Queen Hecuba of Troy woke in the middle of the night from a terrifying dream in which she gave birth to a burning torch. Consulting the oracles, she was told that her child would be the ruin of his country. After the boy, Paris, was born, her husband King Priam reluctantly commanded the child to be slain. Unable to do the dirty work, the King gave the child to a shepherd who also didn't have the heart to touch the child, but instead exposed it on the slopes of Mount Ida to die of starvation, as was the custom in those days.

A she-bear suckled the child, and when the shepherd returned, saw the boy still alive. He took the boy home and raised him as his own son. The boy grew into a man of great beauty and intelligence and continued tending the flocks of his adopted father. After defending the locals from brigands, Paris earned a new name - Alexandros - "Protector of Men." He went on to become the lover of Oenone, a mountain nymph and daughter of a river god.

One night, when the stars shimmered brightly and the sheep grazed contentedly, Paris had a dream that his life would be forever changed. He awoke to find three goddesses standing before him, and clutched in his hand, a perfect apple inscribed "for the fairest." The goddesses, all coveting the prize, told Paris that Zeus himself decreed that the shepherd was to choose among them and award the trophy.

Hera, resplendent in peacock feathers, declared that if he gave her the apple, she would make him the mightiest king on earth, with wealth beyond his dreams.

Athena, armed with helm and sword, promised to make him a great warrior and the wisest man in all the world.

Aphrodite, clad in gossamer silk, offered Paris the most beautiful woman in the world to be his bride. Helen, queen of Sparta. A married woman, incidental.

Being a simple man with no knowledge of his true heritage, Paris chose Aphrodite's bribe and put the apple into her hand. This started a chain of events that would not only lead to the successful abduction of Helen, but also enmity with the two goddesses he did not choose. Ultimately, his bad judgment led to a coalition of Greek City states attacking his country to regain Helen. After a protracted siege, Troy was sacked and Paris mortally wounded.

He was carried back to Mount Ida to Oenone, the wife he'd left for Helen who had the power of healing. She harshly refused to heal him, changing her mind only after he was already dead.

In this painting, Paris sleeps fitfully on a sheepskin-covered rock on the slopes of Mount Ida. The three goddesses have appeared. Aphrodite and Hera stare covetously at the prize they desire, but Athena - being the goddess of wisdom - probably already knows that she will not be chosen. Instead she stares off at distant Troy, as if sensing the doom that will befall it.

The male model is Miami Levi, a professional model - photographed by Hector Rodriguez. The female models all come from Mjrarum-Stock. You can see more beauty there by following this [link]