#Greek Myths

[elianzis]

#art #my art #digital art #digital drawing #artwork #digital #greek mythology #greek myth #greek myths #ancient greek mythology #ancient greek #greek myhtology #greek myth art #greek mythology art #achilles #patroclus #patrochilles #the iliad #tagamemnon #aristos achaion #best of the myrmidons

[sarafangirlart]

Debunking some misinformation about Hephaestus and Aphrodite’s Marriage

I’m so sick and tired so I’m making a thread, enjoy. I’ll break it down into several points.

1. Hephaestus demanded Aphrodite’s hand in marriage in exchange for Hera’s freedom and Aphrodite was forced into the marriage

You’d be surprised by how this isn’t even attested in ancient sources, rather it’s just a theory made by modern scholars bc of how spotty and limited our knowledge about this marriage is, let’s look at the actual sources:

Notice how Aphrodite isn’t even mentioned mentioned as the “prize”? Hephaestus does ask for a goddess in exchange for freeing Hera, but it’s not Aphrodite, it’s 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 wouldn’t Aphrodite be married to Dionysus instead? It’s 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 isn’t as disliked as one would think lol

Now even if Aphrodite wasn’t a prize how did she end up marrying Hephaestus? And was she forced into doing it? No actually (Lucian’s Dialogue of the gods):

That’s not to say this wasn’t 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 they’re 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 it’s 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 Lucian’s Dialogue of the Gods which is pretty funny:

3. Hephaestus only saw Aphrodite as property

Ok I don’t like using the “it was a different time” card but like… it really does apply here lol

Now we’ve 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 wasn’t the “gift” Zeus’s 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

No, just… no.

Ares was never considered “the protector of women” in Ancient Greece that’s tumblr fanfiction and plenty of other ppl have made posts debunking this (including me) so I won’t repeat that here. Now about Hephaestus being an “incel” 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 Hera’s orders.

5. Aphrodite cheated to “regain her sexuality”

No Patrick, cheating on your disabled spouse with his brother in the bed and palace he made for you is not a girlboss move it’s being an asshole (all the gods are flawed, how thought provoking). Hell, even Zeus wouldn’t 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 could’ve 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 can’t take a hint and only saw Aphrodite for her beauty

Believe it or not, just bc I criticize Aphrodite and Ares doesn’t mean I hate them lol. Now look, all the gods care deeply about looks but that’s not the only thing that Ares and Aphrodite love about each other. Here is Ares being a total simp and actually listening to her:

Iliad book 5

Thebaid book 3

7. Aphrodite felt neglected by Hephaestus bc he’s too busy at the forge

No lol, she straight up works with him at the forge, why wouldn’t she? If anything this claim makes Aphrodite even more shallow than she actually is.

8. Aphrodite and Ares didn’t care about being humiliated in the golden net and Ares straight up brags about cucking his brother

Yes I’ve 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 that’s why Athena keeps beating his ass, bc Hephaestus purposely gives Ares shitty weapons and armor lol

Anyways umm… I think that’s it? Maybe I missed a few things bc I’m frustrated af rn

Just so y’all know, I’m not a scholar I’m just autistic and read a lot lol. I hope I didn’t miss something or get anything wrong.

Have a good day (or night).

#greek mythology #ancient greek mythology #greek pantheon #greek goddess #hephaestus #Aphrodite #ares x aphrodite #aphrodite x hephaestus #aphrodite greek mythology #aphrodite goddess #hephaistos #aglaia #aglaea #zeus #hera #hera goddess #hera deity #hera greek mythology #ares greek god #ares #ares deity #ares god of war #Greek myths #Odysseus #odyssey #greek goddesses #greek myth #greek god #greek gods #Charis

[theoihalioistuff]

Nurses and Caretakers of the Gods. Part II: Ares and Hephaistos.

(As always, if you know any more sourced versions, I'd love it if you let me know!!!) Part I here.

