A Thousand Ships(39)

‘I don’t know,’ Paris said. ‘You can criticize me for indecision, but the truth is, you are the three most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. There is so much distance between you and any mortal woman that I can barely perceive it. It is like asking an ant in his underground nest to tell you which mountain is tallest. I cannot.’

‘You need more time,’ Athene said. She was determined that he shouldn’t see how delighted she was that the apple wasn’t already in her sister’s hot little hands. ‘Can we help you with your decision?’

There was a brief pause.

‘I can help,’ said Aphrodite, and she wriggled until the brooches which held her dress in place at the shoulders worked themselves loose. The dress slid down to reveal her naked form and Paris looked as if he might choke on his own tongue.

‘Oh really?’ said Athene. ‘We’re doing this?’ She reached up and unfastened the brooches on her own dress, standing tall and willowy, nude but for her helmet and her spear. Hera said nothing, but she too was suddenly naked.

‘I can’t . . .’ Paris faltered.

‘Can’t talk?’ Aphrodite asked.

‘Can’t breathe,’ he replied. He grappled with the ties on his Phrygian cap, and worked them loose, casting it onto the dry ground. His hair was plastered to his head.

‘Has this helped you to make your decision?’ Hera asked him. He had not noticed before how deep and throaty her voice was.

‘It honestly hasn’t,’ he said. ‘Almost the reverse, actually.’

‘Zeus brought you here to decide,’ she said. ‘You must choose.’

‘I need a moment,’ Paris replied. ‘Is there a spring nearby? I could do with some water.’

‘You can have something to drink when you’ve made your choice,’ Hera said, so kindly that the threat was almost entirely concealed. She took a step towards him, and it took all his power not to step back. ‘Let me make things easier for you.’ If Paris had been able to focus on anything but her glowing face, a hand’s width away from his own, he might have seen Athene and Aphrodite rolling their eyes in sisterly annoyance. ‘The apple is for the goddess who is the most beautiful, as you see.’ Paris had almost forgotten he was holding the apple, though now its weight seemed to pulse with an inner heat. ‘But beauty in a goddess is different from beauty in a mortal woman. It’s not just about appearance, it’s about ability. I am, as you can see, very beautiful.’

Paris nodded weakly. He thought for a moment of saying something about how surprising it was that Zeus had ever strayed from Hera, given her extraordinary radiance, let alone that he did it over and over again. But something in her glittering eyes told him that this might not be received as the compliment it was intended to be.

‘I am not only beautiful,’ she continued. ‘I am also extremely powerful. I am the wife and sister of Zeus, I dwell by his side at the top of Mount Olympus. My favour builds kingdoms, my disfavour crushes them. You must choose me.’ Paris felt his hair shudder upright, as though he could feel her non-existent breath on the skin of his neck. ‘Choose me, and I will give you dominion over any kingdom you desire. Any of them. Do you understand? You can have Troy, if you want it, or Sparta, Mycenae or Crete. Anywhere you like. The city will bow before you and call you king.’

She stepped back and Paris swallowed.

‘Are we really going to . . .?’ Athene glared at Hera. ‘Fine.’ She stepped forward into the gap which Hera had left. Paris could feel sweat beading on his temples and in the small of his back. ‘You don’t need me to tell you that you should give the apple to me,’ she said. Her grey-green eyes were so different from Hera’s, Paris thought. Hera’s eyes were so dark, so brown, that a man could lose himself in them, like a cave. But Athene gazed at him with a frank intelligence, which made him feel suddenly her equal, hubristic as he knew the thought to be. ‘Hera offered you a city of your own,’ she said. He did not speak, but she heard him just the same. ‘A kingdom? She really does want that apple you’re holding. You’re probably wondering what I can offer which would rival that, aren’t you?’ Again he didn’t reply, but she did not even pause. ‘You’re thinking that a kingdom might be more of a burden than a gift if an enemy decides to make it his own.’ Paris had in fact been thinking about her naked breasts, which were practically touching his skin because she was standing so close to him, but he forbore to correct her. ‘And you’re right,’ she said. ‘A kingdom is nothing unless it is secure. And a king must be able to fight his enemies and win. That’s what I can give you, Paris. I can give you wisdom, strategy, tactics. I can give you the power to defend what is yours from any man who would take it from you. What could matter more? Give the apple to me, and I will be your defender, your adviser, your warrior.’

‘Is that your owl?’ he asked, as the tawny bird flapped across the clearing and settled on a rotten tree trunk to his right.

‘You cannot have my owl!’ she said, and thought for a moment. ‘I will get you another owl, if you want one.’

‘Thank you,’ he replied. ‘It’s a tempting offer.’

Athene nodded and stepped back beside Hera. The owl flew over to her, and perched on her outstretched arm. Athene stroked the feathers on the back of its head, and it pecked gently at her hand.