Paris in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Paris

48 passages from 9 ancient authors that tell of Paris, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Paris was the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, who eloped with Helen, queen of Sparta, thus causing the events that led to the Trojan War.... For the story in one place, read our article on Paris.

Homer (12)

Homer, Iliad 3.245–382The oaths and the duel of Menelaus and ParisHeralds bring lambs and wine for the oaths, and Priam drives down to swear with Agamemnon, who prays to Zeus that the brains of whoever breaks the oath be poured out like the wine. Priam returns to Ilios, and the lots, cast by Hector and Odysseus, give Paris the first throw. Menelaus breaks his sword and drags Paris by the helmet strap, but Aphrodite breaks the strap and snatches Paris away in a mist.
Homer, Iliad 3.383–461Aphrodite brings Helen to ParisAphrodite sets Paris in his fragrant chamber and, in the likeness of an old woman, summons Helen, who knows the goddess by her neck, breasts and eyes and reproaches her. Helen obeys when the goddess threatens her, speaks scornfully to Paris, and then goes to bed with him. Menelaus ranges through the host looking for Paris, and Agamemnon declares that the victory is Menelaus's and demands Helen and the treasure.
Homer, Iliad 6.237–368Hector in Troy: Hecuba, Athena's temple, Paris and HelenHector reaches the Scaean gates, where the Trojan women ask for their sons and husbands, and goes on to Priam's house, where Hecuba offers him wine. He tells her to gather the older women and lay the finest robe on the knees of Athena, and Theano the priestess prays for Diomedes' fall, but Athena denies the prayer. Hector then goes to Paris, rebukes him, and refuses Helen's offer to sit, since he wants to see his own household.
Homer, Iliad 6.440–529Hector and Andromache: Hector's answer and AstyanaxHector answers that shame forbids him to hold back, though he foresees the fall of Troy and prays that he may be dead before he hears Andromache's cries as she is led away as a slave. The child shrinks from his helmet's horsehair crest, Hector lays it down and prays that his son may be better than his father, and he then bids Andromache go home to her work. Paris overtakes him, and the two go out to the fighting.
Homer, Iliad 11.284–400Hector's advance; Diomedes is woundedHector takes up the fight and kills many Danaans, until Odysseus and Diomedes stand against him. Diomedes' spear strikes Hector's helmet and Hector falls to his knees, but Paris, standing behind a pillar, shoots Diomedes through the foot with an arrow. Diomedes goes off to the ships and Odysseus is left alone.
Homer, Iliad 13.576–672Helenus and Menelaus; Paris kills EuchenorHelenus kills Deipyrus with a great sword stroke, and Menelaus pins Helenus' hand to his bow with a spear. Menelaus kills Peisander, and Meriones kills Harpalion, the son of Pylaemenes, who is mourned by the Paphlagonians. Paris, angry at Harpalion's death, kills Euchenor.
Homer, Iliad 13.673–787Polydamas' counsel; Hector regroupsHector, fighting on the left, does not know that the Achaeans are winning elsewhere. Polydamas advises him to call the chiefs together and decide whether to press on or retire, and Hector agrees but finds many of the leaders wounded or dead. He rebukes Paris sharply, and Paris answers that he will come with him.
Homer, Iliad 3.1–110The armies advance; Hector shames ParisThe Trojans advance with a clamour like cranes, while the Achaeans march in silence. Paris steps out and challenges the best of the Achaeans, but shrinks back when he sees Menelaus, and Hector rebukes him until he offers to fight Menelaus alone for Helen and the treasure. Hector halts the Trojan ranks, and Menelaus accepts the challenge and asks that Priam come to swear the oaths.
Homer, Iliad 7.1–91Hector challenges the AchaeansHector and Paris return to the battle together, and each kills an Achaean. Apollo and Athena meet beside the oak and agree to end the fighting for the day with a single combat, and Helenus, who understands the gods' plan, tells Hector to challenge the best of the Achaeans. Hector steps between the armies and proposes a duel in which the winner keeps the dead man's armour but returns his body.
Homer, Iliad 7.313–432Antenor urges Helen's return; the burial truceAt the Achaean feast Nestor proposes that they burn their dead and build a wall and ditch to protect the ships. At Troy, Antenor urges the Trojans to give back Helen, but Paris will give up only the treasure. Priam sends the herald Idaeus to offer that and to ask for a truce, and the Achaeans refuse Helen's return but agree to the truce, and both sides gather their dead.
Homer, Iliad 8.78–171Diomedes rescues Nestor; Zeus' thunderboltOnly Nestor stays when the Achaeans take fright, since an arrow of Paris has struck one of his horses. Hector bears down on him, and Diomedes rescues Nestor and takes him into his own car, while Odysseus runs past. Diomedes kills Hector's charioteer, but Zeus' thunderbolt falls before his horses, and he turns back on Nestor's advice while Hector taunts him as a woman.
Homer, Iliad 11.489–595Ajax holds the line; Machaon is woundedAjax defends the Achaeans like a river in spate, while Hector fights on the left and is unaware of him. Paris wounds the healer Machaon in the shoulder, and Idomeneus asks Nestor to take him to the ships. Zeus puts fear into Ajax, and he withdraws slowly like a stubborn donkey beaten from a cornfield.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.12.1–7Dardanus, Priam and the royal house of TroyElectra's son Dardanus founds the line of the Trojan kings through Erichthonius and Tros, to Ganymede, Anchises and Ilus. Ilus founds Ilium on the spot where the cow lies down and receives the Palladium, and Laomedon and Priam follow him, with Tithonus and Memnon among Laomedon's line. The section lists Priam's children, including Hecuba's dream before Paris's birth, Cassandra's gift, and Paris and Oenone, and ends with the sons of Aeacus, Peleus and Telamon, the murder of Phocus and the birth of Ajax and Teucer.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.4.1–7The Iliad in brief: Achilles' anger, Patroclus and HectorThe Epitome gives a short account of the events of the Iliad: Achilles withdraws from the fighting because of the quarrel over Briseis, Paris and Menelaus fight a single combat, and Hector drives the Greeks back to the ships. Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armour, is killed by Hector. Achilles takes up Hephaestus's new armour, kills Hector and drags his body, holds games for Patroclus, and Priam ransoms Hector's body.