Ares:

A quick overview of versions of his birth: he is almost universally the son of Zeus and Hera both (e.g. Hom. Il. 5.893, Hes. Th. 922–923; Apollod. 1.3.1), though he is also attested as solely born of Hera (in response to the birth of Athena after touching a prodigious flower from Olenos: Ovid. Fast. 5. 255), solely born of Zeus (after drinking the "male begetting" waters of the Nile: Schol. Aesch. Suppliant Women 855–856) or born of Enyo (Schol. Il. 5.156, Cornutus. Greek Theology. 21, see bellow, Enyo is curiously also attested as an epithet of Hera in Tzetzes ad Lycophron 493 and 519, perhaps in an attempt to reconcile both accounts). He is frequently said to have been born and/or raised in Thrace (e.g. Statius Thebaid 4.786). A fragment from a lost play by Aeschylus seems to give us a description of his childhood:

DIKE: (...) Hera has reared a violent son whom she has borne to Zeus, a god irascible, hard to govern, an one whose mind knows no respect for others. He shot wayfarers with deadly arrows, and ruthlessly hacked ... with hooked spears ... he rejoiced and laughed ... evil ... scent of blood ... [Two lines unintelligible] ... is therefore justly called ..." – Aeschylus, Fragment 282 (the passage likely etymologises the name Ares from ἀρή [bane, ruin, curse]) vicious little psycho

1. Nursed by Thero (Beastly): "Of all the objects along this road the oldest is a sanctuary of Ares. This is on the left of the road, and the image is said to have been brought from Colchis by the Dioscuri. They surname him Theritas after Thero, who is said to have been the nurse of Ares. Perhaps it was from the Colchians that they heard the name Theritas, since the Greeks know of no Thero, nurse of Ares." (Paus. 3.19.7-8)

2. Nursed (among other things) by Enyo: "Accounts of Enyo differ; for some she is the mother of Ares, some his daughter, some his nurse" (Cornutus Compendium of Greek Theology, 21). Elsewhere she is also his sister (Quintus. Fall of Troy 424) or his lover, begetting Enyalios (Eustathius on Homer p.944) she is his everything, literally.

3. Raised and taught the arts of dance and war by Priapos (incredibly enough), a deity originally worshipped in the city of Lampsakos (in the northern Troad), who after spreading throughout the classical world was primarily known as a rustic god with massive genitals:

"According to a Bithynian legend, which agrees well with this Italian institution, Priapos, a war-like divinity (probably one of the Titans, or of the Idaean Dactyls, whose profession it was to teach the use of arms), was entrusted by Hera with the care of her son Ares, who even in childhood was remarkable for his courage and ferocity. Priapos would not put weapons into his hands till he had turned him out a perfect dancer; and he was rewarded by Hera with a tenth part of all Ares’s spoils." – Lucian, De saltatione 21

Hephaistos:

Versions of his birth are more or less split evenly between him being the son of both Zeus and Hera (e.g. Hom. Il. 1.578, 14.338, 18.396. Od. 8.312.) or solely of Hera (Hes. Theog. 929, Apollod. 1.3.5, Hygin. Fab. Praef.), likely in response to the birth of Athena, or else preceeding it due of an unexplained quarrel (Hes. Fragment 343 MW). Regarding detalis of his parthenogenic conception: "Hera, without any man, being lifted up by the wind gave birth to Hephaistos" (Lucian. De sacrificiis 6), and regarding details on the the birth, it's sometimes said to have been from her thigh (Serv. Aen. 8.454). A quaint tale that tries to reconcile both traditions (Schol.bT. Il. 14.296) claims that Zeus and Hera secretly slept together on the island of Samos before they were married. After being oficially given in marriage to Zeus (by Okeanos and Tethys), Hera bore Hephaistos, and to conceal their premarital dalliance she pretended that she'd birthed him without need of a father. Finally, odd genealogies abound (which I almost didn't include, e.g. Paus. 8.53.5 or Cicero. de Nat. Deor. 3.22).

