{"id":48,"date":"2021-06-01T14:49:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T18:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/myths\/?post_type=chapter&p=48"},"modified":"2022-02-03T10:22:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T15:22:58","slug":"the-song-of-ares-and-aphrodite-homer","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/chapter\/the-song-of-ares-and-aphrodite-homer\/","title":{"raw":"L2 Hypothesis-The Song of Ares and Aphrodite Homer","rendered":"L2 Hypothesis-The Song of Ares and Aphrodite Homer"},"content":{"raw":"Odyssey<\/em>, book 8, lines 340-461. Trans. Ian Johnston, 2019.\r\n\r\nJohnston\u2019s complete translation of the Odyssey can be found here: http:\/\/johnstoniatexts.x10host.com\/homer\/odysseytofc.html<\/a>\r\n\r\nIn book 8 of the Odyssey, Odysseus is a guest of the Phaeacians, a mythical people renowned for their knowledge of ships and the sea. In the extract below, a festival that involves athletic games, dancing, and song, the poet Demodocus (\u201cthe minstrel\u201d of the opening line) entertains the assembled guests by reciting the myth of how Hephaestus caught his wife Aphrodite in their marriage bed with Ares. The myth is referred to as a \u201csong\u201d because in the ancient Greek world, poets performed myths to the musical accompaniment of a lyre.\r\n\r\nThe minstrel struck the opening chords to his sweet song\u2014340<\/span>\r\nhow war god Ares loved the fair-crowned Aphrodite,\r\nhow in Hephaestus\u2019s own home they first had sex\r\nin secret, and how Ares gave her many gifts,\r\nwhile he disgraced the marriage bed of lord Hephaestus.\r\nBut sun god Helios observed them making love\r\nand came at once to tell Hephaestus. When he heard\r\nthe unwelcome news, the lame god went to his forge,\r\nturning over deep in his heart a devious scheme.\r\nHe set up his enormous anvil on its block,\r\nand forged a net no one could ever break or loosen,350<\/span>\r\nso they would have to stay immobile where they were.\r\nWhen, in his rage, he had made that snare for Ares,\r\nhe went into the room which housed his marriage bed,\r\nanchored the metal netting around the bed posts,\r\nand then hung loops of it from roof beams high above,\r\nas fine as spiders\u2019 webs, impossible to see,\r\neven for a blessed god\u2014that\u2019s how skillfully\r\nhe made that net. Once he had set the snare in place\r\naround the bed, he announced a trip to Lemnos,\r\nthat well-built citadel, his\u00a0favourite place by far360<\/span>\r\nof all the lands on earth.\u00a0Ares of the Golden Reins,\r\nwho maintained a constant lookout, saw Hephaestus,\r\nthe celebrated master artisan, leave home,\r\nand went running over to Hephaestus\u2019s house,\r\neager to have sex with fair-crowned Aphrodite.\r\nShe had just left the presence of her father Zeus,\r\nmighty son of Cronos, and was sitting down.\r\nAres charged inside the house, grabbed her by the hand,\r\nthen spoke, saying these words to her:\r\n

\u201cCome, my dear,\r\nlet\u2019s go to bed and make love together.370<\/span>\r\nHephaestus is not home. No doubt he\u2019s gone\r\nto visit Lemnos and the Sintians,\r\nthose men who speak like such barbarians.\u201d<\/p>\r\nAres spoke. To Aphrodite having sex with him\r\nseemed quite delightful. So the two raced off to bed\r\nand lay down together. But then the crafty net\r\nmade by Hephaestus\u2019s great skill fell down around them,\r\nso they could not move their limbs or shift their bodies.\r\nAfter a while, they realized they could not get out.\r\nThen the famous crippled god came back to them\u2014380<\/span>\r\nturning round before he reached the land of Lemnos.\r\nHelios had stayed on watch and gave him a report.\r\nWith a grieving heart, Hephaestus went into his home,\r\nand stood inside the doorway, gripped by cruel rage.\r\nHe made a dreadful cry, calling to all the gods:\r\n

