Paris was described by the chroniclerMalalas in his account of theChronography 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 ofDares 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]
Paris had a son namedCorythus, either bynymphOenone[4] or through his marriage to Helen.[5] Additionally he and Helen in various sources had three other sons:Bunomus,Aganus ("gentle"[6]),Idaeus, and a daughter also calledHelen.[7]
Paris was a child ofPriam andHecuba (see theList of children of Priam). Just before his birth, his mother dreamed that she gave birth to a flaming torch. This dream was interpreted by theseerAesacus 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 thepriestess ofApollo, oneHerophile. 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 onMount 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 (Greekpḗra, hence byfolk 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.[8]
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").[9] It was at this time that Oenone became Paris's first lover. She was anymph from Mount Ida inPhrygia. Her father wasCebren, ariver-god or, according to other sources, she was the daughter ofOeneus. She was skilled in the arts ofprophecy andmedicine, which she had been taught byRhea andApollo, respectively. Through her ability to see the future, she foresaw Paris leaving her but loved him deeply even so. 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.[10]
Paris's chief distraction at this time was to pit Agelaus'sbulls against one another. One bull began to win these bouts consistently. Paris began to set it against rival herdsmen's own prize bulls and it defeated them all. Finally, Paris offered a golden crown to any bull that could defeat his champion.Ares responded to this challenge by transforming himself into a bull and easily winning the contest. Paris gave the crown to Ares without hesitation. It was this apparent honesty in judgement that prompted the gods ofOlympus to have Paris arbitrate the divine contest amongHera,Aphrodite, andAthena.
In celebration of the marriage ofPeleus andThetis, LordZeus, ruler and a chief deity of theGreek pantheon, hosted a banquet onMount Olympus. Every deity and demi-god had been invited, exceptEris, the goddess of strife (no one wanted a troublemaker at a wedding). For revenge, Eris threw the goldenApple of Discord inscribed with "For the most beautiful" (Ancient Greek:τῇ καλλίστῃ,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 wereHera,Athena, andAphrodite, 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 byHermes, the three goddesses bathed in the spring of Mount Ida and approached Paris as he herded his cattle. Paris was frightened at the appearance of the deities, but Hermes assured him it was the will of Zeus.[11] Some artistic depictions have the goddesses appear unclad before the mortal. 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 Helen and thereby Aphrodite.
However, Helen was already married to KingMenelaus of Sparta. When Menelaus was away from home, Paris seduced Helen into running away with him. In the Iliad, Helen notes how she had followed Paris to Troy,[12] and Apollodorus describes the pair taking valuables together.[13] Some sources claim Paris had to raid Menelaus's house to steal Helen from him, but others say he was first welcomed in.
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 throughoutAchaea (ancient Greece), and had many suitors of extraordinary ability. Therefore, followingOdysseus's advice, her fatherTyndareus 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 theTrojan War began.
Homer'sIliad casts Paris as unskilled and cowardly. Although Paris readily admits his shortcomings in battle, his brotherHector scolds and belittles him after he runs away from a duel with Menelaus that was to determine the end of the war.[14] 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, thoughAphrodite spirits him away before Menelaus can finish the duel. Paris is returned to his bedchambers, where Aphrodite forces Helen to be with him.[15]
Paris's second attempt at combat is equally fated: rather than engage the Greek heroDiomedes in hand-to-hand combat, Paris wounds Diomedes with an arrow through the foot. In response to Paris's unseemly crowing, Diomedes disparages him in multiple ways: "Archer, you who without your bow are nothing, slanderer and seducer, if you were to be tried in single combat fighting in full armour, your bow and arrows would serve you little stead. Vain is your boast that you have scratched the sole of my foot. I care no more than if a girl or some silly boy had hit me. A worthless coward can inflict but a light wound, but when I wound a man, though I but graze his skin it is another matter, for my weapon will lay him out." (Iliad, Book 11, 376)
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, afterPhiloctetes mortally wounds Paris, Helen makes her way toMount Ida where she begs Paris's first wife, the nymphOenone, to heal him. Still bitter that Paris had spurned her for his birthright in the city and then forgotten her for Helen, Oenone refuses. Helen returns alone to Troy, where Paris dies later the same day. In another version, Paris himself, in great pain, visitsOenone 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.[16]
After Paris's death, his brotherDeiphobus married Helen and was then killed byMenelaus in the sack of Troy.
Seduction of Helen by Paris, antique fresco inPompeii, 1st century
Abduction of Helen, ceiling fresco, Venetian, mid-18th century
The Love of Helen and Paris byJacques-Louis David (oil on canvas, 1788, Louvre, Paris)
Antique fresco from Pompeii, showing Trojan prince Paris with Helen of Troy (1st century CE)
In the 1956 filmHelen of Troy, Paris, as the main character, is portrayed as a heroic character who at first worships peace and love but is later forced to take up arms against the treacherous Greeks.
In prose he appears as the main character inRudolf Hagelstange's 1959 bookSpielball der Götter (Game of Gods).
The story was also made into a 2003 musical,Paris, written byJon English andDavid Mackay. Barry Humphries starred in the original performance as Sinon.
In the 2004 Hollywood filmTroy, the character Paris was played by actorOrlando Bloom. He is not killed by Philoctetes in this version, but leaves the falling city of Troy together with Helen and survives. Paris is portrayed as an irresponsible prince who put his romance before his family and country.
^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.
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