One of the most neglected of the Greek goddesses was Eris, the goddess of trouble. In fact, it was the neglect of Eris that led to the greatest story ever told, the story of the Illiad and the Odyssey.
Eris was the only goddess not invited to a wedding party, and she was so angry at the slight that she decided to crash the party anyway, and bring along, as was her wont, a package of trouble. The trouble came in the form of a golden apple, with the phrase inscribed upon it: “For the most fair”. Three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite claimed the apple for their own (really, shouldn’t Athena, as the goddess of wisdom, have known better), and so they called out for a judge to settle the dispute.
No one from the wedding party wanted to accept the role of judge, given that any judgment would involve angering two goddesses, while making only one goddess happy. So, the goddesses looked out the window, and spotted a shepherd boy bringing his goats along the road outside. They ordered the shepherd boy to be brought in to serve as judge.
That shepherd boy was no ordinary shepherd, however. He was Paris, son of King Priam of Troy. He was working as a shepherd because a fortune teller had told Priam that the boy would cause terrible trouble. So, King Priam packed Paris away to the countryside, which is exactly where he had to be to cause the trouble in the first place.
Hera told Paris that if he gave her the apple, she would give him the greatest kingdom on Earth. Athena told Paris that giving her the apple would be rewarded with the gift of wisdom. Aphrodite, on the other hand, promised to make Paris the most beautiful man on Earth, and to give him the most beautiful wife as well. Wouldn’t you know it – Paris chose beauty, and was given the ability to steal away the most beautiful woman on Earth, who was already married to King Menelaus over in Greece. Thus, the Trojan War began.
Eris was at the foundation of this great epic. So, why doesn’t she get more attention. Why are repeating the mistake of the people at that wedding party?
Online, Eris.com, Eris.us. Eris.org and Eris.tv have all been registered at some time, but have now been left to go to the online equivalent of the weeds. Eris.net is the only Eris domain name left. It’s held by Eris Networks, and consists of nothing more than the following graphic, and a link to info@eris.net.
The Eris Networking graphic consists of a the yin-yang design from Taoism, with a pentagon on one side, and a golden apple on the other side. We know where the golden apple comes from, but what’s the pentagon for? Furthermore, there’s some Greek lettering on the apple, but I can’t decipher what it means, not knowing Greek.
Can anyone help me decode the meaning behind this symbol?
Hail Eris! I believe the image is related to the Discordian Society. Strongly influenced by R. A. Wilson’s epic Illuminati. A key tenant is “… the Law of Eristic Escalation. This law states that Imposition of Order = Escalation of Chaos.” That is, the more you try to enforce order, the more chaotic the inevitable breakdown will be. The pentagon represents order. The apple marked with the Greek word Kallisti (which does mean “For the most fair”) represents chaos through it’s association with Eris. The yin-yang arrangement represents the balance between forces.
http://www.dedroidify.com/discordianism.htm