The Prophecy of Paris (Greek myth)

Author: Pseudo-Apollodorus

Time Period: 1 CE–500 CE

Country or Culture: Greece

Genre: Myth

PLOT SUMMARY

King Priam and Queen Hecuba are rulers of the great city of Troy, a powerful military and cultural center. Priam fathers many children, both with Hecuba and with other wives and mistresses, most of whom go on to live happy and prosperous lives. When his wife is pregnant with a new child, however, she experiences a horrible dream in which she goes into labor and a flaming torch emerges from her body. Not knowing what the dream might portend, Priam and Hecuba summon the seer Aesacus, a son from Priam’s first marriage. Having learned the secrets of dreams from a young age, Aesacus tells them that the flaming torch signals the eventual destruction of Troy, which the baby will bring about.

On the day the baby is born, Aesacus is struck by a further prophecy, declaring that a child born to the royal family on that day must be killed in order to keep the city safe. Priam and Hecuba, however, cannot bring themselves to harm such a defenseless child themselves. Instead, they summon their chief shepherd, Agelaus, and ask him to take the baby away and to leave him exposed to the elements. The shepherd takes the baby to Mount Ida and abandons him there, hoping that nature will do the deed for him. Shortly after Agelaus walks away, however, a powerful female bear approaches the baby, suckling him and providing him with warmth for many days. When Agelaus returns to determine the fate of the child, he is amazed to find him still alive. The shepherd is so moved by the baby’s survival that he places him in his backpack and returns home, naming the child Paris and deciding to raise him as his own son.

Unaware of his royal lineage, Paris is able to grow up in Agelaus’s household, unharmed by the prophets that warned of the damage he would cause. He is a strikingly beautiful and strong child who impresses everyone he meets. He even gains the nickname Alexander (meaning “the one who protects men”) after encountering a group of livestock thieves and defeating them singlehandedly. Enjoying his life among the animals and even marrying a nymph, the headstrong young Paris blissfully pursues his own desires, entirely unaware that his actions will one day lead to the destruction of one of the greatest cities on earth.

SIGNIFICANCE

This story of the birth and prophecy of Paris comes to the modern day primarily through an account in book 3 of the Bibliotheca (The Library). A multivolume text chronicling the expanse of Greek mythology and legends, the Bibliotheca is written in brief and straightforward prose, eschewing the overwrought drama and language of some other Greek mythological histories in order to create a version of the history that appears more “factual.”

Many other classical writers took up the story of Paris, and indeed, his narrative and the downfall of Troy are central to the Greek poet Homer’s classic Iliad. Paris himself encounters almost all of the major figures of Greek mythology, angering as many gods and goddesses as he pleases and crossing paths with the greatest kings and warriors of his time. Here, however, the writer of the Bibliotheca—traditionally believed to be Apollodorus, though this is now considered incorrect—focuses entirely on the prophecy surrounding the birth of Paris and, in doing so, concentrates on the tension between the desires of the mortals and the decrees of the gods.

Before Paris is even brought into the world, the gods communicate the clear, unambiguous message that he will bring about the downfall of Troy. Aesacus, a member of Priam’s family, first makes this declaration, while in other versions of the myth, a sibyl of the god Apollo or Paris’s sister Cassandra gives the omen. It is evident then, through both the word of the god and the prophecy of the family, that Paris will bring doom to the kingdom; however, Priam and Hecuba are unable to follow the advice they are given. What begins instead is a series of events in which the mortals fail to heed the warnings of the gods and, as a result, ensure their own deaths. This narrative is interesting because even as the gods warn that Paris should be killed, they also seem to conspire to keep him alive. For instance, the young prince is left on Mount Ida, a location sacred to the gods and goddesses, and is mystically protected by a gigantic bear. When he somehow survives exposure to the elements, the shepherd takes pity on the baby and decides to raise him. These events call attention to the core lesson of the myth: although Hecuba and Priam believe they might outwit the god’s omen, in reality it is not a warning but the announcement of a divine plan. The outcome is already written, even as the parents do their best to avoid it.

While the actual logic and schemes of the gods remain unspoken in this brief narrative from the Bibliotheca, ancient readers familiar with the long dramas between Paris and various deities would have known the dominant themes of his life. In Greek mythology, the gods themselves are often as fickle as the humans, their whims and fancies likely to result in massive destruction and widespread war. As the story of the prophecy of Paris shows, however, even when the actions of the gods seem impulsive or arbitrary, the mortals are still doomed to follow the prophesied path and meet whatever violent ending awaits them.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, Michael John. The Fall of Troy in Early Greek Poetry and Art. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.

Bryce, Trevor R. “The Trojan War: Is There Truth behind the Legend?” Near Eastern Archaeology 65.3 (2002): 182–95. Print.

Hard, Robin. “The Birth and Early Life of Paris, and His Judgement of the Three Goddesses.” The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology. London: Routledge, 2004. 441–44. Print.

“Paris, in Greek Mythology.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th ed. (2013): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 26 June 2013.

Pseudo-Apollodorus. The Library. Vol. 2. Trans. James George Frazer. Ed. G. P. Goold. 1922. Cambridge: Loeb Classical Lib., 1996. Print.