APPLE OF DISCORD

An 'apple of discord' is a reference to the 'Golden Apple of Discord' which, according to Greek mythology, the goddess Eris (Gr. 'Ερις', "Strife") said would go "to the fairest" at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, sparking a vanity-fueled dispute between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War (for the complete story, see ''The Judgement of Paris''). Thus, "apple of discord" became a euphemism for the core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or for a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute.

Contents

Derivative uses

Kallisti

Etymology

Discordianism

Other uses

Pop culture

See also

Derivative uses

Because of this, the Roman goddess corresponding to the Greek Eris was named "Discordia". Also, in German and in Dutch, the words are used a lot more often colloquially than in English, though in German the colloquial form is not ''Apfel der Zwietracht'' (lit. "Apple of Discord") but ''Zankapfel'' ("Quarrel-apple") and rarely ''Erisapfel'' - the Dutch is ''Twistappel'' ("Strife-apple").

In the Eixample district of Barcelona there is a block nicknamed in Spanish, ''la manzana de la discordia'', ''manzana'' meaning both "apple" and "city block".
It was so named because it features three different interpretations of ''Modernisme'' architecture: Antoni Gaudí's Casa Batlló, Lluís Domènech i Montaner's Casa Lleó Morera and Josep Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Amatller.

Kallisti

Etymology

'''Kallisti''' is the word from the Greek language inscribed on the Golden Apple of Discord by Eris, meaning "for the fairest" or "to the prettiest".
In ancient Greek, the word is ''καλλίστῃ'', "kallistē(i)", (the dative singular of the feminine superlative of καλός, beautiful). In modern Greek it is ''καλλίστη'', "kallisti", and in Latin it is ''pulcherrimae''.

Discordianism

The word ''Kallisti'' has become a principal symbol of Discordianism, a modern religion. In non-philological texts (such as Discordian ones) the word is usually spelled as ''καλλιστι''. Most versions of ''Principia Discordia'' actually spell it as καλλιχτι, but this is definitely incorrect; in the afterward of the 1979 Loompanics edition of ''Principia'', Gregory Hill says that was because on the IBM typewriter he used, not all Greek letters coincided with Latin ones, and he didn't know enough of the letters to spot the mistake.

Other uses

★ 'Kallisti' (Καλλίστη) is also an ancient name of Santorini.

Pop culture

In the Cartoon Network show The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Eris and her golden apple (often shown with a capital K inscribed) are the topic of several episodes. It is also a recurring theme in the The Illuminatus! Trilogy.
In the anime ''Saint Seiya'', it was used by the main antagonist ''Eris'' to drain ''Athena's health and power.
On Marilyn Manson's album Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) the song ''Coma Black'' is separated into two parts, separately titled "Eden Eye" and "Apple of Discord."

See also

★ Judgement of Paris

★ Polemic

★ Golden apple

★ German Apple Front