The apple of contention - in ancient Greek myths, a golden apple on which was written the "most beautiful" ( dr. Greek. Τῇ καλλίστῃ ), thrown by the goddess of contention Eris on the banquet table during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis [1] .
According to legend, this golden apple caused a quarrel between three women goddesses - Hera , Athens and Aphrodite . The young man Paris was called to judge. They tried to persuade him to their side, promising to make him the most powerful ruler (Hera), the bravest hero (Athena) or the owner of the most beautiful woman (Aphrodite) [2] . He awarded this apple to Aphrodite, who helped him steal Elena , the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, for this . This became the cause of the Trojan War [3] . Therefore, the expression "apple of discord" has become a figurative designation of any insignificant thing or event, which can lead to large-scale, unpredictable and, often, destructive consequences.
Apparently, the first to use the expression “apple of discord” in the modern sense was the Roman historian Justin in the 2nd century AD [4] .
See also
- Court of Paris
Notes
- ↑ Apple of Discord // Mythological Dictionary / ed. M.N. Botvinnik , M.A. Kogan , M. B. Rabinovich, B.P. Seletsky. - 2nd ed. - L .: Uchpedgiz . Leningra. Department, 1961 .-- S. 289.
- ↑ Paris // Myths of the World : Encycl. in 2 t / hl ed. S. A. Tokarev . - 2nd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1988. - T. 2: K — Ya. - S. 288.
- ↑ Fedoseenko V.M. Gods and People of the Ancient World: A Brief Dictionary. - M.: Eugene, 1995 .-- S. 26.
- ↑ Apple of contention // Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions / V. Serov. - 2nd. - M .: Lokid-Press, 2005. - S. 870. - 880 p. - ISBN 5-320-00323-4 .