Paris Of Troy: He Caused Destruction Of Troy As The Seer Had Predicted

David Tee - AncientPages.com - Unlike Helen of Troy, the mythological record surrounding Paris of Troy is quite consistent. We have a fairly good account of his life and involvement in the Trojan War.

Depending on which ancient Greek historian you believe, Paris lived, according to Homer, in the 12 th century BC. He was the son of the famed Trojan King Priam the last ruler of Troy, who witnessed the destruction of his city during the Trojan War. At the time of Paris’ birth, his mother Queen Hecuba had a dream.

In this dream she gave birth to a flaming torch.

Paris, in "Phrygian dress", a second-century CE Roman marble. Public Domain CC BY-SA 3.0

After consulting with a seer who said that the dream indicated that her unborn child would bring destruction to Troy, Paris was sentenced to death.

Yet neither King Priam or his wife could bring themselves to kill their child. They commanded Agelaus, a shepherd, to abandon the child on Mount Ida. Agelaus did as the king commanded but Paris was cared for by a mother bear. Agelaus went back to the site where he left the baby. When he found Paris still alive, he took the child home and raised him as his own son.

During this time, Paris met and married Oenone, a wood nymph. The myths indicate that the the couple lived a very happy life as  Paris tended cattle. When King Priam’s men took his favorite bull for a competition, Paris decided to enter the competition to win back his treasured animal.

It was this competition that helped Paris receive his rightful place as one of the sons of King Priam. His father forgot the prophecy that caused him and Hecuba to abandon Paris on the mountain and welcomed him back into the family.

While Paris was the son of Agelaus, he gained a reputation for being able to make tough decisions without being influenced by outside interests. Yet, for some reason, after he was restored to his rightful place, Paris lost this characteristic and allowed outside influences affect his judgment.

This was seen in his appointment to judge the beauty of Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Each one of the contestants offered him a prize if he would select them as the most beautiful goddess.

Paris, still a married man, succumbed to the temptations and chose Aphrodite as she would help him marry the most beautiful woman in the world. This decision brought him in contact with Helen, the wife of Menelaus.

While the myths contain conflicting accounts of of how Paris brought Helen back to Troy, is a fact that he did and his new bride became Helen of Troy. Hera tried to destroy the supposed lovers by sending a storm on their return voyage to the city of Troy but Aphrodite interceded and the couple made it safely home.

According to some of the myths, it seems that Paris was not a particularly brave man. It is said that he lost favor among his brothers and the people of Troy because he was a coward. His role in the war was not a heroic one and he was forced by his brother hector to fight King Menelaus as that duel was to end the war.

Paris was no match for Menelaus and when it appeared that the latter would win the duel, Aphrodite interceded once again and protected Paris. This protection allowed Paris to fight another day and he was able to kill Apollo by shooting that fabled arrow into Apollo's heel.

A 19th-century painting of the Wooden Horse. A famous story tells how the Greeks captured Troy by hiding soldiers inside the giant horse. Credit: Public Domain

His victory was not long enjoyed, as Paris himself was shot with a poisoned arrow and he was removed from battle. Every attempt was made to save Paris’ life. His friends even took him to his abandoned wife Oenone who had the gift of healing. Unfortunately for Paris, Oenone was still angry over being abandoned and refused to heal her husband.

By the time she agreed to use her healing power, Paris had died from the poison. Troy was destroyed shortly after his death through the Trojan Horse and the prophecy was fulfilled. Paris had caused the destruction of Troy as the seer had predicted.

Written by – David Tee AncientPages.com Staff Writer

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