The Story of Troy Part 2

For in the elder time, when truth and worth Were still revered and cherished here on earth, The tenants of the skies would oft descend To heroes' spotless homes, as friend to friend; There meet them face to face, and freely share In all that stirred the hearts of mortals there.

CATULLUS (Martin's tr.).

The one exception was E'ris, or Dis-cor'di-a, the G.o.ddess of discord.

This evil-minded deity had at one time been a resident of Olympus, but she caused so much dissension and quarreling there that Jupiter banished her forever from the heavenly mansions. The presence of such a being as a guest on so happy an occasion was not very desirable, and therefore no invitation was sent to her.

Thus slighted, the G.o.ddess of discord resolved to have revenge by doing all that she could to disturb the peace and harmony of the marriage feast. With this evil purpose she suddenly appeared in the midst of the company, and threw on the table a beautiful golden apple, on which were inscribed the words, "Let it be given to the fairest."

"This was cast upon the board, When all the full-faced presence of the G.o.ds Ranged in the halls of Peleus; whereupon Rose feud, with question unto whom 'twere due."

TENNYSON, _none_.

At once all the G.o.ddesses began to claim the glittering prize of beauty.

Each contended that she was the "fairest," and therefore should have the

"fruit of pure Hesperian gold That smelt ambrosially."

But soon the only compet.i.tors were Juno, Venus, and Minerva, the other G.o.ddesses having withdrawn their claims. The contest then became more bitter, and at last Jupiter was called upon to act as judge in the dispute. This delicate task the king of heaven declined to undertake. He knew that whatever way he might decide, he would be sure to offend two of the three G.o.ddesses, and thereby destroy the peace of his own household. It was necessary, however, that an umpire should be chosen to put an end to the strife, and doubtless it was the decree of the Fates that the lot should fall on the handsome young shepherd of Mount Ida.

His wisdom and prudence were well known to the G.o.ds, and all seemed to agree that he was a fit person to decide so great a contest.

Paris was therefore appointed umpire. By Jupiter's command the golden apple was sent to him, to be given to that one of the three G.o.ddesses whom he should judge to be the most beautiful. The G.o.ddesses themselves were directed to appear before him on Mount Ida, so that, beholding their charms, he might be able to give a just decision. The English poet, Tennyson, in his poem "none," gives a fine description of the three contending deities standing in the presence of the Trojan prince, each in her turn trying, by promise of great reward, to persuade him to declare in her favor. Juno spoke first, and she offered to bestow kingly power and immense wealth upon Paris, if he would award the prize to her.

"She to Paris made Proffer of royal power, ample rule Unquestion'd. . . . . . . .

'Honor,' she said, 'and homage, tax and toll, From many an inland town and haven large.'"

Minerva next addressed the judge, and she promised him great wisdom and knowledge, as well as success in war, if he would give the apple to her.

Then Venus approached the young prince, who all the while held the golden prize in his hand. She had but few words to say, for she was confident in the power of her beauty and the tempting bribe she was about to offer.

"She with a subtle smile in her mild eyes, The herald of her triumph, drawing nigh Half-whisper'd in his ear, 'I promise thee The fairest and most loving wife in Greece.'

She spoke and laugh'd."

The subtle smile and the whispered promise won the heart of Paris.

Forgetful of none, and disregarding the promises of the other G.o.ddesses, he awarded the prize to Venus.

He consign'd To her soft hand the fruit of burnished rind; And foam-born Venus grasp'd the graceful meed, Of war, of evil war, the quickening seed.

COLUTHUS (Elton's tr.).

Such was the famous judgment of Paris. It was perhaps a just decision, for it may be supposed that Venus, being the G.o.ddess of beauty, was really the most beautiful of the three. But the story does not give us a very high idea of the character of Paris, who now no longer took pleasure in the company of none. All his thoughts and affections were turned away from her by the promise of Venus. He had grown weary, too, of his simple and innocent life among his flocks and herds on the mountain. He therefore wished much for some adventure that would take him away from scenes which had become distasteful to him.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PARIS.

_Vatican, Rome._]

The opportunity soon came. A member of King Priam's family having died, it was announced that the funeral would be celebrated by athletic games, as was the custom in ancient times. Paris resolved to go down to the city and take part in these games. Prizes were to be offered for compet.i.tion, and one of the prizes was to be the finest bull that could be picked from the herds on Mount Ida. Now it happened that the bull selected belonged to Paris himself, but it could not be taken without his consent. He was willing, however, to give it for the games on condition that he should be permitted to enter the list of compet.i.tors.

The condition was agreed to, and so the shepherd prince parted from none and went to the funeral games at Troy. He intended, perhaps, to return sometime, but it was many years before he saw the fair nymph of Mount Ida again,--not until he was about to die of a wound received from one of the Greeks in the Trojan War. none knew what was to happen, for Apollo had conferred upon her the gift of prophecy, and she warned Paris that if he should go away from her he would bring ruin on himself and his country, telling him also that he would seek for her help when it would be too late to save him. These predictions, as we shall see, were fulfilled. none's grief and despair in her loneliness after the departure of Paris are touchingly described in Tennyson's poem:

"O happy Heaven, how canst thou see my face?

O happy earth, how canst thou bear my weight?

O death, death, death, thou ever-floating cloud, There are enough unhappy on this earth, Pa.s.s by the happy souls, that love to live: I pray thee, pa.s.s before my light of life, And shadow all my soul, that I may die.

Thou weighest heavy on the heart within, Weigh heavy on my eyelids: let me die."

