The Story of Troy | Page 7

to Ar-che-laʹus, one of the shepherds of Mount
Ida, with instructions to expose it in a place where it might be
destroyed by wild beasts. The shepherd, though very unwilling to do so
cruel a thing, was obliged to obey, but on returning to the spot a few
days afterwards he found the infant boy alive and unhurt. Some say that
the child had been nursed and carefully tended by a she-bear. Archelaus
was so touched with pity at the sight of the innocent babe smiling in his
face, that he took the boy to his cottage, and, giving him the name Paris,
brought him up as one of his own family.
With the herdsmen on Mount Ida, Paris spent his early years, not
knowing that he was King Priam's son. He was a brave youth, and of
exceeding beauty.
"His sunny hair Cluster'd about his temples like a god's."
TENNYSON, Å’none.
He was skilled, too, in all athletic exercises, he was a bold huntsman,
and so brave in defending the shepherds against the attacks of robbers
that they called him Alexander, a name which means a protector of men.
Thus the young prince became a favorite with the people who lived on
the hills. Very happy he was amongst them, and amongst the flocks
which his good friend and foster father, Archelaus, gave him to be his
own. He was still more happy in the company of the charming nymph
Œ-noʹne, the daughter of a river god; and he loved her and made her
his wife. But this happiness was destined not to be of long duration.
The Fates[A] had decreed it otherwise. Å’none the beautiful, whose
sorrows have been the theme of many poets, was to lose the love of the
young shepherd prince, and the dream of Hecuba was to have its
fulfillment.
The Fate That rules the will of Jove had spun the days Of Paris and
Å’none.
QUINTUS SMYRNÆUS.

[Footnote A: The Fates were the three sisters, Cloʹtho, Lachʹe-sis,
and Atʹro-pos, powerful goddesses who controlled the birth and life
of mankind, Clotho, the youngest, presided over the moment of birth,
and held a distaff in her hand; Lachesis spun out the thread of human
existence (all the events and action's of man's life); and Atropos, with a
pair of shears which she always carried, cut this thread at the moment
of death.]

II. THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS.
It was through a quarrel among the three goddesses, Juno, Venus, and
Minerva, that Å’none, the fair nymph of Mount Ida, met her sad fate,
and that the destruction of Troy was brought about. The strife arose on
the occasion of the marriage of Peʹleus and Theʹtis. Peleus was a
king of Thesʹsa-ly, in Greece, and one of the great heroes of those
days. Thetis was a daughter of the sea god Neʹre-us, who had fifty
daughters, all beautiful sea nymphs, called "Ne-reʹi-des," from the
name of their father. Their duty was to attend upon the greater sea gods,
and especially to obey the orders of Neptune.
Thetis was so beautiful that Jupiter himself wished to marry her, but the
Fates told him she was destined to have a son who would be greater
than his father. The king of heaven having no desire that a son of his
should be greater than himself, gave up the idea of wedding the fair
nymph of the sea, and consented that she should be the wife of Peleus,
who had long loved and wooed her. But Thetis, being a goddess, was
unwilling to marry a mortal man. However, she at last consented, and
all the gods and goddesses, with one exception, were present at the
marriage feast.
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 Eʹris, or Dis-corʹdi-a, the goddess 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 goddess 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