Hall of Troy, South Wall: the Judgment of Paris

This second scene is dedicated to the episode of the Judgement of Paris, one of the causes of the Trojan War: Paris, still a young herdsman and dozing at the foot of a tree, is about to be approached by the three goddesses Venus, Minerva, and Juno, led by Mercury. Of the three deities, the Trojan must choose the most beautiful and give her the golden apple held in Mercury's hand, an object that Iris (Discord) had thrown onto the table during the wedding banquet between Peleus and Thetis, sparking the dispute between the goddesses. The choice of Venus, who had promised Paris, in exchange for victory, the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, is the cause of the woman's abduction depicted on the same wall. In the panel on the left, above the door leading to the Loggia of the Months (or the Marbles), is "The Dream of Hecuba." Hecuba, the first wife of the Trojan king Priam, is pregnant with her son Paris and dreams of a terrifying torch from which serpents emerge. The two scenes, whose episodes are only hinted at in the "Iliad," originate from Hyginus's "Fabularum Liber." The painting is attributed to Luca Scaletti da Faenza (il Figurino), based on a drawing by Giulio Romano.