“When the wedding feast was ready, all those who live on high Olympus, and all the immortals who dwell upon the earth, came to rejoice with King Peleus and his matchless bride; and they brought rich presents for the bridegroom, such as were never given to another man.  One gave him a suit of armor, rich and fair, a wonder to behold, which lame Vulcan with rare skill had wrought and fashioned.  One bestowed on him the peerless horses, Ballos and Xanthos, and a deftly wrought chariot with trimmings of gold.  And I, one of the least of the guests, gave him an ashen spear which I had cut on the mountain top and fashioned with my own hands.

“At the tables sat Zeus, the father of gods and men; and his wife, the white-armed Hera; and smile-loving Aphrodite; and gray-eyed Athena; and all the wisest and the fairest of the immortals.  The nymphs of the sea danced in honor of Thetis their sister; and the Muses sang their sweetest songs; and Apollo played upon the lyre.  The Fates, too, were there:  sad Clotho, twirling her spindle; unloving Lachesis, with wrinkled lips ready to speak the fatal word; and pitiless Atropos, holding in her hand the unsparing shears.  And around the table passed the youthful and joy-giving Hebe, pouring out rich draughts of nectar for the guests.

“But there was one among all the immortals who had not been invited to the wedding; it was Eris, the daughter of War and Hate.  Her scowling features, and her hot and hasty manners, were ill suited to grace a feast where all should be mirth and gladness; yet in her evil heart she planned to be avenged for the slight which had been put upon her.  While the merry-making was at its height, and the company were listening to the music from Apollo’s lyre, she came unseen into the hall, and threw a golden apple upon the table.  No one knew whence the apple came; but on it were written these words, ‘for the fairest.’

“‘To whom does it belong?’ asked Zeus, stroking his brows in sad perplexity.

“The music ceased, and mirth and jollity fled at once from the banquet.  The torches, which lit up the scene, flickered and smoked; the lustre of the gems in the vaulted roof was dimmed; dark clouds canopied the great hall:  for Eris had taken her place at the table, uninvited and unwelcome though she was.

“‘The apple belongs to me,’ said Hera, trying to snatch it; ’for I am the queen, and gods and men honor me as having no peer on earth.’

“‘Not so!’ cried red-lipped Aphrodite.  ’With me dwell Love and Joy; and not only do gods and men sing my praises, but all nature rejoices in my presence.  The apple is mine, and I will have it!’

“Then Athena joined in the quarrel.  ‘What is it to be a queen,’ said she, ’if at the same time one lacks that good temper which sweetens life?  What is it to have a handsome form and face, while the mind is uncouth and ill-looking?  Beauty of mind is better than beauty of face; for the former is immortal, while the latter fades and dies.  Hence no one has a better right than I to be called the fairest.’