She was angry and she threw a golden apple among the guests on which was written `` To the Fairest '' . The goddesses Hera , Athena , and Aphrodite caught the apple at the same time and fought over who was the most beautiful . The war originated from a quarrel between the goddesses Athena , Hera , and Aphrodite , after Eris , the goddess of strife and discord , gave them a golden apple , sometimes known as the Apple of Discord , marked `` for the fairest '' .