1. In most accounts he's raised for nine years by Thetis and Eurynome, after being thrown off Olympos at birth by Hera for being lame (main source is Hom. Il. 18.394-405):

"She [Thetis] saved me when I suffered much at the time of my great fall through the will of my own brazen-faced mother, who wanted to hide me for being lame. Then my soul would have taken much suffering had not Eurynome and Thetis caught me and held me, Eurynome, daughter of Okeanos, whose stream bends back in a circle. With them I worked nine years as a smith, and wrought many intricate things; pins that bend back, curved clasps, cups, necklaces, working there in the hollow of the cave, and the stream of Okeanos around us went on forever with its foam and its murmur. No other among the gods or among mortal men knew about us except Eurynome and Thetis. They knew since they saved me." (Trans. Lattimore)

I ship them. Many later accounts confuse both versions of his fall (see below), and so sometimes Thetis and Eurynome recieve him after he's hurled off Olympus by Zeus, presumably as an adult (e.g. Apollod. 1.3.5). Also a variation is found where Hephaestus is raised by Thetis and the rest of the Nereids:

"But my son Hephaestus whom I bare was weakly among all the blessed gods and shrivelled of foot, a shame and disgrace to me in heaven, whom I myself took in my hands and cast out so that he fell in the great sea. But silver-shod Thetis the daughter of Nereus took and cared for him with her sisters: would that she had done other service to the blessed gods!" (Homeric Hymn 3. 311-330)

2. According to the other main variant of his fall, Hephaistos is hurled off Olympos by Zeus after he tries to intervene on his mother's behalf during one of their quarrels (Homer, Iliad 1. 568), presumably to save her from a beating (Plato, Republic 378d), or specifically to free her after she'd been chained and hung from heaven (eg. Apollod. 1.3.5). In this version he falls on the island of Lemnos, and is nursed back to health by the tribe of Sintians (V. Fl. Argonautica. 2.8.5, Hom. Il. 1.590 is quoted below):

"There was a time once before now I was minded to help you [Hera], and he [Zeus] caught me by the foot and threw me from the magic threshold, and all day long I dropped helpless, and about sunset I landed in Lemnos, and there was not much life left in me. After that fall it was the Sintian men who took care of me." (Trans. Lattimore)

As mentioned before both versions were frequently mixed up, being basically doubles of eachother (either Hephaistos is born lame and is therefore cast out, or he's cast out and therefore is lamed), so sometimes he is raised as a child by the Sintians (e.g. Serv. ad. Eclog. 4.62, where he is cast out by Jupiter because Juno rejects him at birth, and so comes to fall on Lemnos).

3. Finally, there is a version where he is entrusted by Hera to the obscure Kedalion, a daimon who had his workshop on the island of Naxos. Hephaistos apprenticed and learnt to work bronze under his tutelage (Eustathius ad Homer, Il. 14.296a). Elsewhere Kedalion is an assistant in Hephaistos' workshop, who is given as a guide to the blind giant Orion so that, standing on his shoulders, he may lead him to the Sun and be healed (Serv. Aen. 10.763, Ps. Eratosthenes. Catast. fr. 32, Orion = Hes. Ast. fr 4, Hyg. Ast. 2.34.3, Sophocles also told this tale in a lost satyr play that bore Kedalion's name).

#greek mythology #greek myths #greek gods #tagamemnon #hellenic deities #nurses and caretakers #Ares #Hephaestus #Hephaistos #Thero #Enyo #Priapos #Thetis #Eurynome #Kedalion #Hera #Zeus #ancient art #greek pottery

[alibonbonn]

The Grief of Thetis (For our zine Sing, O Muse's sketches giveaway)

#thank you Emica for the chance to never shut up about Thetis aaaaaaa #the grief of achilles i think came from his mom's side #it's a divine blood thing #kind of an incompatible with life situation #tagamemnon #thetis #greek myths #alidraws

[chimera-tail]

Ares: You gotta admit, I’ve been on my best behaviour this trip.

Apollo: You threw rocks at three people in the street.

#greek mythology #greek gods #greek myths #incorrect greek gods #incorrect greek mythology #ares #apollo #ares x apollo

[thingsphoenix21]

Ares: Thena you like my plan? Athena: Yeah. I do like your plan, except where the part it sucks. So let me do the plan so that way It might be really good.

