Research and Symbolism

 

The Judgement of Paris: Research and Symbolism

 

 

The story of the judgement of Paris has been a very popular subject in classical art, and has been illustrated in paintings and decorative objects countless times.

 

Etruscan Mirrors

 

Below is an Etruscan bronze mirror, depicting what is thought to be the Judgement of Paris. The Etruscans were particularly known for their bronze mirrors, and Greek as well as Etruscan mythology was a popular subject for decoration. The mirrors were created between the sixth and first centuries BC, this particular example is thought to date between the third and fourth.

 

Figure 1 The Judgement of Paris, Bronze Mirror, Etruscan, 3rd-4th century BC, Musee du Louvre

 

16th Century Paintings
 

 Below, in Figure 2, is a 16th century Italian birth tray. Here we see Aphrodite presenting herself naked to Paris, while the other two goddesses remain clothed. There are many versions of the story, and often it is just Aphrodite who removes her clothes, further tempting Paris into choosing her as the winner of the apple.

Symbolism: Eros

In this tray we also see Eros, or Cupid, aiming his arrow at Paris. Eros was Aphrodite's son, and is often pictured near her.





Figure 2 The Judgement of Paris, desco da parto (tray of birth), Girolamo di Benvenuto, c. 1500?, Musee du Louvre



 In Figure 3 we see what is the aftermath of Paris's decision. Here Aphrodite flaunts the golden apple in front of the two losing goddesses.

Symbolism: Aphrodite's Girdle

Colluthus, Rape of Helen 155 ff :
"[At the contest of the goddesses for the golden apple:] Kypris [Aphrodite] lifted up her deep-bosomed robe and bared her breast to the air and had no shame. And lifting with her hands the honeyed girdle of the Erotes (Loves) she bared all her bosom and heeded not her breasts. And smilingly she spake to the herdsman [Paris]."

 

(See Note 1 in Bibliography)

 

 



Aphrodite was said to have a magic girdle, given to her by her husband Hephaestus, who made it. It made her irrisistable to men, and Hera often borrowed it to seduce her husband, Zeus. In Figure 3 Aphrodite, in the centre, is seen wearing the girdle clasped between her breasts. The bare breasts show the overt sexuality often associated with her, compared to the more modest dress of her companions.

 



Figure 3, Pallas Athena, Venus and Juno, Hans von Aachen, 1593, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

 

17th Century Paintings 

In Figure 4 we see the marriage of Thetis and Perseus, where the story begins. Eris can be seen as the figure in red in the top right hand corner. Note that she is the only figure in this colour, so the eye is drawn to her. Offended at not being invited to the celebrations, she holds the golden apple in her hand, ready to throw it. Her skin is painted with a sallow quality, making her appear ugly and unpleasant.
 

Figure 4, The Marriage of Thetis and Perseus, or the Feast of the Gods, Hendrik de Clerck, c. 1606-09, Musee du Louvre

 

In figure 5 we see one of the most commonly depicted scenes in the story, that of the three goddesses standing naked before Paris, awaiting judgement.

We see Eros again in the lower left hand corner, and also Hermes, the pink-cloaked figure standing next to Paris. Hermes was the messenger of the gods, and was asked by Zeus to lead the three goddesses to Paris for judgement. He is depicted with a winged hat, although often he is depicted with winged sandles as well.

Symbolism: Hera's Peacock

Each of the three goddesses had sacred birds, and Hera's was the peacock. In fact, the peacock's eyes came from Argos, the hundred-eyed giant who aided Hera in her revenge against her unfaithful husband. It can be seen in Figure 5, along with Athena's sacred owl.

'Hera rewarded Argos for his service by placing his hundred eyes on the tail of her sacred bird, the peacock.'

 

(Author unknown, see Note 2 in bibliography)

 

 

Symbolism: Athena's Owl

 

The owl, known as the Glaucus, seen on the branch of the left hand tree in figure 5 belongs to Athena, and was her sacred bird and symbol. It represents the side of her that was the goddess of wisdom. Though in many parts of the world the owl was an omen of bad luck and death, the Greeks thought of them as symbols of wisdom, due to the fact they could see what others could not (they could see in the dark). Indeed  in modern western culture we still recognise the 'wise owl'.