At the athletic games in Troy everybody admired the n.o.ble appearance of Paris, but n.o.body knew who he was. In the compet.i.tions he won all the first prizes, for Venus had given him G.o.dlike strength and swiftness. He defeated even Hector, who was the greatest athlete of Troy. Hector, angry at finding himself and all the highborn young men of the city beaten by an unknown stranger, resolved to put him to death, and Paris would probably have been killed, had he not fled for safety into the temple of Jupiter. Ca.s.sandra, who happened to be in the temple at the time, noticed Paris closely, and observing that he bore a strong resemblance to her brothers, she asked him about his birth and age. From his answers she was satisfied that he was her brother, and she at once introduced him to the king. Further inquiries were then made. The old shepherd, Archelaus, to whom Paris had been delivered in his infancy to be exposed on Mount Ida, was still living, and he came and told his story. Then King Priam and Queen Hecuba joyfully embraced and welcomed their son, never thinking of the terrible dream or of the prophecy of aesacus. Hector, no longer angry or jealous, was glad to see his brother, and proud of his victories in the games. Everybody rejoiced except Ca.s.sandra. She knew the evil which was to come to Troy through Paris, but n.o.body would give credit to what the "mad prophetess" said.

Thus restored to his high position as a prince of the royal house of Troy, Paris now resided in his father's palace, apparently contented and happy. But the promise made to him on Mount Ida, which he carefully concealed from his family, was always in his mind. His thoughts were ever turned toward Greece, where dwelt the fairest woman of those times.

This was Helen, wife of Men-e-la'us, king of Spar'ta, celebrated throughout the ancient world for her matchless beauty. Paris had been promised the fairest woman for his wife, and he felt sure that it could be no other than the far-famed Helen. To Greece therefore he resolved to go, as soon as there should be an excuse for undertaking what was then a long and dangerous voyage of many weeks, though in our day it is no more than a few hours' sail.

The occasion was found when King Priam resolved to send amba.s.sadors to the island of Salamis to demand the restoration of his sister Hesione, whom Hercules had carried off many years before. Her husband, Telamon, was now dead, but his son A'jax still held her as a prisoner at his court. Priam had never forgotten his sister's love for himself, for she it was, as will be remembered, who redeemed him from slavery and placed him on his father's throne. He now determined that she should be brought back to her native country, and Paris earnestly begged permission to take charge of the expedition which was to be sent to Salamis for that purpose. Priam consented, and a fleet worthy to convey the son of the king of Troy and his retinue to Greece was built by Pher'e-clus, a skillful Trojan craftsman, whom the G.o.ddess Minerva (Pallas) had instructed in all kinds of workmanship.

For loved by Pallas, Pallas did impart To him the shipwright's and the builder's art.

Beneath his hand the fleet of Paris rose, The fatal cause of all his country's woes.

POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.

Before the departure of the fleet, Ca.s.sandra raised her voice of warning, but as usual her words were not heeded, and so Paris set sail.

He reached the sh.o.r.es of Greece in safety; but instead of proceeding to Salamis to demand Hesione from King Ajax, he steered his vessels to the coast of Sparta. This he did under the guidance and direction of Venus, who was now about to fulfill the promise by which she had won the golden prize on Mount Ida.

Landing in Sparta, Paris hastened to the court of Menelaus, where he was hospitably received. The king gave banquets in his honor and invited him to prolong his stay in Sparta, and the beautiful Queen Helen joined in her husband's kind attentions to their guest.

Soon after the arrival of Paris, the king of Sparta received an invitation to take part in a hunting expedition in the island of Crete.

Having no suspicion of the evil design of Paris, he accepted the invitation. He departed for Crete, leaving to his queen the duty of entertaining the Trojan prince until his return. Then Paris, taking advantage of the absence of Menelaus, induced Helen to desert her husband and her home, and go with him to Troy. He told her of the promise of Venus, and a.s.sured her that she would be received with great honor in his father's palace, and protected against the anger of Menelaus.

From her husband's stranger-sheltering home He tempted Helen o'er the ocean foam.

COLUTHUS (Elton's tr.).

[Ill.u.s.tration: ABDUCTION OF HELEN.

_Painting by Deutsch._]

Helen having consented, Paris carried her off in his fleet. At the same time he carried away a vast quant.i.ty of treasure in gold and other costly things which belonged to King Menelaus. On the voyage homeward the ships were driven by a storm to the sh.o.r.es of the island of Cran'a-e, where Paris and Helen remained for some time. When at last they reached the Trojan capital they were cordially welcomed by King Priam and Queen Hecuba, and in a short time they were married, and the event was celebrated with great rejoicing.

But all the people of Troy did not take part in this rejoicing. Hector, the son of Priam, and others of his wisest counselors, strongly censured the conduct of Paris, and they advised the king to send Helen back to Sparta. But Priam would not listen to their prudent advice, and so she remained in Troy.

The great beauty of Helen has been celebrated by poets in ancient and modern times. Tennyson, in his "Dream of Fair Women," introduces her as one of the forms of the vision he describes:

"I saw a lady within call, Stiller than chisell'd marble, standing there; A daughter of the G.o.ds, divinely tall, And most divinely fair."

III. THE LEAGUE AGAINST TROY.

The carrying off of Helen was the cause of the Trojan War. Menelaus, upon hearing what Paris had done, immediately returned to Sparta, and began to make preparations to avenge the wrong. He called upon the other kings and princes of Greece to join him with their armies and fleets in a war against Troy. They were bound to do this by an oath they had taken at the time of the marriage of Helen and Menelaus.