24

92 When Paris was born of Hecuba, Priam, his father, went to the oracle of Phoebus and inquired about the son born to him. And this oracle was given to him. A son, Paris, was born to you, an ill-fated child; when he reaches thirty, he will destroy the kingdom of the Phrygians. And having heard these things, Priam immediately renamed him Alexander, and sent him to a field named Amandra, to be nursed by a certain farmer, until the thirty years which the oracle had mentioned should pass, Priam his father leaving the same Alexander, also called Paris, in the country; and having built a great wall in that same field, he called it the city of Parion. And Paris remained there, being brought up and spending his time and reading in it; who became eloquent and well-educated, and he composed a speech of praise for Aphrodite, saying that no goddess was greater than her, neither Hera nor Athena. For he said that Aphrodite was desire; from desire, therefore, he said that all things are born, in his exposition. For this reason they relate that Paris judged between Pallas and Hera and Aphrodite and to Aphrodite he gave the apple, which is the victory, saying that desire, which is Aphrodite, gives birth to all things, both children and wisdom and prudence and 93 arts and all other things in both rational and irrational beings; and that nothing is greater or better than her. The same Paris also composed a hymn to her called the Cestus. But after the 32nd year had passed, Priam, considering that the time of the oracle given concerning Paris's 30 years had passed, sent and brought the same Alexander, also called Paris, from the country with all honor; for he loved him. And Priam himself went out to meet him, and his senators with him, and all his brothers and all the people of the city. And the same Paris entered Troy in his 33rd year, in the month of Xanthicus, which is also April. And Priam, seeing him so comely in appearance and in strength and in speech, commanded him to take gifts and go to sacrifice in Greece to Apollo Daphnephoros, saying that he has pitied my old age and turned aside the evils. For behold, the time of the oracle has passed. And king Priam, having written letters for the same Paris to all the kings, that is toparchs, of the land of Europe, so that they might receive his son Paris, also called Alexander, who was going to fulfill a vow to sacrifice to Apollo, sent the same Paris away, sending gifts to the kings through him. And he departed on the 18th day of the month Daesius, which is also June, 57 days after his arrival in Troy, and sailing away with many royal gifts, having with him 100 young Phrygian men. And he arrived in the city 94 called Sparta of Greece, which was ruled, that is governed, by Menelaus, son of Pleisthenes; which Menelaus was brought up in the palace of Atreus, king of the Argives, along with Agamemnon, his son; and from there the two were called the Atreidae. But Menelaus was ready to sail at once to Crete with his kinsmen, being obligated to sacrifice to Zeus and Europa in Gortyn, a city of Crete, when Paris came to him in the city of Sparta. For Menelaus had the custom of holding festivals and sacrifices at the same time each year in memory of Europa, as being of her race. And having received Alexander, also called Paris, and the letters of king Priam of Phrygia and Asia, and the royal gifts given by him, he embraced Paris Alexander, and having received him kindly, as his own son, with all honor he assigned to him in his own palace lodging and all kinds of provisions and for his men and every service, telling him to stay in the same city for as many days as he wished, asking him to remain and recover from the weariness of the voyage and then to depart to fulfill the order of the sacrifice to