#incorrect greek gods #greek myths #greek gods #greek incorrect quotes #greek mythology #ancient greece #ancient greek #athena #ares #ares x athena #this two always arguing

[sleepnowmychild]

Helpol’s what was your first ever Greek myth?

Mine was Echo and Narcissus back in primary school. We did a term on Greek mythology and part of it was to draw a myth and it would be printed onto a tea towel. I still have it put away in a box. Echo is still one of my favourite mythological figures to this day.

I think it’s kind of interesting I started with a story about egotistical pretty boys and heartbroken nymphs and ended up devoted to the god of sleep.

#hypnos devotee #hypnos god #hellenic polythiest #hypnos deity #hellenic deities #hellenic pagan #hellenic worship #hellenic polytheism #hellenism #greek mythology #cthonic gods #echo and narcissus #greek myths #greek myth

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Apollo: *pointing at a dark hallway* Look how creepy it is looking down this hallway.

Aphrodite: Imma get vertigo.

Ares: Hey, I'm a virgo! :D

Apollo: No, you're a virgin-

#greek mythology #incorrect greek mythology #incorrect greek gods #incorrect greek god quotes #greek gods #greek god #ares #ares god of war #ares greek god #ares greek mythology #apollo #apollon #apollo greek mythology #apollo greek god #greek goddesses #greek goddess #aphrodite #aphrodite greek mythology #aphrodite greek goddess #aphrodite goddess #greek myths #incorrect mythology #incorrect quotes

[gigizetz]

"Is the cyclops struck with guilt when he kills? Is he up in the middle of the night?

Or does he end my men to avenge his friend, and then sleep knowing he has done him right?"

"When the witch turns men to pigs to protect her nymphs is she going insane?

Or did she learn to be colder when she got older, and now she saves them the pain?"

"When a god comes down and makes a fleet drown is he scared that he's doing something wrong?

Or does he keep us in check so we must respect him, and now no one dares to piss him off?"

"Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping trojans 'cause he is vile?

Or does he throw away his remorse and saves more lives with guile?"

#digital art #art #epic the musical #greek myths #epic: the musical #animatic #odyssey #epic the musical animatic #epic the underworld saga

[thereinart]

She's the warrior of my mind

#Athena #epic the musical #greek godesses #greek gods #greek myths #mythology #athena fanart

[aphroditehearmyprayer]

2500 years old statue of Aphrodite

#aphrodite #venus #art #greek gods #greek mythology #greek myths #greek goddess #greek statue #statue #art history

[elianzis]

Goddess of wisdom

#art #my art #digital art #digital drawing #artwork #fan art #greek mythology #digital #greek goddess #goddess #goddess of wisdom #athena #greek myths #greek myth #ancient greek mythology #ancient greece #epic the musical fanart #epic: the musical #epic the musical #tagamemnon

[rubynrut]

#epic the musical #epic the circe saga #Circe #odysseus #greek myths #doodle #he's the worst #we still love him tho #The pig its having its own existencial crisis on the back #I still don't how how to use tumblr #Art #greek mythology

[anniflamma]

You are having a breakdown because your wife just cheated, and no one is really that good to give you any comfort.

#greek myths #greek mythology #greek gods #poseidon #hephaestus #apollo #hermes #aphrodite #ares #doodlysketch #short comic

[chimera-tail]

Hades: I have a terrible headache.

Demeter: Spread aroma oils on your temples.

Poseidon: Will that help?

Demeter: No, but you'll have the feeling you're dying in a pine forest.

Poseidon: ... huh?

Hades: *actually considering it* I could go for a forest death.

#greek mythology #greek gods #greek myths #incorrect greek gods #incorrect greek mythology #incorrect greek god quotes #demeter #hades #poseidon

[amiti-art]

Dadpollo this, dadpollo that, but what about grandpa Apollo

#Apollo #asclepius #epione #hygieia #greek panteon #greek myths #greek gods #apollon #my art #character design #children of Apollo