The Original Judgment of Paris

Trojan prince Paris was asked to judge who was the most beautiful goddess in the heavens.  He chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena and was rewarded by her with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen.

Except that she was already married.  As was he.

This set in motion the classic tale of slaughter known as Homer's Iliad. Helen’s enraged husband, Menelaus, led the Greek armies against Troy, sacking it and killing its inhabitants.  Helen was returned home, the affair over.

Below is Jacques-Louis David's Les Amours de Pâris et d'Hélène, painted in 1788, immediately before the classic tale of slaughter known as the French Revolution.