HEPHAISTOS was the great Olympian god of fire, metalworking, building and the fin

e arts.
He had a short list of lovers in myth, although most of these appear only in the
ancient genealogies with no accompanying story
The two most famous of the Hephaistos "love" stories were the winning of Aphrodi
te and her subsequent adulterous affair, and his attempted rape of the goddess A
thene, which seeded the earth and produced a boy named Erikhthonios.
DIVINE LOVES
AGLAIA The Goddess of Glory and one of the three Kharites. She married Hephaisto
s after his divorce from Aphrodite and bore him several divine daughters: Euklei
a, Eutheme, Euthenia, and Philophrosyne.
APHRODITE The Goddess of Love and Beauty was the first wife of Hephaistos. He di
vorced her following an adulterous love-affair with his brother Ares, to whom sh
e had borne several children.
ATHENA The Goddess of War and Wisdom fought off an attempted rape by the god Hep
haistos, shortly after his divorce from Aphrodite. She wiped his fluids form her
leg and threw them upon the earth (Gaia) which conceived and bore a son Erikhth
onios. Athena felt a certain responsibility for this child and raised it as her
own in the temple of the Akropolis.
GAIA The Goddess of the Earth was accidentally impregnated by the seed of Hephai
stos, when Athena cast the god's semen upon the ground after his attempted rape.
PERSEPHONE The gods Hephaistos, Ares, Hermes, and Apollon all wooed Persephone b
efore her marriage to Haides. Demeter rejected all their gifts and hid her daugh
ter away from the company of the gods.
SEMI-DIVINE LOVES (NYMPHAI)
AITNA A Nymphe or Goddess of Mount Aitna in Sikelia (Sicily, Southern Italia) lo
ved by the god Hephaistos. She bore him a daughter Thaleia. [see Family]
KABEIRO A Nymphe Einalia (of the Sea) loved by Hephaistos who bore him several s
ons and daughters called the Kabeiroi and the Nymphai Kabeirides. [see Family]
(3) MORTAL LOVES (WOMEN)
ANTIKLEIA A woman of Epidauros in the Argolis (Southern Greece) who bore Hephais
tos a son - the bandit Periphetes. [see Family]
ATTHIS A Princess of Attika (in Southern Greece) who, according to some, was lov
ed by the god Hephaistos and bore him a son Erikhthonios (however, according to
most accounts, the child was a son of Hephaistos and Gaia the Earth). [see Famil
y]
OKRESIA A Princess of Latium ( Rome) (in Central Italia) who bore Hephaistos (Vo
lcanos) a son Servius Tullius. [see Family]
Seneca, Phaedra 185 (trans. Miller) (Roman tragedy C1st A.D.) :
"This winged god [Eros] rules ruthlessly throughout the earth and inflames Jove
[Zeus] himself, wounded with unquenched fires. Gradivus [Ares], the warrior god,
has felt those flames; that god [Hephaistos] has felt them who fashions the thr
ee-forked thunderbolts, yea, he who tends the hot furnaces ever raging neath Aetn
as peaks is inflamed by so mall a fire as this."
HEPHAISTOS LOVES: APHRODITE
LOCALE: Mt Olympos (Home of the Gods)
I) HEPHAISTOS WINS APHRODITE
The story of the Marriage of Hephaistos and Aphrodite can be reconstructed from

text fragments and ancient Greek vase paintings, such as the Francois Vase:Hephaistos was cast from heaven by his mother Hera at birth, for she was ashamed
to bear a crippled son. He was rescued by the goddesses Thetis and Eurynome who
cared for him in a cave on the shores of the River Okeanos where he grew up to
become a skilled smith. Angry at his mother s treatment, Hephaistos sent gifts t
o to the gods of Olympos including a Golden Throne for Hera. When the goddess sa
t upon this cursed seat she was bound fast.
Zeus petitioned the gods to help free Hera from her predicament, offering the go
ddess Aphrodite in marriage to whomsoever could bring Hephaistos to Olympos. Aph
rodite agreed to this arrangment in the belief that her beloved Ares, the god of
war, would prevail.
Ares attempted to storm the forge of Hephaistos, bearing arms, but was driven ba
ck by the Divine Smith with a shower of flaming metal (Libanius Narration 7, not
currently quoted here).
Dionysos was the next to approach Hephaistos, but instead of force, he suggested
that Hephaistos might himself lay claim to Aphrodite if he were to return volan
tarily to Olympus and release Hera. The godwas pleased with the plan and ascende
d to Heaven with Dionysos, released his mother and wed the reluctant Goddess of
Love.

