In some later sources, Eris inscribed on the apple "for the fairest"[4] or "to the most beautiful" before tossing it. The most popular version of the inscription is ΤΗΙ ΚΑΛΛΙΣΤΗΙ (Ancient Greek: τῇ καλλίστῃ, romanized: tē(i) kallistē(i), lit. 'for/to the most beautiful', Greek: τη καλλίστη, romanized: ti kallisti).[5]Καλλίστῃ is the dativesingular of the femininesuperlative of καλός, "beautiful". In Latin sources, the word is formosissima.[6]
In an attempt to rationalize the myth, Ptolemaeus Chennus wrote that instead of an apple, the three goddesses fought over which would get a man named Melus ("apple") as her priest, with Paris deciding in favour of Aphrodite.[7]