Paris out of Troy

In Troy, Hollywood’s recent retelling of an ancient fracas, Orlando Bloom, who plays Paris, gets to keep his prize — Helen played by Diane Kruger.

In this version the playboy prince is not killed by Philoctetes but is shown leaving the burning city of Troy with Helen. He lives to fight another day. The ending may seem unexceptionable for our ‘liberated’ times. But earlier versions all had Paris getting his ‘just deserts’. However, was Paris really to blame for his alleged crime of passion? Didn’t Goddess Aphrodite promise him the love of the world’s most beautiful woman in exchange for the golden apple? (The Goddess of Discord Eris originally created the golden globe inscribed with the words ‘to the fairest’ out of pique for not having been invited to a marriage party on Mount Olympus! She then tossed it into the party and watched the fun as three powerful goddesses fought over the fruit. Rather than risk the ire of the losing parties, the gods passed the potato to Paris who was known for his artless honesty.) It’s another matter that the shepherd-turned-prince was so besotted by beauty that he did not bother to read the fine print — Helen was already married to the powerful King Menelaus who had the backing of dozens of warrior-princes. So would Paris have been better off in choosing brains instead of what the Goddess Athena promised along with skill in war in lieu of the apple?

Or should he have been more impartial and chosen Hera, arguably the most beautiful of the three goddesses, who promised him kingdom of Asia and Europe for the apple? A bigger question relates to binary stereotypes and puritanical mind-sets that tend to pit beauty against brains or pleasure versus duty and virtue. Why couldn’t Paris have the option of choosing beauty with brains? That is the thesis of AC Grayling’s latest book The Choice of Hercules which starts with the Greek hero who said ‘no’ to a life of ease and chose the greatly harder life of a lion-killer mercenary and stable-cleaner. Grayling argues however that in the original Epicurean ideal, pleasure and virtue are not at all mutually exclusive.
Nastily effective religious propaganda separated the two. In fact, the ‘good life’ should involve both, and by identifying one’s strengths and behaving in a sensible, courteous fashion, you can get onto that ‘middle path’. Have the flashy Ferrari along with the freedom of the monk.

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