Let’s take another look at the goddess Aphrodite. Specifically, today I’d like to explore the marriage of Aphrodite and Hephaistos (or Hephaestus). The relationship between these two Olympians is, well, such an odd juxtaposition. On the one hand, you have a beautiful goddess, who is appealing and alluring. On the other, a rather less attractive god, who is described as lame, and according to some sources, even deformed. Aphrodite’s sphere of influence is love, while Hephaistos presides over smithing.
So, just how did these two opposites end up together in mythology?
Finding a note that I had scrawled on an index card was what originally sparked this question. This note was attributed to the book The Meaning of Aphrodite by Paul Friedrich, and here it is :
“The marriage of Aphrodite and Hephaestus is itself an inversion of the usual union between a sky god and an earth goddess. Here is a god who has been cast down from above and who works in the gloom of the forge is wed to a goddess who emerges from below and lives above in the sunlight…Moreover, it is Aphrodite who is dominant.”
While it doesn’t actually answer my original query, the quote does give us some context and background.
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