An apple of discord is the core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute.
It is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord ( grc, ) in the story of the ''
Judgement of Paris'' which, according to
Greek mythology, was what the goddess
Eris (, "Strife") tossed in the midst of the
feast of the gods at the wedding of
Peleus and
Thetis as a prize of beauty, thus sparking a vanity-fueled dispute among
Hera
In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
,
Athena, and
Aphrodite that eventually led to the
Trojan War.
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 ' ( "Apple of Discord") but ' ( "Quarrel-apple") and rarely '; the Dutch is ' ( "strife-apple").
In the
Eixample district of
Barcelona, there is a block nicknamed in Spanish ' ( ca,
Illa de la Discòrdia). The reason for this usage is that the word ' means both "apple" and "city block" in Spanish. It was so named ("block of discord") because it features four different interpretations of ''
Modernisme'' architecture:
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalan architect from Spain known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, ''sui generis'' style. Most are located in Barcel ...
's
Casa Batlló,
Lluís Domènech i Montaner's
Casa Lleó Morera
The Casa Lleó Morera () is a building designed by noted modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, located at Passeig de Gràcia 35 in the Eixample district of Barcelona. In 1902 Francesca Morera assigned Lluís Domènech i Montaner to re ...
,
Josep Puig i Cadafalch's
Casa Amatller
Casa Amatller () is a building in the Modernisme style in Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain, designed by renowned Catalan architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Along with Casa Batlló and Casa Lleó-Morera, it makes up the three most important buildings i ...
, and
Enric Sagnier's
Casa Mulleras
Casa Mulleras is a house in Barcelona, Spain, located on the Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district. Originally built in 1868, it was remodelled in a Neoclassical style by Enric Sagnier between 1906 and 1911. The house forms part of a row ...
.
"To the Most Beautiful"
In some later sources, Eris inscribed on the apple "for the fairest" or "to the most beautiful" before tossing it. The most popular version of the inscription is ( grc, τῇ καλλίστῃ, tē(i) kallistē(i), el, τη καλλίστη, ti kallisti; "for/to the most beautiful").
' is the
dative
In grammar, the dative case (abbreviated , or sometimes when it is a core argument) is a grammatical case used in some languages to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action, as in "Maria Jacobo potum dedit", Latin for "Maria gave Jacob a ...
singular of the
feminine
Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...
superlative
Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In languages t ...
of ', "beautiful". In
Latin sources, the word is '.
See also
*
Golden apple
*
Killing three warriors with two peaches
References
{{Greek religion, state=collapsed
Eris (mythology)
Mythological food and drink
Mythological plants
Judgment of Paris
Apples in culture
Greek mythology