Aeschylus (1)

Aeschylus, Agamemnon 355–474First stasimon: Zeus, Paris and HelenThe Chorus thank Zeus and Night for the net in which Troy was caught, and say that Zeus punishes those who offend against the laws of hospitality, as Paris did. They sing of Helen's flight, the grief that she left behind in the house of Menelaus, and the ashes of the war dead returned from Troy. They end with the anger of the people against the sons of Atreus and their own fear of excessive glory.

Euripides (16)

Euripides, Helen 1–67Prologue: Helen at the tomb of Proteus in EgyptHelen tells how Proteus' son Theoclymenus and daughter Theonoe rule Egypt, and she recounts the judgment of Paris. Hera made a phantom in her likeness for Paris, while Hermes hid the real Helen in a cloud and set her down in the house of Proteus. Since Proteus died, his son has wanted to marry her, and she sits as a suppliant at his tomb, keeping herself for Menelaus.
Euripides, Rhesus 627–674Fourth episode: Athena, as Aphrodite, deceives ParisAthena sees Paris coming toward them, and tells them that it is not decreed that he should fall by Diomedes' hand. She takes the likeness of Cypris and tells Paris that all is quiet and that Hector has gone to assign Rhesus' army a sleeping place, so that he goes off free from fear. She then tells Odysseus to sheathe his swords, since Rhesus is dead and the enemy is coming, and to flee to the ships.
Euripides, Trojan Women 895–965Third episode: Helen defends herselfHelen, brought out by force, asks to be heard. Hecuba asks that she not be killed for want of a hearing, and that she herself be allowed to reply, and Menelaus says that he will grant it only because of her words. Helen says that Hecuba is to blame for having borne Paris, that Priam is to blame for not killing the infant, that the goddesses' judgment brought the quarrel about, and that Aphrodite, who made Paris a husband for her, was irresistible.
Euripides, Helen 625–693Fourth episode: Helen and Menelaus are reunitedHelen and Menelaus embrace and rejoice, and the Chorus prays for their happiness. Menelaus asks how she was taken from his home, and Helen tells how Hera sent her to Egypt in revenge for the judgment of Paris. She tells of her mother's hanging, and of their daughter Hermione's unmarried state.
Euripides, Andromache 91–146cParodos: Andromache's lament and the Chorus' adviceAndromache sings a lament in which she tells of Paris and the cause of the Trojan war, of the fall of Troy, and of her own slavery, and says that she clings to the altar of Thetis. The Chorus of women of Phthia comes and tells her that she should leave the shrine and give way to the stronger, but says that it dares not show its sympathy for fear of Hermione.
Euripides, Orestes 1353–1425The Phrygian slave: his escape and his account beginsThe Chorus calls on the people to raise a din before the house, and recalls the retribution that has come to Helen. A Phrygian slave of Helen escapes over the roof beams, and laments for Ilium. He begins to tell how Orestes and Pylades entered the house as suppliants with swords hidden.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 440–472First episode: Agamemnon laments his plightAgamemnon sends the messenger in and says that humble birth has an advantage, since the poor may weep freely while the high-born must keep their dignity. He dreads facing his wife and pities his daughter, and he blames Paris and Helen for his ruin. The Chorus Leader says that a stranger woman may pity the misfortunes of royalty, and Menelaus asks for his brother's hand, and Agamemnon gives it, saying that the victory is his brother's and the sorrow his own.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 528–589First episode: Agamemnon fears Odysseus and the army; choral song on AphroditeAgamemnon says that Odysseus will arise among the Argives and tell them the oracles of Calchas, and that the army will then slay him and the girl. He asks Menelaus to keep Clytemnestra from learning of the plan. The Chorus sings that the happy are those who share in Aphrodite's gifts with self-restraint, and recalls Paris piping on the reeds among the heifers of Ida.
Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 1211–1254Fourth episode: Iphigenia pleads for her lifeIphigenia says that if she had the eloquence of Orpheus she would move the rocks to follow her. As a suppliant she twines her limbs about her father's knees and begs him not to destroy her before her time. She asks what she has to do with the marriage of Paris and Helen, and begs for one glance and one kiss to carry to her death.
Euripides, Rhesus 565–594Fourth episode: Odysseus and Diomedes find Hector's bivouac emptyOdysseus and Diomedes steal into the Trojan camp, using the password Phoebus, which they learned from Dolon, and find that Hector's bivouac is empty. Odysseus proposes going back to the fleet, and Diomedes asks whether they should not first go against Aeneas or Paris, and says that it would be shameful to return having done no harm. Odysseus answers that they have slain Dolon.
Euripides, Andromache 274–318First choral song on Paris; Menelaus brings Andromache's sonThe Chorus sings of the judgment of Paris and of the three goddesses who came to Ida, and of the ruin that came to Troy and to Greece from it. Menelaus then arrives with the son of Andromache, whom he has caught, and tells her that she must leave the altar or her son will be killed.
Euripides, Hecuba 629–677Second choral song; a maid brings a corpseThe Chorus sings of the day that Paris cut his pine beams on Ida to sail for Helen, and of the grief of the Trojan women taken as slaves. A maid-servant of Hecuba comes with a covered corpse, and tells her that her sorrows are not yet at an end.

4 more passages of Euripides that name Paris

Ovid (3)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.1–63The Greeks at Aulis; the House of FamePriam mourns for Aesacus, not knowing that he lives on as a bird, while Paris, who was absent, returns with Helen and a thousand ships. The Greek fleet gathers at Aulis, where a snake devours eight sparrows and their mother and is turned to stone, and Calchas reads the omen as meaning ten years of war. The ships are held by contrary winds until Iphigenia is brought to the altar, but Artemis (Diana) puts a hind in her place and carries her away. The poet then describes the House of Fame, where all the rumours of the world are heard.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.534–628Periclymenus and the death of AchillesNestor ends his tale, and Tlepolemus, a son of Heracles (Hercules), reproaches him for passing over his father, and Nestor says that Heracles killed all his brothers except Periclymenus, whom Poseidon (Neptune) had given the power to change his shape, and who escaped by turning into an eagle until Heracles shot him. Poseidon, angry at the death of Cycnus, asks Apollo to destroy Achilles, and Apollo directs Paris' arrow, which kills him. His ashes lie in a small urn, and the contest for his armour begins.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.121–254The contest for the arms of Achilles: Odysseus repliesOdysseus (Ulysses) answers that Ajax's strength is of no use without the counsel that guides it, and that he, a descendant of Zeus (Jupiter), has served the Greeks as much with his mind as with his hands. He tells how he brought Iphigenia to Aulis for the common good, and how he found Achilles disguised among the daughters of Lycomedes and brought him to Troy. He tells too how he went as an envoy to Troy, and how he and Diomedes killed Dolon and Rhesus and won Rhesus' horses.