Homer, Odyssey 8. 267 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :

"The betrothal gifts I [Hephaistos] bestowed on him [Zeus] for his wanton daught
er [Aphrodite]."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 2. 180 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"A chalice deep and wide . . . a huge golden cup . . . this the cunning God-smit
h [Hephaistos] brought to Zeus, his masterpiece, what time the Mighty in Power t
o Hephaistos gave for bride the Kyprian Queen [Aphrodite]."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 20. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd
A.D.) :
"There are paintings here [in the temple of Dionysos at Athens] - Dionysos bring
ing Hephaistos up to heaven. One of the Greek legends is that Hephaistos, when h
e was born, was thrown down by Hera. In revenge he sent as a gift a golden chair
with invisible fetters. When Hera sat down she was held fast, and Hephaistos re
fused to listen to any other of the gods [including Ares] save Dionysos - in him
he reposed the fullest trust - and after making him drunk Dionysos brought him
to heaven."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 166 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When Father Liber [Dionysos] had brought him [Hephaistos] back drunk to the cou
ncil of the gods, he could not refuse this filial duty [and free Hera from the m
agical throne he had trapped her in]. Then he obtained freedom of choice from Jo
ve [Zeus], to gain whatever he sought from them. Therefore Neptunus [Poseidon],
because he was hostile to Minerva [Athene], urged Volcanus [Hephaistos] to ask f
or Minerva in marriage."
[N.B. Aphrodite rather than Athena was probably the bride requested as his rewar
d in the original version of this story.]
Suidas s.v. Deimos (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek lexicon C10th A.D.) :
"Deimos (Fear): [Deimos (Fear)] and Phobos (Fright) and Kydoimos (Din of War), a
ttendants of Ares, the sons of war; they too experienced what Ares did, after He
phaistos had not been frightened by them."
[N.B. When Ares tried to fetch Hephaistos to Olympos to release Hera from the th
rone, the prize for this labour being the hand of Aphrodite in marriage - which
Hephaistos then claimed for himself.]

On the Francois vase (Athenian black figure vaseC6th B.C.) Hera is depicted trap
ped on the throne with her hands raised helplessly, as Ares, who has failed, sit
s in a humble pose with Athena looking scornfully at him. Meanwhile Dionysos, en
ters, leading the mule on which Hephaistos is seated, to Aphrodite who stands wa
iting as the prize of marriage.
II) APHRODITE AS WIFE OF HEPHAISTOS
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3. 36 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :
"The palace of Aphrodite, which her lame consort Hephaistos had built for her wh
en he took her as his bride from the hands of Zeus. They [Hera and Athene] enter
ed the courtyard and paused below the veranda of the room where the goddess slep
t with her lord and master."
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1. 850 ff :
"Kypris [Aphrodite], the goddess of desire, had done her sweet work in their hea
rts [and mated the visiting Argonauts with the widowed women of Lemnos]. She wis
hed to please Hephaistos, the great Artificer, and save his isle of Lemnos from
ever lacking men again . . . The whole city [of Lemnos] was alive with dance and
banquet. The scent of burnt-offerings filled the air; and of all the immortals,
it was Hera s glorious son Hephaistos and Kypris [Aphrodite] herself whom their
songs and sacrifices were designed to please."
Virgil, Aeneid 8. 372 ff (trans. Day-Lewis) (Roman epic C1st B.C.) :
"Venus [Aphrodite] . . . spoke to her husband, Volcanos [Hephaistos], as they la
y in their golden bed-chamber, breathing into the words all her divine alluremen
t [persuading him to forge armour for her son Aeneas in Latium] . . . Since Volc
anos [Hephaistos] complied not at once, the goddess softly embraced him in snowd
rift arms, caressing him here and there. Of a sudden he caught the familiar spar
k and felt the old warmth darting into his marrow, coursing right though his bod
y, melting him; just as it often happens a thunderclap starts a flaming rent whi
ch ladders the dark cloud, a quivering streak of fire. Pleased with her wiles an
d aware of her beauty, Venus [Aphrodite] could feel them taking effect. Volcanus
[Hephaistos], in loves undying thrall [conceded to her requests] . . . Thus sayi
ng, he gave his wife the love he was aching to give her; then he sank into sooth
ing sleep, relaxed upon her breast."
III) APHRODITE BARES CHILDREN TO HER PARAMOUR ARES
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 88 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"Aphrodite wishing to delight Ares in the deep shrewdness of her mind, clasped a
golden necklace showing place about the girls blushing neck [a gift to their dau
ghter Harmonia at her marriage to Kadmos], a clever work of Hephaistos set with
sparkling gems in masterly refinement. This he had made for his Kyprian bride, a
gift for his first glimpse of Archer Eros (Love) [born to Aphrodite, as the wif
e of Hephaistos, but fathered by her paramor Ares]. For the heavyknee bridegroom
always expected that Kythereia would bear him a hobbling son, having the image
of his father in his feet. But his though was mistaken; and when he beheld a who
le-footed son [Eros] brilliant with wings like Maias son Hermes, he made this mag
nificent [but cursed] necklace."
IV) ARES & APHRODITE CAUGHT IN THE TRAP OF HEPHAISTOS
Homer, Odyssey 8. 267 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Demodokos [the Phaiakian bard] struck his lyre and began a beguiling song about
the loves of Ares and Aphrodite, how first the lay together secretly in the dwe

