XCII: PARIDIS IUDICIUM Peleus, a mortal, was chosen to marry a sea-nymph, Thetis. The gods attended the banquet, but (shades of “Sleeping Beauty”) the one who had been left out, Eris (Discord), caused dissent by throwing down a golden apple inscribed “For the Most Beautiful.” Instantly the goddesses Juno, Minerva and Venus all claimed it. Scared to make the call himself, Zeus sent the goddesses to Paris (ostensibly a country boy, but really a prince of Troy) to decide who should have it. Each tried to bribe him, but the bribe that won was Venus’s promise to give him as wife Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. The only problem was, Helen was already married, and when Paris kidnapped her, it began the Trojan War. Grammar: Jussive subjunctive and Indirect Question/Command review of superlatives Characters: Peleus and Thetis, the bride (a goddess) and groom (a human) Eris, Eridis: the goddess Strife (Discordia) Iuno, Iunonis = Juno, queen of the gods Minerva, -ae = Minerva, goddess of wisdom Venus, Veneris = Venus, goddess of love Mercurius, -i = Mercury, messenger of the gods Ida, -ae = Mt. Ida, a mountain near Troy Learning vocabulary artificium, -i n = craft coniugium, -i n = marriage discedo, -ere, discessi, discessum = to go away dives, divitis = rich (here divites plural means “riches”) epulum, -i n = a feast formosus, -a, -um = beautiful fortis, -e = brave, strong ianua, -ae f = door mulier, mulieris f = a woman nec, neque = and not or and … not nec…nec and neque … neque = neither … nor orior, oriri, ortus sum = to arise praesto, praestare, praestiti praestatum = to surpass regno, -are, -avi, -atum = to rule vindico, -are, -avi, -atum = claim, assume appropriate, liberate (here it has the sense of, “Claim [as the most worthy]”) Iovis cum Thetis Peleo nuberet*, ad epulum dicitur omnis* deos convocasse excepta Eride, id est Discordia, quae cum postea supervenisset* nec admitteretur ad epulum, ab ianua misit in medium malum*, (et) dicit, “quae* esset formosissima, attolleret.*” *nuberet: married *omnis = omnes (-is sometimes appears for –es in 3rd declension nom./acc.) supervenisset = “came later” *malum, -i n = an apple *quae = “she who”Iuno Venus Minerva formam sibi vindicare coeperunt, inter quas magna discordia orta, Iovis imperat Mercurio, ut deducat eas in Ida monte ad Alexandrum Paridem eumque iubeat iudicare*. Cui Iuno, si secundum se* iudicasset, pollicita est in omnibus terris eum regnaturum*, divites praeter ceteros praestaturum; Minerva, si inde victrix* discederet, fortissimum inter mortales futurum et omni artificio scium*; Venus autem Helenam Tyndarei filiam formosissimam omnium mulierum* se in coniugium dare promisit. Paris donum posterius prioribus anteposuit* Veneremque pulcherrimam esse iudicavit; ob id Iuno et Minerva Troianis fuerunt infestae*. Alexander Veneris impulsu* Helenam a Lacedaemone ab hospite Menelao Troiam abduxit eamque in coniugio habuit. *attoleret, jussive subjunctive *iudicare = to judge *secundum se = “in her favor” *regnaturum = regnaturum esse victrix = “the victor” (fem., masc, is “victor”) *scius, -a, -um = knowledgeable *donum … anteposuit = “preferred the last gift to the first (two)” *infestus, -a, -um = enraged *impulsus, -us m. = the
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