S6E1 - Troy: The Wedding, The Apple, and The Shepherd

The Trojan War originates from a divine wedding reception where Eris, the goddess of discord, initiates a conflict by gifting a golden apple inscribed for the "most beautiful." Zeus avoids the resulting tension among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite by delegating the judgment to Paris, a shepherd unaware of his royal identity as the Prince of Troy. Paris, swayed by Aphrodite’s promise of the world’s most beautiful mortal woman, chooses her as the winner, inadvertently setting the stage for the legendary conflict. This narrative, rooted in ancient Greek literature like Homer’s *Iliad*, highlights the role of prophecies and divine interference in shaping human history. The story of Paris, initially abandoned by King Priam to prevent the city's destruction, underscores the inevitability of fate and the complex, often petty motivations driving both gods and mortals.