Pausanias (1)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.31.1–12Delphi: Polygnotus' painting of the underworld (4): Ajax, Meleager, Memnon, Penthesilea, Sisyphus and TantalusPausanias completes the underworld painting with the dicing group of Ajax, Palamedes and Thersites, Ulysses' enemies, and Meleager, with the rival accounts of his death. He describes Hector, Memnon with the birds called Memnonides, Sarpedon, Paris and Penthesilea, then the uninitiated carrying water in broken pitchers, Callisto, Nomia, Pero, Sisyphus and Tantalus.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (11)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 10.203–331Philoctetes wounds ParisParis shoots at Philoctetes and misses, and Philoctetes shoots back, wounding him with the second arrow. Paris is told that only Oenone can heal him and goes to her on Ida. She mocks him, refuses, and drives him from her door.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 6.116–199Eurypylus comes to TroyThe Trojans are rescued by the coming of Eurypylus, grandson of Hercules, with a host from the river Caicus. They crowd round him with delight and Paris welcomes him as a kinsman. After a feast outside the walls Priam and the Trojans beg him to fight for them, and he promises.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 10.411–489The death of OenoneOenone alone grieves truly. She repents her hatred, slips out at night and runs over the mountain to Paris' pyre, where the moon lights her way. She leaps on to the flames, and the Nymphs marvel at her. Their ashes are buried together, with pillars that turn away from each other.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.1–93Polydamas and Paris quarrelPriam urges the Trojans to defend the walls until Memnon comes. Polydamas doubts that waiting will save them and counsels against endless war, and Paris reviles him as a coward. Polydamas answers him to his face, and Paris has no reply.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 6.451–651Eurypylus drives the Argives to the shipsPodaleirius arms in grief for his brother and kills Cleitus and Lassus. Eurypylus then drives the Argives toward the ships; Aias son of Oileus is struck down by a stone from Aeneas, and the Atreidae are surrounded until Teucer, Idomeneus and others rally. The Trojans charge as one man and the Argives flee, and only nightfall stops Eurypylus from burning the ships.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 10.332–410The death of ParisAs Paris limps down Ida, Hera watches from Olympus with the Seasons. Paris dies on Ida and the Nymphs wail for him. A herdsman tells Hecuba, who laments, and the Trojan women mourn him in name only.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.293–421Aias and Odysseus rescue Achilles' bodyAias fights on beside Odysseus, who kills Maenalus, Atymnius and Proteus and is wounded by Alcon, whom he kills. When Paris draws his bow on Aias, Aias strikes his helmet with a stone, and Paris is carried off to Troy behind Hector's horses. Aias drives the rest of the Trojans into the city and then strides back across a plain covered with the dead, and the kings bring Achilles' body to his tent, where the army wails for him.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 6.200–334The shield of EurypylusEurypylus puts on his armour, and on his shield are shown the labours of Hercules, from the serpents in the cradle to Cerberus and the Centaurs. He tells Paris that victory lies with the gods. The Trojans rejoice, and he chooses his captains.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 10.74–202Heroes in the slaughter; the arms of HerculesAeneas kills Harpalion and Hyllus, while Neoptolemus slays twelve Trojans with his father's spear. Eurymenes kills many until Meges strikes him down, and Paris, Teucer and Meges also kill, with digressions on Scylaceus' fate and on Endymion's cave. Philoctetes then ravages the Trojans, and the poet describes the belt and quiver of Hercules that he carries, decorated with beasts and scenes from myth.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.96–211Hera rebukes Apollo; Achilles fallsHera rebukes Apollo for killing Achilles, reminding him that he sang at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and Apollo sits silent and ashamed. The dying Achilles still kills Orythaon, Hipponous and Alcathous, and his last shout sends the Trojans reeling before he falls. Paris then urges the Trojans to drag the body to Troy behind Hector's horses.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 11.1–128The battle after Paris' deathThe Trojan women mourn in the city, but the young men go on fighting outside, for Strife and the Fates stalk through both armies. Neoptolemus, Aeneas, Philoctetes, Polydamas, Odysseus, Diomedes, Agamemnon, Thoas and Teucer kill in turn, and the dead are numbered.

Epic Cycle (1)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 6.1–5AethiopisProclus' summary tells how Memnon, the son of Eos, comes to help the Trojans in armour made by Hephaestus, and how Thetis tells her son about him. Achilles is killed by Paris and Apollo and Aias carries the body away. A fragment adds the Amazon, the daughter of Ares, who came after the burial of Hector.

Parthenius of Nicaea (1)

Parthenius of Nicaea, Love Romances 3.1–4.5Odysseus and Evippe; Alexander and OenoneOdysseus seduces Evippe in Epirus, and their son Euryalus is killed at Ithaca when Penelope persuades Odysseus that he is a plotter; Odysseus himself later dies of a wound from his own offspring. Oenone, who lives with Alexander (Paris) on Mount Ida, foretells that he will leave her and that only she can cure him. When he is wounded by an arrow of Philoctetes she answers him haughtily, and he dies before she arrives, and she kills herself.