Oh, that's unfair! They gave him the job of picking the most beautiful because he had previously in some contest or other given a decision against himself, against his own interests, because it was the just decision. I do agree that a wilier hero (Odysseus?) would have found a less dangerous way forward, but Paris was bound by who he was. (I'll ignore the bribes, and I hope he did, too!)
Yes, agreed it's made trouble for him, but what's an honest (but simple) man to do, when he's asked such a question?
And every hero except Odysseus suffers from having a god for him or against him, pretty much. If you're going to die from some god's vindictiveness, you might as well do it as an honest man.
The matter of whether a bow is a low-grade weapon is maybe too complicated for me to go sensibly into it - the idea is that it's cowardly to shoot from afar, not hand-to-hand, and the fact that the Greeks' best archer is a bastard (ie his parents are not married) is held to support the idea that a truly dignified warrior wouldn't stoop to using a bow.
Paris is without doubt a slight person, physically, next to the major warriors (Hector, Ajax, Achilles) - and there's enough said about his looks to be certain that he's being presented as a pretty boy, not a beefy warrior type - but as he himself says the beauty was a gift from the gods, and who can refuse their gifts? - and by implication - so is Odysseus' wiliness, and Achilles' fighting prowess and everyone's particular gifts. Here's Paris speaking in response to Hector's accusation that he's not "manly", just before he proposes (it's his own idea!) a single combat with Menelaus):
"Hector, you’re right in what you say against me. Those complaints of yours are not unjustified. Your heart is tireless, like a wood-chopping axe wielded by a craftsman cutting timber for a ship. The axe makes his force stronger. Your mind’s like that— the spirit in your chest is fearless. But don’t blame me for golden Aphrodite’s lovely gifts. Men can’t reject fine presents from the gods, those gifts they personally bestow on us, though no man would take them of his own free will."
no subject
Yes, agreed it's made trouble for him, but what's an honest (but simple) man to do, when he's asked such a question?
And every hero except Odysseus suffers from having a god for him or against him, pretty much. If you're going to die from some god's vindictiveness, you might as well do it as an honest man.
The matter of whether a bow is a low-grade weapon is maybe too complicated for me to go sensibly into it - the idea is that it's cowardly to shoot from afar, not hand-to-hand, and the fact that the Greeks' best archer is a bastard (ie his parents are not married) is held to support the idea that a truly dignified warrior wouldn't stoop to using a bow.
Paris is without doubt a slight person, physically, next to the major warriors (Hector, Ajax, Achilles) - and there's enough said about his looks to be certain that he's being presented as a pretty boy, not a beefy warrior type - but as he himself says the beauty was a gift from the gods, and who can refuse their gifts? - and by implication - so is Odysseus' wiliness, and Achilles' fighting prowess and everyone's particular gifts. Here's Paris speaking in response to Hector's accusation that he's not "manly", just before he proposes (it's his own idea!) a single combat with Menelaus):
"Hector, you’re right in what you say against me.
Those complaints of yours are not unjustified.
Your heart is tireless, like a wood-chopping axe
wielded by a craftsman cutting timber for a ship.
The axe makes his force stronger. Your mind’s like that—
the spirit in your chest is fearless. But don’t blame me
for golden Aphrodite’s lovely gifts.
Men can’t reject fine presents from the gods,
those gifts they personally bestow on us,
though no man would take them of his own free will."