On a recent trip home to southwest Florida, my family and I stopped by The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. I never thought I would leave a cultural complex boasting a circus museum (John Ringling of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus), the couple’s Venetian Gothic mansion and an impressive personal art collection with such a valuable life lesson.
One painting that caught my eye is from the permanent collection, The Judgment of Paris. Inspired by a famous Ancient Greek myth of the same name, The Judgment of Paris is claimed to have caused the great Trojan War and ties into one of my philosophies on life very nicely.
The story starts at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the hero and the sea goddess at Mount Pelion. Everyone was invited with the exception of the unpopular Eris, the Goddess of Strife. Angered at the snub, she crashed the wedding and threw a golden apple into the crowd. It landed between the three most powerful goddesses, Hera, Athene and Aphrodite. Picking it up, Zeus found it was inscribed ‘For the Fairest’. Wisely deciding not to judge between the three deities himself, Zeus passed the buck to a striking young man, Paris, to serve as arbiter.
First Hera, the great queen, approached him and flaunted her beauty. She promised Paris that if he awarded her the apple, she would grant him wealth and power to rule over the greatest kingdom on earth. Paris was excited about this and desperately wanted her gift.
Shortly thereafter, Athene approached him and promised him victory in all battles, together with glory and wisdom the three most precious gifts a man could have. This sounded attractive to Paris – who wouldn’t desire wisdom and glory?
Then came Aphrodite. She asked Paris for the apple and in return promised him a great love with the most beautiful woman in the land. Paris, overpowered by her beauty, handed her the apple without pausing to reflect on his decision. He was a young man, after all…
As a result, Paris found two new enemies in Hera and Athene. True to her promise, Aphrodite gave him Helen, the most beautiful woman living on the earth at that time but, in order to enjoy her, he had to snatch her from her powerful husband, Menelaus. So began the terrible ten years’ war between the Trojans and the Greeks in which many, including Paris himself, lost their lives.
While I would not argue with Paris for choosing love over power and wisdom (I think most of us would choose the same), the haste in which he made the decision leaves no surprise that there were grave consequences. While we cannot please everyone, Paris only had one apple after all; we can be thoughtful in our deliberations. Only then can we take whatever unforeseen consequences come as a result of our decision and still be confident that we made the right one. Unless you are Marty or Doc, there is no going back.
Author Resource:
Barbara Merola is an expert on how to respond to challenges by taking control of choices. She provides young adults tools to achieve desired results and successfully reach goals no matter how great the challenge through training sessions and speaking engagements. Visit http://www.barbaramerola.com .
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