Student Question
What does the protagonist of "The Golden Apple" learn in Black Ships Before Troy?
Quick answer:
in "The Golden Apple" in Black Ships Before Troy, Paris learns what he can do when he has the favor of the goddess Aphrodite. He learns that he can be bribed and that he can get what he wants. He also learns that it is easy to forget love when someone else appeals to him. These are, however, faulty, dangerous lessons.
"The Golden Apple" is the first chapter of Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff, and we can identify the main character as Paris, the son of the king and queen of Troy. Paris is the subject of a prophecy that scares his parents so much that his father orders a servant to abandon the infant Paris in the wilderness and leave him there to die. But a peasant finds him and raises the child as his own.
Paris grows up and falls in love with Oenone, a wood nymph, but their happiness is shattered when three arguing goddesses decide that Paris will be the one to settle their quarrel. Years before, the goddess of discord had thrown a golden apple labeled "to the fairest" into a wedding celebration, and Hera, Athene, and Aphrodite all claimed it as their own. No one has dared to settle the question, but...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
the goddesses now call on Paris to make a choice. They each offer Paris a gift, but Aphrodite's is the most appealing, for she tells Paris that she will give him "a wife as fair as herself." Paris gives Aphrodite the apple.
Paris returns to his family with Aphrodite's assistance, yet he continues to love Oenone for some time. Then he hears of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, and he sails off to see her, forgetting Oenone and their love. Paris is so taken with Helen that, even though she is already married, he takes her back to Troy with him.
Paris has not learned much of value as yet. He has learned what it means to be bribed. He has learned what the favor of a goddess can do for him. He has learned how easy it is to forget love when someone that seems better catches his eye. He has learned that he can get his way in whatever he likes. These are not, however, valuable lessons, for they lead Paris down a dangerous path, and later on, he will have to learn the hard way that these lessons are just plain bad teaching.