Where ought we to begin the story of the Trojan War? If we follow Homer, we shall begin with Paris and his mad folly or ate in abducting Helen (Iliad 24.28; cf. 3.100 and 6.356, and contrast 5.62–64 and 22.115–16). But the rape of Helen was a direct consequence of Paris awarding the prize for outstanding beauty to Aphrodite, when, while tending animals on Mount Ida, the prince was approached by Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite and required to adjudicate between their conflicting claims to be thought the fairest.
1. This and related problems are discussed by Stinton, T. C. W., Euripides and the Judgement of Paris (London, 1965), pp. 1 ff. and 72Google Scholar, and by Jouan, Francois, Euripide et les légendes des chants cypriens (Paris, 1966), pp. 95 ff.Google Scholar
2. See the analysis of this story by West, M. L., CQ 11 (1961), 132–6.Google Scholar
3. For the principle of reciprocity and gifts see Sahlins, Marshall D. in The Relevance of Models for Social Anthropology (A.S.A. Monographs 1, London, 1965), pp. 139–236.Google Scholar
4. See Gagarin, Michael, CPh 68 (1973), 84–5.Google Scholar
5. The relevant evidence is presented by Pope, M. W. M., AJPh 81 (1960), 113 ff.Google Scholar
6. See Donlan, Walter, AJPh 94 (1973), 365–74.Google Scholar
7. Cf. Kakridis, J. Th., Homer Revisited (Lund, 1971), pp. 31–2.Google Scholar