In the Judgment of Paris, Aphrodite promised Paris the love of Helen. The Trojan prince was asked to decide which of Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite was the fairest, after Eris’s golden apple caused a quarrel among the goddesses.
Each goddess offered Paris a powerful reward. Hera promised political dominion, Athena offered wisdom and success in war, and Aphrodite offered the world’s most beautiful woman: Helen of Sparta, already married to Menelaus. Paris awarded Aphrodite the apple.
The choice set the Trojan War in motion. Paris traveled to Sparta, took Helen to Troy—whether willingly or by abduction varies among ancient and later accounts—and the Greek kings assembled an expedition to recover her. A common mix-up is confusing Aphrodite’s promise with the apple itself: the apple was Eris’s prize, while Helen was Aphrodite’s bribe.