Debunking some misinformation about Hephaestus and Aphroditeās Marriage
Iām so sick and tired so Iām making a thread, enjoy. Iāll break it down into several points.
1. Hephaestus demanded Aphroditeās hand in marriage in exchange for Heraās freedom and Aphrodite was forced into the marriage
Youād be surprised by how this isnāt even attested in ancient sources, rather itās just a theory made by modern scholars bc of how spotty and limited our knowledge about this marriage is, letās look at the actual sources:
Notice how Aphrodite isnāt even mentioned mentioned as the āprizeā? Hephaestus does ask for a goddess in exchange for freeing Hera, but itās not Aphrodite, itās 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 wouldnāt Aphrodite be married to Dionysus instead? Itās 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 isnāt as disliked as one would think lol
Now even if Aphrodite wasnāt a prize how did she end up marrying Hephaestus? And was she forced into doing it? No actually (Lucianās Dialogue of the gods):
Thatās not to say this wasnāt 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 theyāre 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 itās revenge for exposing her affair).
Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica:
However this bit seems to be ratherā¦ 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 Lucianās Dialogue of the Gods which is pretty funny:
3. Hephaestus only saw Aphrodite as property
Ok I donāt like using the āit was a different timeā card but likeā¦ it really does apply here lol
Now weāve 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 wasnāt the āgiftā Zeusās 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 āthe protector of womenā in Ancient Greece thatās tumblr fanfiction and plenty of other ppl have made posts debunking this (including me) so I wonāt repeat that here. Now about Hephaestus being an āincelā 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 Heraās orders.
5. Aphrodite cheated to āregain her sexualityā
No Patrick, cheating on your disabled spouse with his brother in the bed and palace he made for you is not a girlboss move itās being an asshole (all the gods are flawed, how thought provoking). Hell, even Zeus wouldnāt 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 couldāve 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 canāt take a hint and only saw Aphrodite for her beauty
Believe it or not, just bc I criticize Aphrodite and Ares doesnāt mean I hate them lol. Now look, all the gods care deeply about looks but thatās 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 heās too busy at the forge
No lol, she straight up works with him at the forge, why wouldnāt she? If anything this claim makes Aphrodite even more shallow than she actually is.
8. Aphrodite and Ares didnāt care about being humiliated in the golden net and Ares straight up brags about cucking his brother
Yes Iāve 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 thatās why Athena keeps beating his ass, bc Hephaestus purposely gives Ares shitty weapons and armor lol
Anyways ummā¦ I think thatās it? Maybe I missed a few things bc Iām frustrated af rn
Just so yāall know, Iām not a scholar Iām just autistic and read a lot lol. I hope I didnāt miss something or get anything wrong.
Have a good day (or night).
