The Judgement of Paris

 One golden apple left by Discord 

In Olympus created chaos; 

"For the Fairest of All!" it quoth. 

Athene, Aphrodite, and Hera 

Fell to quarreling amongst themselves 

Like hissing wildcats. 

To Zeus, the King of Heaven, they went;

But he refused to honour their request, 

Fearing the wrath of the ones he spurned. 

"Only a human can make this judgement," he mused (or rather rumbled).

His eye fell on young Paris:

 Now a shepherd, 

But a prince of Troy by birth. 

Ah, of course! The perfect scapegoat. 

He turned to Hermes, his swift-footed son, 

And commanded him to take the three goddesses to Paris. 

Hermes, laughing merrily, led the goddesses to Paris. 

"This apple must go to the fairest of them all," quoth he to the dumbstruck boy. 

"But how can I, unworthy that I am, 

Judge these three beauteous, glorious goddesses?" whispered poor Paris. 

"You will be handsomely rewarded," 

Said Hermes in his silvery voice. 

"Nor will you be punished." 

The ways of the gods are strange indeed;

But Paris did not argue further. 

His eyes were blinded by the beauty of the three goddesses;

One by one, they stood before him. 

First came Hera; queen of queens, 

The supreme goddess, cow-eyed and glowing like a jewel. 

"Choose me," said she; "I will give you riches unheard of!" 

But Paris held onto the apple. 

Then came Athene, tall and broad-shouldered, 

Her grey eyes shining with grace: 

"Choose me," she murmured, " and I will make you the wisest man alive." 

A tempting offer, but the apple stayed with Paris. 

And, at last, the ocean-born goddess 

Floated up to Paris. 

Aphrodite stood before him in all her beauteous splendour; 

There were flowers in her dark hair, 

And her large eyes glowed magnificently. 

"Choose me," she sang. "I will give you the loveliest woman alive!"

There was a ringing in Paris's ears, 

And his eyes were glazed. 

He held out the apple to Aphrodite. 

She took it from him with a triumphant smile;

Her silvery laugh rang around the mountains. 

Beauty and lust had triumphed over wealth and wisdom. 

But alas! Athene and Hera had given their word;

They could not harm Paris-- yet. 

But Discord was the one that ultimately won; 

To think that a golden apple 

Would cause the Trojan war! 

If you listen carefully, 

You can still hear Discord cackling maliciously.