This is what actually happens -he attempts to run away. Hermes stops him before he really even gets off the rock he’s sitting on, but there is a reflexive and instinctual moment of fear-fuelled “oh no” and he tries to leave (not that that would’ve done any good! Hermes would’ve found him lol). Cowardice, if you really want to call it that, because he certainly doesn’t do it from a place of reason that “nothing good will come of this”. And anyway, considering these are gods involved, he’s extremely unlikely to rationally think about running away for any reason. It’d also be more respectful (and more dignified) not to try to leave.
-as already mentioned in his info and the previous post, he doesn’t ask anyone to undress, only to see each of them alone. Mostly as a method to try and delay having to choose at all. But as it’s pretty hard/impossible to stand or sit in front of three divinities and not basically be overwhelmed, there’s also some notion of attempting to be fair by cutting down on other impressions. However, with Aphrodite definitely already being his favourite goddess, not having had the chance to meet her before, he now also takes it in this way.
(-obviously, and this should go without saying, he certainly doesn’t ask for any gifts himself. The goddesses choose to escalate, and at that point THEY have made it about the gifts, not Paris.)
-of course, while no one gets physically naked, what happens might be, from a divine end, “worse”; each of them choose to show him as much of their divinity as is safe for a mortal to experience (for a measure of “safe”) in an attempt at convincing him, plus the gifts/bribes. (Note: If Paris is being played against either Hera, Athena or Aphrodite, this part won’t be assumed to have happened/be happening if we’re playing out the Judgement, unless you might think that interesting! It’ll be something assumed only if he delves that deep into the Judgement to other people.)
And this is what he actually tells people in general about what happened:
-the approach of Hermes, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite
-being handed the apple and told the reason they’re there
-asking to see them alone, “to do what he was asked to do as fairly as he could manage”. (If any character who might reasonably have heard about his version post-start of the war would then like to assume they got naked/he asked them to because “of course he’d do that” then they’re welcome to do so, but Paris will refute it if it comes up.)
-Aphrodite’s gift; Paris does not mention the other two goddesses offering gifts, even less what they in specific were. It serves him and the situation better not to do so, after all, since it puts primacy on Aphrodite, her gift, and a sort of divine sanction behind what he’s done. (Now, that doesn’t mean someone can’t suspect there are more gifts involved, if they might be of such a nature. Considering it’s equally likely to assume Aphrodite really was alone about offering extra incentive and that’s why she won, however...)
Those absolutely having been told of this slightly edited version of events are Hektor and his parents when he first comes back to Troy with Helen. That is the first point in time it’s necessary to bring it up and, again, gives some divine weight to everything. After that, the general assembly during Menelaus and Odysseus’ embassy when the Achaeans first landed also gets told this. If he’s outright confronted about whether Aphrodite’s gift was truly the only one, he won’t lie. There might also be some people he’d confess to willingly, especially after he actually thinks through what each of those gifts would mean, but given that he won’t want to think much about that (since it again merely emphasizes that avoiding war/death for Troy seems to have been unavoidable, and the dream omen was not wrong), it’s... unlikely.
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timeasmymeasure
Paris and the Judgement
Date: 2025-04-20 12:30 pm (UTC)-he attempts to run away. Hermes stops him before he really even gets off the rock he’s sitting on, but there is a reflexive and instinctual moment of fear-fuelled “oh no” and he tries to leave (not that that would’ve done any good! Hermes would’ve found him lol). Cowardice, if you really want to call it that, because he certainly doesn’t do it from a place of reason that “nothing good will come of this”.
And anyway, considering these are gods involved, he’s extremely unlikely to rationally think about running away for any reason. It’d also be more respectful (and more dignified) not to try to leave.
-as already mentioned in his info and the previous post, he doesn’t ask anyone to undress, only to see each of them alone.
Mostly as a method to try and delay having to choose at all. But as it’s pretty hard/impossible to stand or sit in front of three divinities and not basically be overwhelmed, there’s also some notion of attempting to be fair by cutting down on other impressions. However, with Aphrodite definitely already being his favourite goddess, not having had the chance to meet her before, he now also takes it in this way.
(-obviously, and this should go without saying, he certainly doesn’t ask for any gifts himself. The goddesses choose to escalate, and at that point THEY have made it about the gifts, not Paris.)
-of course, while no one gets physically naked, what happens might be, from a divine end, “worse”; each of them choose to show him as much of their divinity as is safe for a mortal to experience (for a measure of “safe”) in an attempt at convincing him, plus the gifts/bribes.
(Note: If Paris is being played against either Hera, Athena or Aphrodite, this part won’t be assumed to have happened/be happening if we’re playing out the Judgement, unless you might think that interesting! It’ll be something assumed only if he delves that deep into the Judgement to other people.)
And this is what he actually tells people in general about what happened:
-the approach of Hermes, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite
-being handed the apple and told the reason they’re there
-asking to see them alone, “to do what he was asked to do as fairly as he could manage”.
(If any character who might reasonably have heard about his version post-start of the war would then like to assume they got naked/he asked them to because “of course he’d do that” then they’re welcome to do so, but Paris will refute it if it comes up.)
-Aphrodite’s gift; Paris does not mention the other two goddesses offering gifts, even less what they in specific were. It serves him and the situation better not to do so, after all, since it puts primacy on Aphrodite, her gift, and a sort of divine sanction behind what he’s done.
(Now, that doesn’t mean someone can’t suspect there are more gifts involved, if they might be of such a nature. Considering it’s equally likely to assume Aphrodite really was alone about offering extra incentive and that’s why she won, however...)
Those absolutely having been told of this slightly edited version of events are Hektor and his parents when he first comes back to Troy with Helen. That is the first point in time it’s necessary to bring it up and, again, gives some divine weight to everything. After that, the general assembly during Menelaus and Odysseus’ embassy when the Achaeans first landed also gets told this.
If he’s outright confronted about whether Aphrodite’s gift was truly the only one, he won’t lie. There might also be some people he’d confess to willingly, especially after he actually thinks through what each of those gifts would mean, but given that he won’t want to think much about that (since it again merely emphasizes that avoiding war/death for Troy seems to have been unavoidable, and the dream omen was not wrong), it’s... unlikely.