Eris

One of the most interesting aspects of the old polytheist religions lies in the human character of the Gods themselves. In the monotheistic religions, God is all mighty: omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient. In the religions of old no God is all mighty for there are several gods, each with his or her own atributes and powers. As example, one could mention the Norse legend of Ragnarök, in which most of the primal Gods fall in battle. But there's more to it: not only the Gods are not all mighty, but they also have other human traits. If we go to the Ancient Greece's mythology, we learn that the Gods are not exactly good or evil - I'd say they are driven by their own selfish desires. And they fall prey to some human traits, like ambition, vanity, corruption.

This was the possible introduction to mention Eris, the Goddess of Strife, sister of none other than the merciless Ares. For her troublesome character, Eris was not invited to the wedding party of Peleus and Thetis, who would give birth to the hero Achilles. It was a wedding, after all, even if a forced wedding arranged by the Gods themselves, and no one - not even the Gods - wanted the troublemaker around. Eris could not ignore the decision of all Olympian Gods, but being a Goddess, she had her own ways of dealing with the situation. Moved by resentment (perhaps by envy?), she found a way of introducing into the party the Apple of Discord, a golden apple meant "for the most beautiful one" in the party. This, of course, made the Goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite to quarrel over the possession of the apple. Zeus, being wise and definitely not a fool, didn't want to decide to whom should the apple go - he knew all too well, it seems, that it is better not to displease two women, especially if they were Goddesses themselves. So he picked up the Trojan prince Paris to serve as a judge to that delicate situation. So we see: the father of the Gods delegating an unpleasant task into a mortal man - and Paris, being a man but above all a fool, did not waste the opportunity to meddle into the Gods' affairs. Ah, the power. Who can resist it?

Anyway. As soon as the three Goddesses found out about Zeus' plot, they tried to bribe Paris, each offering him what was in their power to offer. As such, Hera offered the prince political power; Athena promised battle prowesses; and Aphrodite suggested the love of the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen of Sparta. Paris could have been a wise ruler or a great warrior, had he followed the way of Hera or Athena; but the flesh is weak, or so they say, and he decided to accept Aphrodite's offer - which in turn granted him the hatred of the other goddesses, and ignited the spark that would lead to the Trojan Wars (always the women), but I'll leave that tale for another day maybe. While the Goddesses bribed a man over their own vanity, Eris laughed. It was so simple a plot: an apple. And by the means of the apple, Eris, not Aphrodite, was the true temptress of the tale. Interesting one, Eris.