Apple of Discord explained

The Apple of Discord (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: {{lang|grc|μῆλον τῆς Ἔριδος) was a golden apple dropped by Eris, the goddess of strife, at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis in the Greek myth of the Judgement of Paris. It sparked a vanity-fueled dispute among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War.[1]

In common parlance, the apple of discord is the core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute.[2]

Derivative uses

In the Eixample district of Barcelona, there is a block nicknamed in Spanish Spanish; Castilian: La manzana de la discordia (Catalan; Valencian: [[Illa de la Discòrdia]]).[3] The reason for this usage is that the word Spanish; Castilian: manzana means both "apple" and "city block" in Spanish. It was so named ("block of discord") because it features four different interpretations of Modernisme architecture: Antoni Gaudí's Casa Batlló, Lluís Domènech i Montaner's Casa Lleó Morera, Josep Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Amatller, and Enric Sagnier's Casa Mulleras.

"To the Most Beautiful"

In some later sources, Eris inscribed on the apple "for the fairest"[4] or "to the most beautiful" before tossing it. The most popular version of the inscription is Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΤΗΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: τῇ καλλίστῃ|translit=tē(i) kallistē(i)|lit=for/to the most beautiful, Greek, Modern (1453-);: τη καλλίστη|ti kallisti|lit=).[5] Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Καλλίστῃ is the dative singular of the feminine superlative of Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: καλός, "beautiful". In Latin sources, the word is Latin: formosissima.[6]

In an attempt to rationalize the myth, Ptolemaeus Chennus wrote that instead of an apple, the three goddesses fought over which would get a man named Melus ("apple") as her priest, with Paris deciding in favour of Aphrodite.[7]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Apollodorus . The Library Epitome . E.3.2 . http://www.theoi.com/Text/ApollodorusE.html#3 . J. G. Frazer.
  2. Book: Timothy L. Gall . Susan B. Gall . The Lincoln Library of Greek & Roman Mythology . 1 January 2006 . Lincoln Library Press . 9780912168210.
  3. Book: Lorda . Mariano Mataix . La Manzana de la Discordia . 7 May 1990 . Marcombo . 978-84-267-0783-3 . 13 . es.
  4. Book: Lucian . The Judgement of Paris . Dialogues of the Gods . H. W. & F. G. Fowler . http://www.theoi.com/Text/LucianDialoguesGods1.html#0 .
  5. Book: Randall L. Schweller . Maxwell's Demon and the Golden Apple: Global Discord in the New Millennium . 3 April 2014 . JHU Press . 9781421412788.
  6. Book: Hyginus . Fabulae . 92 . http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae2.html#92 . Mary Grant . 7 December 2017.
  7. [Ptolemaeus Chennus]