The Russian language is incredibly rich and eloquent. The use of idiomatic turns gives it a special charm. By means of well-aimed phrases, you can very accurately express your thought. In addition, phraseological units, of course, adorn not only colloquial, but also written, artistic speech. In fairness, it is worth noting that many idioms belong not only to the Russian people, but also have analogues in other countries and owe their origin to other nations. Let's talk about one of them. "Apple of discord". This phraseological unit originates in ancient Greek mythology. By the way, the myths of different peoples are one of the largest sources of the origin of popular expressions.
We owe the famous legend about the dispute of three goddesses the idiom "apple of discord". This myth tells about the events that caused the Trojan War. The great Zeus wanted to marry the beautiful Thetis, the daughter of a titan. However, Prometheus predicted to him that the son born to her would overthrow his own father from the throne. Therefore, he gave it to the Thessalian prince Peleus. All the gods of Olympus were invited to the wedding. And only one Eris, the goddess of discord, was not called, remembering her bad temper. But the goddess held a grudge, wandered nearbyfrom the cave of Chiron, where a merry feast was noisy. She figured out how to avenge the insult. She took a golden apple and wrote on it a single word: "To the most beautiful." And then she threw it on the banquet table. It was this fruit that later received the name “apple of discord.”
And the thing is that the golden apple and the inscription on it were seen by three goddesses: Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. Goddesses are also women and, like all ladies, they also tend to consider themselves the most beautiful. Each of them claimed that the apple was intended for her. The Goddess of the Thunderer was asked to judge them. However, Zeus decided to cheat. After all, Hera is his wife, Athena is his daughter, and Aphrodite was truly beautiful. Then he instructed Hermes to give the apple to Paris, the son of the king of Troy. The young man did not know that he was a prince, because he was raised by shepherds. It was on Paris that Zeus assigned the duty to name one of the goddesses the most beautiful. Each tried to win the young man over to their side. Hera promised him power and power, control over Asia, Athena offered him military victories and wisdom. And only Aphrodite guessed the secret desire of Paris. She said that she would help him get the love of the beautiful Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Atreus Menelaus, queen of Sparta. It was Aphrodite who gave Paris the apple.
Hera and Athena hated him and vowed to kill him. Aphrodite kept her promise and helped him steal Elena. This was the reason for the start of the war. Menelaus decided to punish the Trojans and get his wife back. And inAs a result, Troy was destroyed.
This is a myth, and the phrase "apple of discord" became winged thanks to the Roman historian Justin, who lived in the 2nd century. He used it for the first time in the meaning of the cause of disputes, enmity, something small that leads to major strife. The apple of discord is also called the apple of Eris or Paris. In our speech, we often use this idiom. So, very often they say: “The apple of discord swept between them,” if we are talking about people who were once friends, but now are at enmity over trifles.