lling of Hephaistos. Ares had offered many gifts to the garlanded divinity and c
overed with shame the marriage bed of Lord Hephaistos. But Helios (the sun-god)
had seen them in their dalliance and hastened away to tell Hephaistos; to him th
e news was bitter as gall, and he made his way towards his smithy, brooding reve
nge. He laid the great anvil on its base and set himself to forge chains that co
uld not be broken or torn asunder, being fashioned to bind lovers fast. Such was
the device that he made in his indignation against Ares, and having made it he
went to the room where his bed lay; all round the bed-posts he dropped the chain
s, while others in plenty hung from the roof-beams, gossamer-light and invisible
to the blessed gods themselves, so cunning had been the workmanship. When the s
nare round the bed was complete, he made as if to depart to Lemnos, the pleasant
-sited town, which he loved more than any place on earth. Ares, god of the golde
n reins, was no blind watcher. Once he had seen Hephaistos go, he himself approa
ched the great craftmans dwelling, pining for love of Kytherea [Aphrodtie]. As fo
r her, she had just returned from the palace of mighty Zeus her father, and was
sitting down in the house as Ares entered it. He took her hand and spoke thus to
her: Come, my darling; let us go to bed and take our delight together. Hephaisto
s is no longer here; by now, I think, he has made his way to Lemnos, to visit th
e uncouth-spoken Sintians.

So he spoke, and sleep with him was a welcome thought to her. So they went to th
e bed and there lay down, but the cunning chains of Polyphron (crafty) Hephaisto
s enveloped them, and they could neither raise their limbs nor shift them at all
; so they saw the truth when there was no escaping. Meanwhile the lame craftsman
god (periklytos Amphigueeis) approached; he had turned back short of the land o
f Lemnos, since watching Helios (the sun-god) had told him everything. Cut to th
e heart, he neared his house and halted inside the porch; savage anger had hold
of him, and he roared out hideously, crying to all the gods: Come, Father Zeus; c
ome, all you blessed immortals with him; see what has happened here - no matter
for laughter nor yet forbearance. Aphrodite had Zeus for father; because I am la
me she never ceased to do me outrage and give her love to destructive Ares, sinc
e he is handsome and sound-footed and I am a cripple from my birth; yet for that
my two parents are to blame, no one else at all, and I wish they had never bego
tten me. You will see the pair of lovers now as they lie embracing in my bed; th
e sight of them makes me sick at heart. Yet I doubt their desire to rest there l
onger, fond as they are. They will soon unwish their posture there; but my cunni
ng chains shall hold them both fast till her father Zeus has given me back all t
he betrothal gifts I bestowed on him for his wanton daughter; beauty she has, bu
t no sense of shame.
Thus he spoke, and the gods came thronging there in front of the house with its
brazen floor. Poseidon the Earth-Sustainer came, and Hermes the Mighty Runner, a
nd Lord Apollon who shoots from afar; but the goddesses, every one of them, kept
within doors for very shame. Thus then the bounteous gods stood at the entrance
. Laughter they could not quench rose on the lips of these happy beings as they
fixed their eyes on the stratagem of Hephaistos, and glancing each at his neighb
our said some such words as these: Ill deeds never prosper; swift after all is ou
trun by slow; here is Hephaistos the slow and crippled, yet by his cunning he ha
s defeated the swiftest of all the Olympian gods, and Ares must pay an adulterers
penalty. . . .
For Poseidon there was no laughing; he kept imploring the master smith Hephaisto
s in hopes that he would let Ares go. He spoke in words of urgent utterance: Let
him go; I promise that he shall pay in full such rightful penalty as you ask for
- pay in the presence of all the gods.
But the great lame craftsman answered him: Poseidon, Sustainer of the Earth, do n
ot ask this of me. Pledges for trustless folk are trustless pledges. If Ares sho
uld go his way, free of his chains and his debt alike, what then? Could I fetter
yourself in the presence of all the gods.
Poseidon who shakes the earth replies: Hephaistos, if Ares indeed denies his debt

