Debunking some misinformation about Hephaestus and Aphroditeâs Marriage
Iâm so sick and tired so Iâm making a thread, enjoy. Iâll break it down into several points.
1. Hephaestus demanded Aphroditeâs hand in marriage in exchange for Heraâs freedom and Aphrodite was forced into the marriage
Youâd be surprised by how this isnât even attested in ancient sources, rather itâs just a theory made by modern scholars bc of how spotty and limited our knowledge about this marriage is, letâs look at the actual sources:
Notice how Aphrodite isnât even mentioned mentioned as the âprizeâ? Hephaestus does ask for a goddess in exchange for freeing Hera, but itâs not Aphrodite, itâs Athena. The usual course of events is this:
Hephaestus is angry at Hera for her mistreatment and sends a golden throne that traps her
The other gods try to persuade him to free her but he refuses
Dionysus convinces him by getting him drunk
Again the theory that Aphrodite was the prize for whoever gets Hephaestus to Olympus is just that, a theory. Not a really good one either bc wouldnât Aphrodite be married to Dionysus instead? Itâs a really shallow portrayal of all figures involved tbh, why would Ares only be interested in freeing his mother if it meant he gets to marry Aphrodite? Why would anyone on Olympus not be worried about their queen being chained up? Believe it or not but Hera isnât as disliked as one would think lol
Now even if Aphrodite wasnât a prize how did she end up marrying Hephaestus? And was she forced into doing it? No actually (Lucianâs Dialogue of the gods):
Thatâs not to say this wasnât an arranged marriage (it most likely was) but arranged marriage and forced marriage are not the same thing. If you think this is a forced marriage then what about Cadmus and Harmonia? Heracles and Hebe? Both these marriages were arranged by Zeus but no one would claim theyâre forced marriages.
2. Aphrodite hated Hephaestus
Now this is more open to interpretation, after all love is subjective, but to say they outright hated each other would be incorrect, there is this myth that Aphrodite cursed Lemnos to have the men abandon their wives and female family members, usually bc they neglected on worshipping her (tho a late Latin source says itâs revenge for exposing her affair).
Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica:
However this bit seems to be rather⌠genuine? Almost as if she might have truly felt bad for what she did and wanted to reconcile, sounds like someone with a deeply messy and complicated relationship with their partner, but not outright hate.
Also there is this moment in Lucianâs Dialogue of the Gods which is pretty funny:
3. Hephaestus only saw Aphrodite as property
Ok I donât like using the âit was a different timeâ card but like⌠it really does apply here lol
Now weâve already established that Aphrodite was never a prize for Hephaestus to begin with so what about the betrothal gifts he gave to Zeus? Obviously that means he was buying Aphrodite right?
Well, no actually this is a normal part of Ancient Greek marriage (obviously it varied between cities and time periods but it usually goes something like this), the father of the bride and the groom exchange gifts with each other to establish a bond between the two, the bride herself wasnât the âgiftâ Zeusâs gift to Hephaestus was most likely his place on Olympus.
To say that Hephaestus bought Aphrodite would mean that Odysseus bought Penelope, or Hector bought Andromache, both are ludicrous claims.
4. Hephaestus is an incel and Ares is this big feminist icon
Ares was never considered âthe protector of womenâ in Ancient Greece thatâs tumblr fanfiction and plenty of other ppl have made posts debunking this (including me) so I wonât repeat that here. Now about Hephaestus being an âincelâ all the male Olympians have at least one story where they harm an innocent/defenseless woman, all of them, yes including Ares who persecuted Leto while she was heavily pregnant by Heraâs orders.
5. Aphrodite cheated to âregain her sexualityâ
No Patrick, cheating on your disabled spouse with his brother in the bed and palace he made for you is not a girlboss move itâs being an asshole (all the gods are flawed, how thought provoking). Hell, even Zeus wouldnât pull shit like this with Hera.
Aphrodite and Ares most likely did this hoping it would be the last place anyone would suspect an affair, since Aphrodite couldâve had sex with Ares in his own place or some meadow somewhere but that might cause ppl to be too suspicious.
6. Ares is a big dumb brute who canât take a hint and only saw Aphrodite for her beauty
Believe it or not, just bc I criticize Aphrodite and Ares doesnât mean I hate them lol. Now look, all the gods care deeply about looks but thatâs not the only thing that Ares and Aphrodite love about each other. Here is Ares being a total simp and actually listening to her:
7. Aphrodite felt neglected by Hephaestus bc heâs too busy at the forge
No lol, she straight up works with him at the forge, why wouldnât she? If anything this claim makes Aphrodite even more shallow than she actually is.
8. Aphrodite and Ares didnât care about being humiliated in the golden net and Ares straight up brags about cucking his brother
Yes Iâve heard such claims and no Ares and Aphrodite are actually capable of feeling shame lol, almost as if they were in the wrong. Also why would Ares actively antagonize the guy who makes all his stuff? Maybe thatâs why Athena keeps beating his ass, bc Hephaestus purposely gives Ares shitty weapons and armor lol
Anyways umm⌠I think thatâs it? Maybe I missed a few things bc Iâm frustrated af rn
Just so yâall know, Iâm not a scholar Iâm just autistic and read a lot lol. I hope I didnât miss something or get anything wrong.
Have a good day (or night).
