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PARIS Do me this one favour, Hermes: persuade them not to be angry with me, the two that are defeated, but to think that only my sight is at fault.
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HERMES They say they will do so, and now it is high time for you to get your judging done.
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PARIS I shall try; what else can one do? But first I want to know whether it will satisfy the requirements to look them over just as they are, or must I have them undress for a thorough examination?
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HERMES That is your affair, as you are the judge. Give your orders as you will.
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PARIS As I will? I want to see them naked.
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HERMES Undress, goddesses. Make your inspection, Paris. I have turned my back.
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APHRODITE Very well, Paris. I shall undress first, so that you may discover that I am not just “white-armed” and vain of “ox-eyes,” but that I am equally and uniformly beautiful all over.Aphrodite, vexed at Hera for twitting her about Anchises, makes fun of her by implying that she has no other beauties than those habitually commended in her by Homer. ATHENA Do not let her undress, Paris, until she puts aside her girdle, for she is an enchantress; otherwise she may bewitch you with it.See Iliad 14, 214 ff. And indeed she ought not to appear before you made up to that extent and bedaubed with all those colours, as if she were a courtesan in earnest: she ought to show her beauty unadorned.
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PARIS They are right about the girdle, so lay it aside.