\u201cFather Zeus and you other sacred gods\r\nwho live forever, come here, so you can see\r\nsomething disgusting and ridiculous\u2014\r\nAphrodite, Zeus\u2019s daughter, scorns me\r\nand lusts after Ares, the destroyer,390<\/span>\r\nbecause he\u2019s beautiful, with healthy limbs,\r\nwhile I was born deformed. I\u2019m not to blame.\r\nMy parents are! I wish they\u2019d never had me!\r\nSee how these two have gone to my own bed\r\nand are lying there, having sex together,\r\nwhile I look on in pain. But I don\u2019t think\r\nthey wish to lie like this for very long,\r\nno matter how much they may be in love.\r\nThey\u2019ll both soon lose the urge to stay in bed.\r\nBut this binding snare will confine them here,400<\/span>\r\nuntil her father gives back all those presents,\r\ncourting gifts I gave him for that shameless bitch\u2014\r\na lovely daughter but a sex-crazed wife.\u201d<\/p>\r\nHephaestus finished. Gods gathered at the bronze-floored house.\r\nEarthshaker Poseidon came, and lord Hermes, too,\r\nthe god of luck, as well as archer god Apollo.\r\nBut female goddesses were all far too ashamed\r\nand stayed at home. So the gods, givers of good things,\r\nstood in the doorway, looking at the artful work\r\nof ingenious Hephaestus. They began to chortle\u2014410<\/span>\r\nand an irrepressible laughter then pealed out\r\namong the blessed gods. Glancing at his neighbour,\r\none of them would say:\r\n

\u201cNasty deeds don\u2019t pay.\r\nThe slow one overtakes the swift\u2014just as\r\nHephaestus, slow as he is, has caught Ares,\r\nalthough of all the gods who hold Olympus\r\nhe\u2019s the fastest one there is. Yes, he\u2019s lame,\r\nbut he\u2019s a crafty one. So Ares now\r\nmust pay a fine for his adultery.\u201d<\/p>\r\nThat is how the gods then talked to one another.420<\/span>\r\nBut lord Apollo, son of Zeus, questioned Hermes:\r\n

\u201cHermes, son of Zeus, you messenger\r\nand giver of good things, how would you like\r\nto lie in bed by golden Aphrodite,\r\neven though a strong net tied you down?\u201d<\/p>\r\nThe messenger god, killer of Argus, then said\r\nin his reply:\r\n

\u201cFar-shooting lord Apollo,\r\nI wish there were three times as many nets,\r\nimpossible to break, and all you gods\r\nwere looking on, if I could like down there,430<\/span>\r\nalongside golden Aphrodite.\u201d<\/p>\r\nAt Hermes\u2019s words,\r\nlaughter arose from the immortal deities.\r\nBut Poseidon did not laugh. He kept requesting\r\nHephaestus, the celebrated master artisan,\r\nto set Ares free. When he talked to Hephaestus,\r\nhis words had wings:\r\n

\u201cSet Ares loose.\r\nI promise he will pay you everything,\r\nas you are asking, all he truly owes,\r\nin the presence of immortal gods.\u201d<\/p>\r\nThe famous lame god then replied:\r\n

\u201cLord Poseidon,440<\/span>\r\nShaker of the Earth, do not ask me this.\r\nIt\u2019s a risky thing to accept a pledge\r\nmade for a nasty rogue. What if Ares\r\nescapes his chains, avoids the debt, and leaves\u2014\r\nhow then among all these immortal gods\r\ndo I hold you in chains?\u201d<\/p>\r\nEarthshaker Poseidon\r\nthen answered him and said:\r\n

\u201cHephaestus, if indeed Ares does not discharge his debt\r\nand runs away, I\u2019ll pay you in person.\u201d<\/p>\r\nThen the celebrated crippled god replied:450<\/span>\r\n