 

Athena had turned the beautiful Nyktimene into an owl and made it her familiar. It was to save Nyktimene from the shame after she was raped by her father, because the owl came out only in the dark.

 

Ovid, Metamorphoses 2. 589 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Nyctimene, she who was made a bird [the owl] for her foul sin, supplants me [the crow] in my place of privilege [as the familiar of Athena]? Or have you never heard the tale, renowned all over Lesbos, how Nyctimene outraged her father's fed? Bird she may be, but shuns the daylight and the watching eye, guilt-cursed, her shame shut in the dark unseen, an utter outcast from the sky's bright sheen."

 

(See Note 3 in bibliography)

 







Symbolism: Athena's Armour

Athena was the goddess of just war (it was Ares, her brother, who was the god of other wars), and strategy. Although she was also the goddess of wisdom, she is most often depicted wearing battle armour. In Figure 5 this armour can be seen, discarded, in the tree. The shield depicts the severed head of Medusa. It was Athena who cursed the once beautiful Medusa to her most commonly remembered form, and when Perseus slayed her, he gave her head to Athena to put on her shield.
 

Figure 5 The Judgement of Paris, Peter Paul Rubens, 1636 (National Gallery, London)

 







Figure 6 The Judgement of Paris, Luca Giordano, c. between 1681-1683, Hermitage Museum

 

In figure 6 we see a slightl different scene, where the three goddesses are in the process of undressing. Athena has cast off her armour, and Hera is unlacing her sandal. We have a recurrance of Eros, aiming his arrow at Paris.

 

Symbolism: Aphrodite's Doves

 

As Athena had her Glaucus owl and Hera has her peacock, Aphrodite had her doves. The dove was the bird of love, and Aphrodite was said to have a chariot pulled by them. A cluster of doves can be seen hovering over Aphrodite in figure 6.

 

(See Note 4 in bibliography)

 

 

Symbolism: The Sheep and Sheepdogs

Paris, the youngest son of Priam, the King of Troy, is often depicted as a farmer or more commonly, a shepherd. Therefore he is seen with a shepherd crook, sheep, and sometimes sheepdogs.

18th Century Paintings

 

In figure 7 we see once again the three goddesses presented before Paris. We see again Eros, Hera's peacock, Athena's disgarded armour and the shepherd Paris with his crook and dog. However he also see Zeus here, overseeing the judgement.

 

Symbolism: Hera's Crown

 

As the queen of the gods, and Zeus's wife, Hera wore a crown. It is sometimes shown as a polos, a high, circular band of metal, or a diadem, a more conventional crown. She can be picked out in figure 7 amongst the other goddesses due to the crown in her hair.  

 



Figure 7 Das Urteil des Paris, Anton Raphael Mengs, 1757, Hermitage
 

 

 

19th Century Paintings  

 



In figure 8, amongst the common symbolism of the story, we see the shepherd Paris holding what seems to be an orange.  The golden apples of the garden of the Hesperides are thought to have been oranges, and the Greek botanical name for citrus fruit is Hesperidoeidē. (see Note 5 in bibliography).

 

Figure 8,The Judgement of Paris, Jean-Baptiste Regnault, 1820, Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart



20th Century

In figure 9 we see Aphrodite presenting herself proudly to Paris, while the other two goddesses wait more demurely behind her. Athena was a virgin goddess, and is here seen attempting to cover herself to protect her modesty. Hera, in her crown, is fully dressed, perhaps a show of her power.

 





Figure 9, El Juicio de Paris, Enrique Simonet, 1904, Museo de Malega

 




Symbolism in the Olio Illustration
 

 

Figure 10 Original Sketch

 

Figure 11 Final Illustration

Hera
 

Hera is the queen of the gods, and is sometimes described as being matronly, so she ws made to look older than Aphrodite and Athena. Known also for her pride, her head is tilted upwards slightly, and her expression is that of haughtiness and disapproval, her arms are folded to emphasis this. She doesn't have a crown, because it would interfere with the space around the lettering, but her hair was put up, rather than loose, to show a sort of formalness about her, in contrast to the Athena and Aphrodite, who wear their hair loose.

