Lay of Ares and Aphrodite
Then Demodocus swept the strings of hίs lyre
And began his song. He sang of the passion
Between Ares and gold-crowned Aphrodite,
How they first made love in Hephaestus' house,
Sneaking around, and how the War God Ares
Showered her with gifts and shamed the bed
Of her husband, Hephaestus. But it wasn't long
Before Hephaestus found out. Helios told him
That he had seen them lying together in love.
When Hephaestus heard this heart-wrenching news
He went to his forge, brooding on his wrongs,
And set the great anvil up on its block
And hammered out a set of unbreakable bonds,
Bonds that couldn't loosen, bonds meant to stay put.
When he had wrought this snare, furious with Ares,
He went to his bedroom and spread the bonds
All around the bedposts, and hung many also
From the high roofbeams, as fine as cobwebs,
So fine not even the gods could see them.
When he had spread this cunning snare
All around the bed, he pretended to leave
On a trip to Lemnos, his favorite city.
Ares wasn't blind, and when he saw Hephaestus
On his way out, he headed for the house
Of the glorious smith, itching to make love
To the Cytherean goddess. She had been visiting
Her father, Zeus, and was just sitting down
When Ares came in, took her hand, and said:
"Let's go to bed, my love, and lie down together.
Hephaestus has left town, off to Lemnos no doubt
To visit the barbarous Sintians."
This suggestion appealed to the goddess,
And they climbed inro bed. They were settling in
When the chains Hephaestus had cunningly wrought
Fell all around them.. They couldn't move an inch,
Couldn't lift a finger, and by the time it sank in
That there was no escape there was Hephaestus,
Gίmpy-legged and glorious coming in the door.
He had turned back on his way to Lemnos
As soon as Helios, his spy gave him the word.
He stood in the doorway, seething with anger,
And with an ear-splitting yell called to the gods:
"Father Zeus and all you blessed gods eternal,
Come see something that is as ridiculous
As it is unendurable, how Aphrodite
Daughter of Zeus, scorns me for being lame
And loves that marauder Ares instead
Because he is handsome and well-knit, 'whereas Ι
Was born misshapen, which is no one's fault
But my parents' who should have neνer begotten me!
Come take a look at how these two
Haνe climbed into my bed to make loνe and lie
In each other's arms. It kills me to see it!
But Ι don't think they will want to lie like this
Much longer, no matter how loving they are.
Νο, they won't want to sleep together for long,
But they're staying put in my little snare
Until her father returns all of the gifts
Ι gave him to marry this bίtch-faced girl,
His beautiful, yes, but faithless daughter."
Thus Hephaestus, and the gods gathered
At his bronze threshold.
Poseidon came,
The God of Earthquake, and Hermes the Guide,
And the Archer Apollo. The goddesses
All stayed home, out of modesty; but the gods
Stood in the doorway and laughed uncontrollably
When they saw Hephaestus' cunning and craft.
One of them would look at another and snigger:
"Crime doesn't pay."
"The slow catches the swift.
Slow as he is, old Gimpy caught Ares,
The fastest god on Olympus."
"Ares has to pay the fine for adultery."
That was the general drift of their jibes.
And then Apollo turned to Hermes and said:
"Tell me, Hermes, would you be willing
Το be pinched in chains if it meant you could lie
Side by side with golden Aphrodite?"
And the quicksilver messenger shot back:
''Ι tell you what, Apollo. Tie me up
With three times as many unbreakable chains,
And get all the gods and goddesses, too,
Το come here and look, if it means Ι can sleep
Side by side with golden Aphrodite."
The gods roared with laughter, except Poseidon
Who did not think it was funny. He kept
Pleading that Ares should be released,
And his words winged their way to Hephaestus:
"Let him go, and Ι will ensure he will pay you
Fair compensation before all the gods."
And the renowned god, lame in both legs:
"Do not ask me to do this, Poseidon.
Worthless is the surety assured for the worthless.
How could Ι ever hold you to your promise
If Ares slipped out of the bonds and the debt?"
Poseidon the Earthshaker did not back off:
'Ήephaestus, if Ares gets free and disappears
Without paying the debt, Ι will pay it myself."
And the renowned god, lame in both legs:
''Ι cannot refuse you. It wouldn't be right."
And with that the strong smith undid the bonds,
And the two of them, free at last from their crimp,
Shot out of there, Ares to Thrace,
And Aphrodite, who loves laughter and smiles,
Το Paphos on Cyprus, and her precinct there
With its smoking altar. There the Graces
Bathed her and rubbed her with the ambrosial oil
That glistens on the skin of the immortal gods.
And then they dressed her in beautiful clothes,
Α wonder to see."
This was the song
The renowned bard sang, and Odysseus
Was glad as he listened, as were the Phaeacians,
Μen who are famed for their long-oared ships.