\u201cIt would be inappropriate for me to refuse to take your word.\u201d<\/p>\r\nAfter saying this,\r\npowerful Hephaestus then untied the netting.\r\nBoth gods, one they had been released from their strong chains,\r\njumped up immediately\u2014Ares went off to Thrace,\r\nand laughter-loving Aphrodite left for Paphos,\r\nin Cyprus, for her sanctuary, her sacred altar.\r\nOnce there, the Graces bathed and then anointed her\r\nwith heavenly oil, the sort that gleams upon the gods,\r\nwho live forever. Next, they took some gorgeous clothes460<\/span>\r\nand dressed her\u2014the sight was marvellous to behold.\r\n\r\nThat was the song the celebrated minstrel sang.\r\nAs he listened, Odysseus felt joy in his heart\u2014\r\nlong-oared Phaeacians, famous sailors, felt it, too.","rendered":"

Odyssey<\/em>, book 8, lines 340-461. Trans. Ian Johnston, 2019.<\/p>\n

Johnston\u2019s complete translation of the Odyssey can be found here: http:\/\/johnstoniatexts.x10host.com\/homer\/odysseytofc.html<\/a><\/p>\n

In book 8 of the Odyssey, Odysseus is a guest of the Phaeacians, a mythical people renowned for their knowledge of ships and the sea. In the extract below, a festival that involves athletic games, dancing, and song, the poet Demodocus (\u201cthe minstrel\u201d of the opening line) entertains the assembled guests by reciting the myth of how Hephaestus caught his wife Aphrodite in their marriage bed with Ares. The myth is referred to as a \u201csong\u201d because in the ancient Greek world, poets performed myths to the musical accompaniment of a lyre.<\/p>\n

The minstrel struck the opening chords to his sweet song\u2014340<\/span>
\nhow war god Ares loved the fair-crowned Aphrodite,
\nhow in Hephaestus\u2019s own home they first had sex
\nin secret, and how Ares gave her many gifts,
\nwhile he disgraced the marriage bed of lord Hephaestus.
\nBut sun god Helios observed them making love
\nand came at once to tell Hephaestus. When he heard
\nthe unwelcome news, the lame god went to his forge,
\nturning over deep in his heart a devious scheme.
\nHe set up his enormous anvil on its block,
\nand forged a net no one could ever break or loosen,350<\/span>
\nso they would have to stay immobile where they were.
\nWhen, in his rage, he had made that snare for Ares,
\nhe went into the room which housed his marriage bed,
\nanchored the metal netting around the bed posts,
\nand then hung loops of it from roof beams high above,
\nas fine as spiders\u2019 webs, impossible to see,
\neven for a blessed god\u2014that\u2019s how skillfully
\nhe made that net. Once he had set the snare in place
\naround the bed, he announced a trip to Lemnos,
\nthat well-built citadel, his\u00a0favourite place by far360<\/span>
\nof all the lands on earth.\u00a0Ares of the Golden Reins,
\nwho maintained a constant lookout, saw Hephaestus,
\nthe celebrated master artisan, leave home,
\nand went running over to Hephaestus\u2019s house,
\neager to have sex with fair-crowned Aphrodite.
\nShe had just left the presence of her father Zeus,
\nmighty son of Cronos, and was sitting down.
\nAres charged inside the house, grabbed her by the hand,
\nthen spoke, saying these words to her:<\/p>\n

\u201cCome, my dear,
\nlet\u2019s go to bed and make love together.370<\/span>
\nHephaestus is not home. No doubt he\u2019s gone
\nto visit Lemnos and the Sintians,
\nthose men who speak like such barbarians.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ares spoke. To Aphrodite having sex with him
\nseemed quite delightful. So the two raced off to bed
\nand lay down together. But then the crafty net
\nmade by Hephaestus\u2019s great skill fell down around them,
\nso they could not move their limbs or shift their bodies.
\nAfter a while, they realized they could not get out.
\nThen the famous crippled god came back to them\u2014380<\/span>
\nturning round before he reached the land of Lemnos.
\nHelios had stayed on watch and gave him a report.
\nWith a grieving heart, Hephaestus went into his home,
\nand stood inside the doorway, gripped by cruel rage.
\nHe made a dreadful cry, calling to all the gods:<\/p>\n

