilles, shooting an arrow into his heel with his bow. Another version says that he killed him with the sword of the god Apollo, and another says that it was the deity himself who shot the arrow that ended up in Achilles' heel.
Death
With Heracles' bow, Philoctetes shot a deadly arrow at Paris. Some versions suggest that the prince died on the battlefield, others that he was able to flee wounded and sent an emissary to the home of his first love, Oenone, the only one who could save him. According to this version, the nymph refused to cure him at first, but she regretfully went looking for her without arriving in time: Paris had died. It was then that Enone committed suicide by throwing herself on the pyre where her love was cremated.
Paris in art
The Judgment of Paris is a famous motif in art throughout its history. The scene of the young prince presenting the golden apple to the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite to choose the most beautiful one has been repeated countless times, especially since the Renaissance. The first example is a mosaic from Antioch from the II century. Authors such as Cranach, Giordano, Rubens, Agostino Carracci, Watteau or Boucher have represented this mythological scene.
Paris also appeared in literature as far back as ancient Greece. He inspired a tragedy by Sophocles and another by Euripides, both titled Alexander and currently missing. Paris is a character in Ovid's work and in Dante's Divine Comedy in the second circle of hell, being eternally shaken by a fierce wind, along with Helena and others who had succumbed to the sin of lust.
The myth of Paris has been treated in the XX century, as in the opera King Priam i> (1962) by Michael Tippett or in the novel Spielball der Götter (Game of Gods) by Rudolf Hagelstange. The song The Wound of Paris, by Luis Alberto Spinetta, is inspired by the crush that causes the death of Achilles.
In the movie Troy, the character of Paris was played by Orlando Bloom.
Iconography
Paris is often depicted as a handsome young man, wearing a Phrygian cap because Paris is considered to be of Phrygian origin. Pausanias says that the painter Polignoto represents him without a beard, clapping his hands to call Penthesilea, who ignores his calls.
Agostino Carracci Recording: Paris and Enone (Paride ed Enone).
Pastor Paris of Auguste Renoir, Grenoble Museum.
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