Plate with the Judgement of Paris

Hermes has led the goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena to Paris to resolve a dispute over who among them is the most beautiful. Paris, seated at left, has just chosen Aphrodite, who holds the winner’s golden apple while her son Eros flies above her. Hera and Athena look on from the right. Aphrodite had offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, as a bribe, and his subsequent abduction of Helen from Sparta led to the Trojan War.