and escapes elsewhere, I myself will pay what you ask.

Then the great lame craftsman (periklytos Amphigueeis) answered him: I must no an
d cannot refuse you now, and with that he undid the chains, powerful though they
had proved. Unshackled thus, the lovers were up and off at once; Ares went on hi
s way to Thrake, and Aphrodite the laughter-lover to Paphos in Kypros."

Plato, Republic 390b (trans. Shorey) (Greek philosopher C4th B.C.) :

"[From Plato s critique of the portrayal of the gods in Homer :] Nor will it pro
fit them to hear of Hephaistos fettering Ares and Aphrodite for a like motive [
i.e. for passion]."
Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy 14. 40 ff (trans. Way) (Greek epic C4th A.D.) :
"With cheek shame-crimsoned, like the Queen of Love, what time the Heaven-abider
s saw her clasped in Ares arms, shaming in sight of all the marriage-bed, trapp
ed in the myriad-meshed toils of Hephaistos: tangled there she lay in agony of s
hame, while thronged around the Blessed, and there stood Hephaistos self: for f
earful it is for wives to be beheld by husbands eyes doing the deed of shame."
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 7. 26 (trans. Conybeare) (Greek biogra
phy C1st to 2nd A.D.) :
"[Poets] recite your rhapsodies . . . and tell them how . . . Ares, the most war
like of the gods, was first enchained in heaven by Hephaistos."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 148 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When Volcanus [Hephaistos] knew that Venus [Aphrodite] was secretly lying with
Mars [Ares], and that he could not oppose his strength, he made a chain of adama
nt and put it around the bed to catch Mars by cleverness. When Mars came to the
rendezvous, the together with Venus fell into the snare so that he could not ext
ricate himself. When Sol [Helios the sun] reported this to Volcanus, he saw them
lying there naked, and summoned all the gods who saw. As a result, shame fright
ened Mars so that he did not do this. From their embrace Harmonia was born, and
to her Minerva [Athene] and Volcanus [Hephaistos] gave a robe dipped in crimes as
a gift. Because of this, their descendants are clearly marked as ill-fated."

Ovid, Metamorphoses 4. 170 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.
D.) :
"Sol [Helios the Sun] is thought to have been the first to see Venus [Aphrodites]
adultery with Mars [Ares]: Sol is the first to see all things. Shocked at the si
ght he told the goddess husband, Junonigena [Hephaistos], how he was cuckolded
where. Then Volcanus [Hephaistos ] heart fell, and from his deft blacksmiths han
ds fell too the work he held. At once he forged a net, a mesh of thinnest links
of bronze, too fine for eye to see, a triumph not surpassed by finest threads of
silk or by the web the spider hands below the rafters beam. He fashioned it to r
espond to the least touch or slightest movement; then with subtle skill arranged
it round the bed. So when his wife lay down together with her paramour, her hus
bands mesh, so cleverly contrived, secured them both ensnared as they embraced. S
traightway Lemnius [Hephaistos] flung wide the ivory doors and ushered in the go
ds. The two lay there, snarled in their shame. The gods were not displeased; one
of them prayed for shame like that. They laughed and laughed; the joyful episod
e was long the choicest tale to go the rounds of heaven."
Virgil, Georgics 4. 345 ff (trans. Fairclough) (Roman bucolic C1st B.C.) :
"Among these [the nymphs] Clymene was telling of of Vulcanus [Hephaistos ] baff
led care, of the wiles and stolen joys of Mars [Ares]."

