Humanities › History & Culture Paris, the Trojan Prince Print Heritage Images/Getty Images / Getty Images History & Culture Ancient History and Culture Mythology & Religion Figures & Events Ancient Languages Greece Egypt Asia Rome American History African American History African History Asian History European History Genealogy Inventions Latin American History Medieval & Renaissance History Military History The 20th Century Women's History View More By N.S. Gill N.S. Gill Ancient History and Latin Expert M.A., Linguistics, University of Minnesota B.A., Latin, University of Minnesota N.S. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on October 22, 2019 Before there was a celebrity named Paris or a city of lights sharing the name, there was another famous Paris connected with the most famous war in history. Paris (Alexandros/Alexander) was the son of King Priam of Troy and Queen Hecuba. Hecuba had a dream about the great trouble her unborn child would cause, so when Paris was born, instead of raising him, she ordered him exposed on Mt. Ida. Normally exposure of an infant meant death, but Paris was lucky. He was suckled by a she-bear, then raised to adulthood by a shepherd. Read More Non-Canonical Retelling of the Tale of Troy By N.S. Gill Discord, in an act worthy of her name, gave a golden apple to "the most beautiful goddess," but neglected to name her. She left that choice to the goddesses, but they couldn't decide among themselves. When they couldn't prevail upon Zeus to decide who was most beautiful, they turned to Paris. The 3 goddesses vying for the honor were Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. Each goddess offered something of great value as a bribe to make Paris name her as the most beautiful. Paris might have made his choice based on looks, but he chose the beauty goddess Aphrodite for her bribe. She rewarded him by making the most beautiful mortal, Helen, wife of Menelaus, fall in love with him. Paris then abducted Helen and took her to Troy, thereby starting the Trojan War. Death of Paris In the war, Paris (Achilles' killer) was fatally wounded by one of Hercules' arrows. Ptolemy Hephaestion (Ptolemaeus Chennus) says Menelaus killed Paris. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Gill, N.S. "Paris, the Trojan Prince." ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/paris-in-ancient-world-trojan-tribal-112870. Gill, N.S. (2020, August 27). Paris, the Trojan Prince. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/paris-in-ancient-world-trojan-tribal-112870 Gill, N.S. "Paris, the Trojan Prince." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/paris-in-ancient-world-trojan-tribal-112870 (accessed April 18, 2024). copy citation