Eris the goddess of strife ( trouble of struggle) was offended that she had not been invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In revenge, she threw a golden apple inscribed with the words " to the fairest"slyly knowing that this would cause an argument amongst other goddess. Aphrodite, Hera and Athena all asked the king of the gods Zeus to decide whom the apple belonged to. Zeus didn't want to cause any more trouble. He knew that by choosing one of the goddess he would incur the resentment of the other two. Instead he decided that the mortal Paris should decide.
All three goddess went before Paris. All three goddess promised Paris different prizes if he picked them. Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. The woman was called Helen, the wife of king Menelaus of Sparta. Aphrodite made Helen fall in love with Paris. The couple ran of together. Menelaus called together his allies in Greece. They set of to recapture Helen. The resulting war lasted for ten years.
