What is it that unites us?

Hi all!

Sooo, today, in order to make up for missing a post last Wednesday, we’ll be talking about two of the Olympian Gods, Ares and Hephaestus.

An odd couple you say? Hmmm, that’s one way to look at it. Despite their many differences, there’s something that connects them too.

But first things first; let’s talk a bit about who they were, no?

Half-brothers (Hera mothered them both), they couldn’t be any more different even if they tried.

Ares was the god of war; not the structured kind of war though, but the bloody and aggressive kind of war, the one that knows no boundaries. He was the only son of Zeus and Hera, but neither of his parents was very fond of him due to his aggressive, arrogant, and impulsive nature.

He was depicted as a handsome, mature bearded warrior, with extreme physical strength but that didn’t mean he was always victorious. More often than not actually, he was faced with defeat, which only served to wound his pride and enrage him further.

Really menacing, no? (more like spoilt rotten :-p )

Hephaestus was parthenogenetic; meaning he was conceived without male fertilization; myth said Hera conceived him in order to make Zeus jealous. He was the god of craftsmanship. He was talented, kind and generous; shame he was ugly and lame. 

Even his own mother, Hera, couldn’t stand the sight of him and she ejected him from Olympus. He fell into the ocean, and was raised by Thetis. He was always bitter towards Hera about that fact; at some point, he made a magical golden throne and sent it to her; when Hera sat on it, she was trapped and couldn’t stand up. The rest of the gods begged him to release her, but he refused to do so, claiming he had no mother. At long last, Dionysus got him drunk and convinced him to release her. Eventually, he forgave Hera, returned to Olympus and set up his workshop.

So serious and hard-working; sometimes Aphrodite claimed that, because Hephaestus spent too much time in his workshop, she felt lonely and had to seek out other men's company. :-p

So, what was that those two had in common?

They both loved the same woman, Aphrodite (yes, there was someone whom Ares loved more than war); Hephaestus was her husband and Ares was her lover.

When Aphrodite ascended to Olympus, all the gods started fighting over her. Zeus, afraid that the gods would go into war with one another, married her to Hephaestus.

He was elated of course (come on, she was Aphrodite!); Aphrodite agreed too (who would willingly go against Zeus’s will after all?), but that didn’t mean she had to like it. Hephaestus was far for charming, so it didn’t take long for her to start an affair with Ares.

Hephaestus spent long hours in his workshop, so it wasn’t easy for the two lovers to meet. But they were being reckless, and soon Hephaestus found out. He started planning his revenge; he spread out a chain-link net so fine that it was almost invisible on Aphrodite’s bed, and caught them in the act.

The other gods made fun of the two lovers for having been caught in such a compromising position, but in the end Poseidon persuaded him to free them.

Despite their humiliation, Aphrodite and Ares carried on their relationship while Hephaestus turned a blind eye to her unfaithfulness for fear of losing her. Their marriage didn't produce any offspring; still, both Hephaestus and Aphrodite had many children from their various affairs.

And since we are on the topic of offspring, there are many opinions on who Eros's father was; one of the most likely candidates was Ares. We can't be certain of course, but that would explain Eros's shamelessly good looks and why he enjoyed shooting arrows so much!