The Apple Of Discord
The wedding of Peleus and the sea-goddess Thetis2were held and all gods were invited. But herabsence3 of one goddess was clearly noticeable. Itwas Eris, the goddess of discord. As she plantedseeds of discord wherever she went, it was naturalthat her presence at the ceremony was notdesirable. She had good reason to feel angry. Soshe decided to make fun of4 the group at the party. Eris slipped5 into the hall after the coupleleft and rolled on the floor a golden apple , having the words, “For the fairest”. It caused aviolent quarrel among the three goddesses, Hera , Athena and Aphrodite. Zeus found itadvisable to send them before a shepherd boy on Mt Ida, Paris by name , for judgment.Hermes, the messenger, took the apple in his hand and led the goddess away.
Paris was son of Priam, king of Troy. As his mother dreamed at his birth that she was bearing apiece of burning wood, the babe was regarded as representing the destruction of the cityitself. To save the kingdom from possible disaster6 , the parents had the helpless infant lefton top of Mt Ida to die. However, he survived his ill fate. Brought up by the herdsmen, hebecame a strong, handsome lad. He was secretly united with Oenone, a fair and faithfulmountain fairy maiden. On this particular day, as he was taking care of his sheep on themountain side, the youth was surprised to see four human beings standing before him. Hermestold him about his mission and left. The three holy beauties then competed with each other,showing themselves up before the shepherd. Hera promised to make him king of Asia. Athenaundertook7 to help him get imperishable fame in war; whereas Aphrodite offered to secure forhim the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. The primitive instinct of the boy thusmoved, Aphrodite won the prize , and the other two goddesses left in anger and became deadlyenemies of Troy.
阅读自测
Ⅰ. Fill in the blanks with proper words in the passage :
1. But the absence________ one goddess was clearly noticeable.
2. It was natural that Eris, the goddess of discord, her presence________ the ceremony wasnot desirable.
3. He decided to make fun________ the group at the party.
4. Eris slipped________ the hall after the new couple left.
5. As his mother dreamed ________ his birth that she was bearing a piece of burning wood,the babe was regarded representing ________ the destruction of the city itself.
Ⅱ. Questions :
1. Who rolled the golden apple on the floor?
2. Who were the three goddesses to compete to win the apple ?
3. Who at last won the title of“ the fairest”and what was the disaster?
