The Iliad – Episode one – The apple of discord

The Aegean sea, an immense fleet cleaves the waves. Her fleet the like of which no one has never
seen before. Neither mortals, no gods. It carries the largest army ever assembled. The army of the
Greeks. The most formidable warriors have been brought together, as well as the king of all
Greece : Achilles, Ulysses, Agamemnon, Menelaus and even old Nestor. Shields glitter in the
dazzling sunlight, already we hear the terrible rumble of battle. This formidable army is heading
towards Troy. The city with the high walls. Troy, the city of king Priam, defended by his two sons :
Hector and Paris. Paris, the one who made everything happen. The voice of Zeus makes Olympus
tremble it echoes trough the palace of the gods, terrible, deafening. Zeus demands to know is
responsible for this conflagration. Zeus is the god of the gods, he commands everyone those who
are and those who were. A long ago, at the end of a terrible battle that lasted for years, he wiped out
the rebellious gods. And all those who thought themselves more cunning than him are now locked
up in Tartarus, the deepest region of the Underworld. What he desires more than anything is peace
amongst men and amongst the gods. Zeus summons all the gods of Olympus, there are 12 of them :
Poseidon, his older brother rules the seas and the oceans ; his son Apollo is the god of light ; his
daughter, Athena is the goddess of cunning and reason ; his others sons : Ares and Hermes are
respectively the god of war and god of travelers ; Aphrodite, born of sea foam and the sky, is the
goddess of love and voluptuousness. All have sworn allegiance to Zeus, all fear his anger, all
challenge his power. Zeus is furious, he wields the aegis, the fearsome weapon that unleashes
thunder and lightning, that terrify mortals and immortals. He scrutinizes each god. He want to know
who is behind the inevitable chaos that is about to descend upon the world. But everyone remains
silent and lowers their eyes. Suddenly Hera, Zeus’s wife, points to Aphrodite : “It’s her, she is the
cause of the unfolding drama. She alone”. The other goddesses who have never been very keen on
Aphrodite confirm. They have always hated this goddess who sows the seeds of infidelity
everywhere rob some of them of love, make others mad with passion and they envy her too perfect
forms. In the past, Aphrodite had caused a scandal on Olympus. She had seduced Ares, the god of
war, under the nose and beard of her legitimate husband, Hephaestus. Caught in a trap she had been
banished from Olympus and had vowed that one day, she would take revenge for this affront. Yes,
Aphrodite started this war. It all begins sometime earlier, when Paris, the son of the king of Troy
leads one of this many flocks to the pastures of mount Ida. That day, three women come to meet
him. All three of them are breathtakingly beautiful. But which of them is the fairest. That is the
question they put to young Paris, they tell him to choose. Paris is captivated but above all
disconcerted, he confesses himself incapable of deciding. What he doesn’t know is that these three
women are the goddesses : Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. And the day before when the gods had
come together to feast Aerys, the goddess of discord, who no one had invited had bust in and tossed
onto the table, an apple. A golden apple, upon this apple there was a curious inscription : “For the
fairest”. All eyes had naturally turned to Aphrodite because no one imagined competing with the
stunning beauty of the goddess of love. Aphrodite was about to get up when two other goddesses
stood up to seize the apple : Hera, sister and wife of the king of the gods, have a cold but dazzling
beauty and Athena, daughter of Zeus, of a violent but sparkling beauty. Aphrodite, Hera, Athena
which of the three goddesses would be declared the fairest. The opinion of the ruler of Olympus is
sought, is Zeus not a connoisseur whose conquests are too many to number. The list is long of those
who have succumbed to his charms or his spells. But Zeus refuses to arbitrate, he knows of the
rebellious temperament and reciprocal hatred of the three goddesses. He wants to be cautious,
refuses to takes sides. He decides that the choice must rest with someone who is completely
impartial. Why not a mortal ? He therefore chooses the one thought to be the most idealistic and
purest of heart : Paris, son of Priam and Hecuba, prince of Troy. The golden apple which has
become the apple of discord for the gods will be placed in the innocent hand of a mortal. Hera looks
Paris up and down and speaks thus : “Paris if you say that I am the fairest, I will give you a
kingdom like no mortal has ever possessed and over which you will reign sole ruler. You will be the
greatest king that the earth has seen”. Paris delighted is about to name Hera but Athena immediately
intervenes : “Paris if you say that I am the fairest, I will make you forever invincible in combat. No
sword will wound you, no javelin will piece you. Your enemies will dread your name and victory
will always be yours. You will become the greatest hero that the earth has seen.” One over, Paris is
about to name Athena when Aphrodite with a cajoling voice, says to him : “Paris if you say that I
am the fairest then I will offer you the hand of the most beautiful woman that the earth has ever
seen. You will be the greatest lover that the earth has born.”