24

92 Τοῦ Πάριδος γεννηθέντος ὑπὸ τῆς Ἑκάβης, Πρίαμος, ὁ τούτου πατήρ, ἀπελθὼν ἐν τῷ μαντείῳ τοῦ Φοίβου ἐπυνθάνετο περὶ τοῦ τεχθέντος αὐτῷ υἱοῦ. καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ὁ χρησμὸς οὗτος. Ἐτέχθη σοι υἱὸς Πάρις, παῖς δύσπαρις, τριακοντούτης γενόμενος ὀλέσει τὰ βασίλεια Φρυγῶν. καὶ ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Πρίαμος εὐθέως μετωνόμασεν αὐτὸν Ἀλέξανδρον, καὶ ἔπεμψεν αὐτὸν ἐν ἀγρῷ ὀνόματι Ἀμάνδρᾳ, γαλακτοτροφῆναι παρὰ γεηπόνῳ τινί, ἄχρις οὗ διέλθῃ τὰ τριάκοντα ἔτη, ἅπερ ὁ χρησμὸς εἶπεν, ἐάσας τὸν αὐτὸν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν καὶ Πάριδα Πρίαμος, ὁ αὐτοῦ πατήρ, ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ· ποιήσας δὲ τεῖχος ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ἀγρῷ μέγα ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ πόλιν τὸ Πάριον. καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ ὁ Πάρις ἀνατρεφόμενος καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ διάγων καὶ ἀναγινώσκων· ὅστις ἐλλόγιμος καὶ εὐπαίδευτος ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐξέθετο λόγον ἐγκωμιαστικὸν εἰς τὴν Ἀφροδίτην, λέγων μείζονα αὐτῆς θεὰν μὴ εἶναι μήτε τὴν Ἥραν μήτε τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν. τὴν γὰρ Ἀφροδίτην τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν εἶπεν εἶναι· ἐκ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας οὖν πάντα τίκτεσθαι εἶπεν ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἐκθέσει. διὰ τοῦτο ἱστοροῦσιν ὅτι ὁ Πάρις ἔκρινε μεταξὺ Παλλάδος καὶ Ἥρας καὶ Ἀφροδίτης καὶ τῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ ἔδωκε τὸ μῆλον, ὅ ἐστι τὴν νίκην, εἰπὼν ὅτι ἡ ἐπιθυμία, ὅ ἐστιν ἡ Ἀφροδίτη, πάντα τίκτει καὶ τέκνα καὶ σοφίαν καὶ σωφροσύνην καὶ τέ 93 χνας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἐν λογικοῖς καὶ ἀλόγοις· μεῖζον δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ βέλτιον μὴ εἶναι. ἐξέθετο δὲ καὶ ὕμνον εἰς αὐτὴν τὸν λεγόμενον κεστὸν ὁ αὐτὸς Πάρις. μετὰ δὲ τὸ διελθεῖν τὸ λβʹ ἔτος λογισάμενος ὁ Πρίαμος ὅτι παρῆλθεν ὁ χρόνος τοῦ δοθέντος χρησμοῦ περὶ τοῦ Πάριδος τῶν λʹ ἐνιαυτῶν, πέμψας ἤγαγεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγροῦ τὸν αὐτὸν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν καὶ Πάριδα μετὰ πάσης τιμῆς· ἐφίλει γὰρ αὐτόν. καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ αὐτὸς Πρίαμος εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ συγκλητικοὶ αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ πάντες καὶ πάντες οἱ τῆς πόλεως. καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἐν τῇ Τροίᾳ ὁ αὐτὸς Πάρις τῷ λγʹ αὐτοῦ ἔτει μηνὶ ξανθικῷ τῷ καὶ ἀπριλλίῳ. καὶ ἑωρακὼς αὐτὸν ὁ Πρίαμος οὕτως εὐπρεπῆ καὶ τῇ θέᾳ καὶ τῷ σθένει καὶ τῇ διαλέκτῳ, ἐκέλευσεν αὐτῷ λαβεῖν δῶρα καὶ ἀπελθεῖν θυσιάσαι ἐν Ἑλλάδι ∆αφναίῳ Ἀπόλλωνι, λέγων ὅτι ἠλέησέ μου τὸ γῆρας καὶ παρήνεγκε τὰ κακά. ἰδοὺ γὰρ παρῆλθεν ὁ χρόνος τοῦ χρησμοῦ. καὶ ποιήσας τῷ αὐτῷ Πάριδι πρὸς πάντας τοὺς βασιλεῖς, ἤτοι τοπάρχας, τῆς Εὐρώπης χώρας γράμματα ὁ Πρίαμος βασιλεύς, ὥστε δέξασθαι τὸν αὐτοῦ υἱὸν Πάριδα τὸν καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον ἀπιόντα εἰς εὐχὴν θυσιάσαι τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι, ἀπέλυσε τὸν αὐτὸν Πάριδα, πέμψας καὶ τοῖς βασιλεῦσι δι' αὐτοῦ δῶρα. καὶ ἐξῆλθε τῷ δαισίῳ τῷ καὶ ἰουνίῳ μηνὶ ιηʹ μετὰ νʹ καὶ ζʹ ἡμέρας τῆς ἐν τῇ Τροίᾳ παρουσίας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀποπλεύσας μετὰ πολλῶν δώρων βασιλικῶν, ἔχων μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἄνδρας Φρύγας νεανίσκους ρʹ. καὶ κατήντησεν ἐν τῇ πόλει 94 τῇ λεγομένῃ Σπάρτῳ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, τῇ βασιλευομένῃ, ἤτοι τοπαρχουμένῃ, ὑπὸ Μενελάου, υἱοῦ Πλεισθένους· ὅστις Μενέλαος ἀνετράφη εἰς τὰ βασίλεια τοῦ Ἀτρέως, βασιλέως τῶν Ἀργείων, ἅμα Ἀγαμέμνονι, υἱῷ αὐτοῦ· κἀκεῖθεν ἐλέγοντο οἱ δύο Ἀτρεῖδαι. ὁ δὲ Μενέλαος ἕτοιμος ἦν ἀποπλέειν εὐθέως ἐν τῇ Κρήτῃ ἅμα τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν αὐτοῦ, ὀφείλων θυσιάσαι τῷ ∆ιὶ καὶ τῇ Εὐρώπῃ ἐν τῇ Γορτύνῃ, πόλει τῆς Κρήτης, ὅτε ἦλθεν ὁ Πάρις ἐν τῇ Σπάρτῳ πόλει πρὸς αὐτόν. ἔθος γὰρ εἶχεν ὁ Μενέλαος ποιεῖν ἑορτὰς καὶ θυσίας ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ χρόνῳ κατ' ἔτος εἰς μνήμην τῆς Εὐρώπης, ὡς ἐκ γένους αὐτῆς. δεξάμενος δὲ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν καὶ Πάριδα καὶ γράμματα τοῦ βασιλέως Πριάμου τῆς Φρυγίας καὶ Ἀσίας καὶ τὰ βασιλικὰ δῶρα τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ δοθέντα, περιεπτύξατο τὸν Πάριδα Ἀλέξανδρον, καὶ εὐμενῶς δεξάμενος αὐτόν, ὡς ἴδιον υἱόν, ἐν πάσῃ τιμῇ ἀφώρισεν αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ παλατίῳ δίαιταν καὶ παντοῖα ἀναλώματα καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν θεραπείαν, εἰρηκὼς αὐτῷ διατρῖψαι ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ πόλει ὅσας ἐὰν βούληται ἡμέρας, αἰτῶν αὐτὸν μείναντα ἀνεθῆναι διὰ τὴν τοῦ πλοὸς ἀθυμίαν καὶ εἶθ' οὕτως ἀπελθεῖν πληρῶσαι τὸ τάγμα τῆς θυσίας εἰς