The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships- Love

    Are you familiar with the start of the Trojan War according to Greek Mythology? The one about Paris and the Golden Apple? Well, I am going to tell you it to start out this post.

    It all begins at a party. A party that celebrated the marriage of the Sea Goddess Thetis, and the mortal Peleus. A party of the Gods is great thing, and every god was invited except Eris, the Goddess of Discord. She was obviously not happy. So, she crashed the party, and threw an apple of Gold into the goddesses that was inscribed with "For the Fairest." Obviously, there was some severe argument between the goddesses, especially Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.

   Zeus, annoyed at all of this bickering, told Hermes to take the women to Paris, a prince of Troy, who was supposedly the most handsome man in the world, to settle the argument. Each of the women promised something in return for his vote. Hera promised dominion over all of Europe (which was the entire world back then). Athena promised victory in every battle. Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Of course, Paris chose the girl.

    The girl was Helen, and she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The only problem was that she was already married to the king of Sparta. So Aphrodite helped Paris kidnap Helen (although she may have gone willingly) while the king was away. Upon returning, the king was infuriated. He decided to retaliate, and immediately joined forces with the other Greek kingdoms. They gathered forces, and launched over a thousand ships, thus the name often given to Helen: The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships.

    This whole thing resulted in the Trojan War, in which hundreds of thousands were killed. All of this because of one man and love.

    There are really two kinds of love: Infatuation and True Love. Infatuation is love of looks, or love of shallow personality. It is when, though the feelings feel deep, they truly aren't. That is the kind of love that Paris displayed, and what Aphrodite usually endorses. True love is commitment and willingness to be with that person forever. It is something that runs very, very deep. That is the love we should aspire to achieve so that we may be happy.