The whole tale seems to center on one thing: beauty. It was to be proclaimed the fairest, by a golden apple, no less, that the three goddesses fought for the title by bribing. And it was with the goddess of beauty (or her bribing with the most beautiful woman whose face later will "launch a thousand ships," or both) that Paris, the poor soul whose shoulders were all too suddenly burdened with the responsibility of judging, gave in. But what is beauty anyway?
Beauty, as defined by dictionaries, is the quality (or combination of qualities) in something or someone, which pleases the senses. There would be different definitions depending on culture, but in most cases, when you mention the word, you think of human physical attractiveness, the symmetry of body features and the absence of superficial defects. In a way mankind still holds Trojan Wars from time to time: ladies fighting for the right to be named "fairest," their respective countries vying for them. Beauty contests abound today, the most prestigious of them being the Miss Universe Pageant held every year, though it is not merely the physical aspect which is judged in such contests, but also skill and intelligence, hence the talent and question-and-answer portions. This brings into the picture what we call "inner beauty." So again, depending on the culture you belong to and also the principles you have, you can define beauty in a multitude of ways. But essentially, in whatever country and according to whatever belief, beauty equates to loveliness or perfection, whether inside or out.
Tags: beauty, zeus, beautiful, women