The other two goddesses are shown with their respective sacred birds, however, when it came to Hera, there was nowhere to put in a peacock, as their tails take up an awful lot of valuable space. It seemed much better to but the distinctive peacock eye pattern on her coat. The coat has a fur collar, again to make her seem more regal and formal than the other goddesses.

Hera's sacred animal is the cow, and in the Illiad she is described as being ox-eyed or cow-faced. I therefore made her eyes particularly large compared to the other characters' eyes, her eye lashes long, and her nose long and slightly bulbous toward the tip, trying to replicate some cow-like features in a human face. I also gave her a silver ring through her septum, like a bull nose ring.

Hera also sports an earring with a pomegranite on it; the pomegranite was Hera's sacred fruit.

To balance Paris's darker skin, her skin was made several shades darker than the other goddesses. Her beauty is different to the others, I wanted her to seem more exotic, rather than the English rose that seems standard in classical paintings. Her eyes were given a more feline, almond shape for this reason, as opposed to the roundness of the others.
 

Athena  

I made Athena look young; being the daughter of Zeus, she is a generation below Hera. Because she was the goddess of war and wisdom - typically male qualities to an ancient society - I did not give her the same sort of femininity that either Hera or Aphrodite has. Her face is plainer, and I didn't shade as heavily under her eyebrows or on her lips as I did on Hera or Aphrodite, suggesting she is bare-faced, not wearing make-up. Her straight hair is also a contrast to Aphrodite's wavy locks.

Her glasses are of course a hint at her wisdom, as is her companion owl, while the chess piece is an emblem of strategy and battle. The arm that holds the chess piece was made to look muscular, compared particularly with Aphrodite's slender arm, to show her capability in battle.
 

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is meant to be extremely beautiful, so I gave her long eyelashes, a fine-boned nose and fine eyebrows (compare with Athena's thicker eyebrows), as well as the wavy blond hair, as typical traits of beauty. I wanted her to look slightly unusual, however, to balance such typical features, so her jaw is slightly squarer and her cheekbones flatter. I wanted her to look confident and self assured.

Her dress was to be overtly feminine, particularly compared to the other characters. I emphasised the curve of her waist and hip to caricature this. The shell she wears behind her ear is a reference to her birth, she is said to have been born from the foam of the sea, and came to the shore of Cyprus on a clam shell. Her birth is another common theme in classic painting - particularly immortalised in Botticelli's the Birth of Venus (Figure 12)

Figure 12 The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, 1483-85, Uffizi Gallery

Eris

Eris is the goddess of discord, and is a typical sneaky villain. I gave her pointed, pinched features, and a cloak - rather like the witch in Disney's Snow White. In most versions of the myth it is Zeus who asks Paris to judge the goddesses, but I liked the idea of poor, hapless Paris being surrounded by powerful women, so I swapped Zeus for Eris, who leans into him and offers him the apple. The apple itself is enscribed with the ancient greek for for the fairest (see Note 6 in bibliography)

Paris

Seeing as this was a more modern version off the myth, and there wasn't a background to show rolling sheep fields, I didn't put anything in that would hint to Paris being a shepherd. I made him look rather innocent and bewildered, with big ears and rounded eyes. Paris was from Troy, which is in modern day Turkey. I therefore gave him deeply tanned skin, which also contrasted nicely against Aphrodite's particularly pale skin. Though I made Paris the tallest, it was important that he wasn't doing anything - he merely looks at the viewer as though to ask them what to do. All the other characters are holding something, or in Hera's case, folding their arms, but Paris's hang limply by his side, showing that the women are very much in control of the situation.

The Trojan Horses

The Trojan horses in the original sketch allude to the Trojan war which is a consiquence of the Judgement of Paris. They were taken out in the final image because it was begining to look too busy, and the orange blossoms took up a lot of the empty space.

The Orange Blossoms

The flowers around the edge of the frame are orange blossoms; alluding to the fact that the golden apples were perhaps oranges.