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Apple of Discord: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Apple of Discord.png|frame|[[How Do You Like Them Apples?]]]]
A group of people are [[True Companions|thick as thieves]], [[A Friend in Need|supporting each other in all things]]. If they ever reiterate this, it's [[Tempting Fate]]. You will soon see a third party enter and ask them to decide something. It may be something as mundane as deciding what toppings they want on their pizza, or something as serious as which one of them is the leader
'''Apple of Discord''' is a sister trope to [[Centipede's Dilemma]] and a great way to hand a group of people the [[Conflict Ball]]. If the decision is whether to trust a once-villainous member of their group, it is the [[They Still Belong to Us Lecture]].
Compare [[Yoko Oh No]]. For an object that everyone wants and drives them into conflict, see [[Artifact of Attraction]]. For the religion, see [[Principia Discordia]].
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* Happens constantly to the [[Fantastic Four]]. The tiniest disagreement between them inevitably degenerates into shouting matches, which are basically ''never'' resolved and lead to a vicious cycle of passive-aggressive bickering and brooding (or in Ben and Johnny's case, [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|No Holds Barred Beatdowns]]). They always get back together in the end though, usually after being forced to team up again to take down some supervillain or another.
* In the ''[[Asterix]]'' story "Asterix and the Roman Agent", the titular agent (who can start arguments just by standing there doing nothing) comes to the village with a vase as a gift to the most important man in the village. Instead of giving the vase to Chief Vitalstatistix, he gives it to Asterix, which leads to a chain reaction of arguments until the entire village is at odds with one another.
* The [[Trope Namer]] and [[Trope Codifier]] is the [[Greek Mythology|Apple of Discord]] used by the Greek Goddess of Strife, Eris. According to ''[[The Trojan Cycle|The Judgement of Paris]]'', Zeus held a banquet to honor the wedding of mortal Peleus to immortal Thetis (who became Achilles' parents), but Eris [[Revenge SVP|was not invited]]. To avenge this snub, Eris wrote "to the fairest" on a golden apple and threw it into the banquet, where it was immediately claimed by the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. The three demanded Zeus choose who claimed the apple and thus the title of "fairest", but he wisely declined. Instead, he chose a mortal man to arbitrate. Each goddess presented their beauty to him while also offering a prize should he choose them. Eventually he chose Aphrodite as winner and accepted her promise of the most beautiful woman in Greece. The man? Paris of Troy. The woman? Helen of Sparta. Thus began the [[Trojan War]].▼
** ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy]]'' had an episode spoofing this, where Billy, Mandy and Grim fight over pieces of Eris' Apple.▼
* Also in the [[The Trojan Cycle|Trojan Cycle]], Ajax son of Telamon and Odysseus jointly save Achilles' body but then fall out over which one of them deserves to be rewarded with Achilles' arms (which were fashioned by the god Hephaistos), which leads to Ajax' madness and suicide.▼
== [[Literature]] ==
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** There's also more than one instance in the series of calling out an insult while both captors' backs are turned, so they'd each think the other said it, start fighting, and allow the protagonist to slip away.
* In the [[Isaac Asimov]] ''Black Widowers'' story "To The Barest," ex-Black-Widower Frank Ottur invokes this and alludes to the mythological example by leaving a sum of money in his will "to the barest" of the current Black Widowers, whatever that means—with the additional caveat that if they are [[Genre Savvy]] and refuse to argue, the money will go to a local Nazi group instead. (For extra points, Ottur deliberately chose a lawyer named ''Parris'' as his executor.)
* At the end of ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[
** It gets better because he said he'll do it when he's free from work. He's working 24/7 and won't be free until he's dead
* According to historical records, during the Warring States period of China, the gift of two peaches kills three great warriors who were sworn brothers (the one who was snubbed was [[Driven to Suicide]], and then the other two followed suit).
* Mentioned repeatedly in [[Robert Shea]] and [[Robert Anton Wilson]]'s ''[[Illuminatus]]! Trilogy'' . Since almost all the characters in the book are members of Discordian and/or Erisian conspiracies, this should come as little surprise.
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* In a season 4 arc of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Spike nonchalantly brings up issues that almost break the Scoobies up entirely. By the end of the season, they figure out that their arguments were just Spike messing with them, but they don't completely feel comfortable around each other again until they team up and defeat the [[Big Bad]] through the [[Power of Friendship]]. {{spoiler|Literally.}}
* In a sketch by [[Loriot]], two couples go to a restaurant together to celebrate the friendship they started when they vacationed together. At the end of the meal, the waiter recommends the house specialty dessert, the ''Kosakenzipfel'', which both husbands then order. Unfortunately it turns out there is only one left. The two decide to share it, but this becomes so complicated that it devolves into a shouting match between the two families who are now presumably enemies for life.
== [[Oral Tradition|Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends]] ==
▲* The [[Trope Namer]] and [[Trope Codifier]] is the [[Greek Mythology|Apple of Discord]] used by the Greek Goddess of Strife, Eris. According to ''[[The Trojan Cycle|The Judgement of Paris]]'', Zeus held a banquet to honor the wedding of mortal Peleus to immortal Thetis (who became Achilles' parents), but Eris [[Revenge SVP|was not invited]]. To avenge this snub, Eris wrote "to the fairest" on a golden apple and threw it into the banquet, where it was immediately claimed by the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. The three demanded Zeus choose who claimed the apple and thus the title of "fairest", but he wisely declined. Instead, he chose a mortal man to arbitrate. Each goddess presented their beauty to him while also offering a prize should he choose them. Eventually he chose Aphrodite as winner and accepted her promise of the most beautiful woman in Greece. The man? Paris of Troy. The woman? Helen of Sparta. Thus began the [[Trojan War]].
▲** ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy]]'' had an episode spoofing this, where Billy, Mandy and Grim fight over pieces of Eris' Apple.
▲* Also in the [[The Trojan Cycle|Trojan Cycle]], Ajax son of Telamon and Odysseus jointly save Achilles' body but then fall out over which one of them deserves to be rewarded with Achilles' arms (which were fashioned by the god Hephaistos), which leads to Ajax' madness and suicide.
== [[Theatre]] ==
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