And began his song. He sang of the passion
Between Ares and gold-crowned Aphrodite,
How they first made love in Hephaestus' house,
Sneaking around, and how the War God Ares
Showered her with gifts and shamed the bed
Of her husband, Hephaestus. But it wasn't long
Before Hephaestus found out. Helios told him
That he had seen them lying together in love.
When Hephaestus heard this heart-wrenching news
He went to his forge, brooding on his wrongs,
And set the great anvil up on its block
And hammered out a set of unbreakable bonds,
Bonds that couldn't loosen, bonds meant to stay put.
When he had wrought this snare, furious with Ares,
He went to his bedroom and spread the bonds
All around the bedposts, and hung many also
From the high roofbeams, as fine as cobwebs,
So fine not even the gods could see them.
When he had spread this cunning snare
All around the bed, he pretended to leave
On a trip to Lemnos, his favorite city.
Ares wasn't blind, and when he saw Hephaestus
On his way out, he headed for the house
Of the glorious smith, itching to make love
To the Cytherean goddess. She had been visiting
Her father, Zeus, and was just sitting down
When Ares came in, took her hand, and said:
"Let's go to bed, my love, and lie down together.
Hephaestus has left town, off to Lemnos no doubt
To visit the barbarous Sintians."
This suggestion appealed to the goddess,
And they climbed inro bed. They were settling in
When the chains Hephaestus had cunningly wrought
Fell all around them.. They couldn't move an inch,
Couldn't lift a finger, and by the time it sank in
That there was no escape there was Hephaestus,
Gίmpy-legged and glorious coming in the door.
He had turned back on his way to Lemnos
As soon as Helios, his spy gave him the word.
He stood in the doorway, seething with anger,
And with an ear-splitting yell called to the gods:
"Father Zeus and all you blessed gods eternal,
Come see something that is as ridiculous
As it is unendurable, how Aphrodite
Daughter of Zeus, scorns me for being lame
And loves that marauder Ares instead
Because he is handsome and well-knit, 'whereas Ι
Was born misshapen, which is no one's fault
But my parents' who should have neνer begotten me!
Come take a look at how these two
Haνe climbed into my bed to make loνe and lie
In each other's arms. It kills me to see it!
But Ι don't think they will want to lie like this
Much longer, no matter how loving they are.
Νο, they won't want to sleep together for long,
But they're staying put in my little snare
Until her father returns all of the gifts
Ι gave him to marry this bίtch-faced girl,
His beautiful, yes, but faithless daughter."
Thus Hephaestus, and the gods gathered
At his bronze threshold.
Poseidon came,
The God of Earthquake, and Hermes the Guide,
And the Archer Apollo. The goddesses
All stayed home, out of modesty; but the gods
Stood in the doorway and laughed uncontrollably
When they saw Hephaestus' cunning and craft.
One of them would look at another and snigger:
"Crime doesn't pay."
"The slow catches the swift.
Slow as he is, old Gimpy caught Ares,
The fastest god on Olympus."
"Ares has to pay the fine for adultery."
That was the general drift of their jibes.
And then Apollo turned to Hermes and said:
"Tell me, Hermes, would you be willing
Το be pinched in chains if it meant you could lie
Side by side with golden Aphrodite?"
And the quicksilver messenger shot back:
''Ι tell you what, Apollo. Tie me up
With three times as many unbreakable chains,
And get all the gods and goddesses, too,
Το come here and look, if it means Ι can sleep
Side by side with golden Aphrodite."
The gods roared with laughter, except Poseidon
Who did not think it was funny. He kept
Pleading that Ares should be released,
And his words winged their way to Hephaestus:
"Let him go, and Ι will ensure he will pay you
Fair compensation before all the gods."
And the renowned god, lame in both legs:
"Do not ask me to do this, Poseidon.
Worthless is the surety assured for the worthless.
How could Ι ever hold you to your promise
If Ares slipped out of the bonds and the debt?"
Poseidon the Earthshaker did not back off:
'Ήephaestus, if Ares gets free and disappears
Without paying the debt, Ι will pay it myself."
And the renowned god, lame in both legs:
''Ι cannot refuse you. It wouldn't be right."
And with that the strong smith undid the bonds,
And the two of them, free at last from their crimp,
Shot out of there, Ares to Thrace,
And Aphrodite, who loves laughter and smiles,
Το Paphos on Cyprus, and her precinct there
With its smoking altar. There the Graces
Bathed her and rubbed her with the ambrosial oil
That glistens on the skin of the immortal gods.
And then they dressed her in beautiful clothes,
Α wonder to see."
This was the song
The renowned bard sang, and Odysseus
Was glad as he listened, as were the Phaeacians,
Μen who are famed for their long-oared ships.