Myths about Pelion, the mountain of the Centaurs and the summer destination of the Gods of Olympus

The apple of Discord or How a wedding led to the Trojan War

The apple of Discord or How a wedding led to the Trojan War

Achilles' parents, Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, were married in the peaks of Pelion. In this marriage all the Olympian gods were invited apart from the goddess of discord ‘Eris’. Eris was furious for not being invited to the wedding, so she offered  a golden apple to the couple. Its inscription ΄΄καλλίστῃ΄΄ or, "to the fairest" caused many problems.

Three goddesses claimed the apple: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They brought the matter before Zeus. Not wanting to get involved, Zeus assigned the task to Paris of Troy. As each goddess wanted to receive the apple, they offered Paris a gift as a bribe in return for the apple; Hera offered him wealth and power, Athena offered him wisdom and skill in battle and Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. Paris chose Aphrodite so she kept her promise and helped  him to abduct Helen, the most beautiful Greek woman. As we all know, Paris's and Helen's affair led to the Trojan War.