\u201cFather Zeus and you other sacred gods
\nwho live forever, come here, so you can see
\nsomething disgusting and ridiculous\u2014
\nAphrodite, Zeus\u2019s daughter, scorns me
\nand lusts after Ares, the destroyer,390<\/span>
\nbecause he\u2019s beautiful, with healthy limbs,
\nwhile I was born deformed. I\u2019m not to blame.
\nMy parents are! I wish they\u2019d never had me!
\nSee how these two have gone to my own bed
\nand are lying there, having sex together,
\nwhile I look on in pain. But I don\u2019t think
\nthey wish to lie like this for very long,
\nno matter how much they may be in love.
\nThey\u2019ll both soon lose the urge to stay in bed.
\nBut this binding snare will confine them here,400<\/span>
\nuntil her father gives back all those presents,
\ncourting gifts I gave him for that shameless bitch\u2014
\na lovely daughter but a sex-crazed wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hephaestus finished. Gods gathered at the bronze-floored house.
\nEarthshaker Poseidon came, and lord Hermes, too,
\nthe god of luck, as well as archer god Apollo.
\nBut female goddesses were all far too ashamed
\nand stayed at home. So the gods, givers of good things,
\nstood in the doorway, looking at the artful work
\nof ingenious Hephaestus. They began to chortle\u2014410<\/span>
\nand an irrepressible laughter then pealed out
\namong the blessed gods. Glancing at his neighbour,
\none of them would say:<\/p>\n

\u201cNasty deeds don\u2019t pay.
\nThe slow one overtakes the swift\u2014just as
\nHephaestus, slow as he is, has caught Ares,
\nalthough of all the gods who hold Olympus
\nhe\u2019s the fastest one there is. Yes, he\u2019s lame,
\nbut he\u2019s a crafty one. So Ares now
\nmust pay a fine for his adultery.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is how the gods then talked to one another.420<\/span>
\nBut lord Apollo, son of Zeus, questioned Hermes:<\/p>\n

\u201cHermes, son of Zeus, you messenger
\nand giver of good things, how would you like
\nto lie in bed by golden Aphrodite,
\neven though a strong net tied you down?\u201d<\/p>\n

The messenger god, killer of Argus, then said
\nin his reply:<\/p>\n

\u201cFar-shooting lord Apollo,
\nI wish there were three times as many nets,
\nimpossible to break, and all you gods
\nwere looking on, if I could like down there,430<\/span>
\nalongside golden Aphrodite.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Hermes\u2019s words,
\nlaughter arose from the immortal deities.
\nBut Poseidon did not laugh. He kept requesting
\nHephaestus, the celebrated master artisan,
\nto set Ares free. When he talked to Hephaestus,
\nhis words had wings:<\/p>\n

\u201cSet Ares loose.
\nI promise he will pay you everything,
\nas you are asking, all he truly owes,
\nin the presence of immortal gods.\u201d<\/p>\n

The famous lame god then replied:<\/p>\n

\u201cLord Poseidon,440<\/span>
\nShaker of the Earth, do not ask me this.
\nIt\u2019s a risky thing to accept a pledge
\nmade for a nasty rogue. What if Ares
\nescapes his chains, avoids the debt, and leaves\u2014
\nhow then among all these immortal gods
\ndo I hold you in chains?\u201d<\/p>\n

Earthshaker Poseidon
\nthen answered him and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cHephaestus, if indeed Ares does not discharge his debt
\nand runs away, I\u2019ll pay you in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the celebrated crippled god replied:450<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be inappropriate for me to refuse to take your word.\u201d<\/p>\n

After saying this,
\npowerful Hephaestus then untied the netting.
\nBoth gods, one they had been released from their strong chains,
\njumped up immediately\u2014Ares went off to Thrace,
\nand laughter-loving Aphrodite left for Paphos,
\nin Cyprus, for her sanctuary, her sacred altar.
\nOnce there, the Graces bathed and then anointed her
\nwith heavenly oil, the sort that gleams upon the gods,
\nwho live forever. Next, they took some gorgeous clothes460<\/span>
\nand dressed her\u2014the sight was marvellous to behold.<\/p>\n

That was the song the celebrated minstrel sang.
\nAs he listened, Odysseus felt joy in his heart\u2014
\nlong-oared Phaeacians, famous sailors, felt it, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-48","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/48\/revisions\/246"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/48\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/myths\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}