The goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite had become involved in a competition to judge the greatest beauty. Zeus deferred as judge and made the mortal Paris the judge. In an attempt to win, the goddesses bribed Paris, and Aphrodite won after promising Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, escaped with her love Paris and this is the story of the beginning of the Trojan War. © The Pierre Argillet Collection.