Statius, Silvae 1. 2. 51 (trans. Mozley) (Roman poetry C1st A.D.) :

"Once on a time, where the milky region is set in a tranquil heaven, lay kindly
Venus [Aphrodite] in her bower, whence night had but lately fled, faint in the r
ough embrace of her Getic lord [Ares] . . . Weary she lies upon her cushions, wh
ere once the Lemnian chains [of Hephaistos] crept over the bed and held it fast,
learning its guilty secret."
Suidas s.v. Moixagria (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek lexicon C10th A.D.)
:
"Moixagria (Adultery fine): The fine for adultery, paid by the man caught [actin
g as] an adulterer." [N.B. the word occurs in Homer, Odyssey 8.332, of the adult
ery between Ares and Aphrodite.]
Suidas s.v. Helios :
"[N.B. The following is a rationalisation of the myth by some late classical aut
hor:]
Helios: After the death of Hephaistos [Ptah], the king of Egypt, Helios [Ra] his
son took the rule . . . Helios, then, maintained the laws of his father, and de
nounced his wife when he discovered she had been debauched. Homer changed this t
o make it poetic, saying that the sun (helios) exposed the fact that Aphrodite h
ad lain with Ares, calling her desire Aphrodite and the soldier who was caught wit
h her Ares. "
V) HEPHAISTOS DIVORCES APHRODITE
Homer, Odyssey 8. 267 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Cut to the heart, he [Hephaistos] neared his house and halted inside the porch
[and saw his wife Aphrodite trapped in the embrace of Ares]; savage anger had ho
ld of him, and he roared out hideously, crying to all the gods: Come, Father Zeus
; come, all you blessed immortals with him; see what has happened here . . . You
will see the pair of lovers now as they lie embracing in my bed; the sight of t
hem makes me sick at heart. Yet I doubt their desire to rest there longer, fond
as they are. They will soon unwish their posture there; but my cunning chains sh
all hold them both fast till her father Zeus has given me back all the betrothal
gifts I bestowed on him for his wanton daughter; beauty she has, but no sense o
f shame. " [N.B. Homer seems to suggest that the couple were afterwards divorced.
In the Iliad, Aglaia is Hephaistos wife, and Aphrodite consorts freely with Ar
es.]
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 187 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd
A.D.) :
"Athene went to Hephaistos because she wanted to make some weapons. But he, dese
rted by Aphrodite, let himself become aroused by Athene, and started chasing her
as she ran from him."
Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 562 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"Lemnian Hephaistos [seeking the hand of the maiden Persephone in marriage] held
out a curious necklace of many colours, new made and breathing still of the fur
nace, poor hobbler! For he had already, though unwilling, rejected his former br
ide Aphrodite, when he spied her rioting with Ares."
VI) HEPHAISTOS AVENGES HIMSELF ON APHRODITE S DAUGHTER HARMONIA
Statius, Thebaid 2. 265 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) :
"The Lemnian [Hephaistos], so they of old believed, long time distressed at Mars
[Ares ] deceit and seeing that no punishment gave hindrance to the disclosed a
rmour, and the avenging chains removed not the offence [of his affair with Hepha
istos then wife Aphrodite], wrought this for Harmonia [the child born from the

affair] on her bridal day to be the glory of her dower."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 88 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"Aphrodite wishing to delight Ares in the deep shrewdness of her mind, clasped a
golden necklace showing place about the girl s blushing neck [a gift to their d
aughter Harmonia at her marriage to Kadmos], a clever work of Hephaistos set wit
h sparkling gems in masterly refinement. This he had made for his Kyprian bride,
a gift for his first glimpse of Archer Eros (Love) [born to Aphrodite the wife
of Hephaistos but fathered by her lover Ares]. For the heavyknee bridegroom alwa
ys expected that Kythereia would bear him a hobbling son, having the image of hi
s father in his feet. But his though was mistaken; and when he beheld a whole-fo
oted son [Eros] brilliant with wings like Maias son Hermes, he made this magnific
ent necklace."

EPHAISTOS LOVES: ATHENA & GAIA

LOCALE: Athens, Attika (Southern Greece)
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3. 187 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd
A.D.) :
"Erikhthonios [king of Athens], according to some, was the son of Hephaistos and
Kranaus daughter Atthis, while others say his parents were Hephaistos and Athene
, in the following manner. Athene went to Hephaistos because she wanted to make
some weapons. But he, deserted by Aphrodite, let himself become aroused by Athen
e, and started chasing her as she ran from him. When he caught up with her with
much effort (for he was lame), he tried to enter her, but she, being the model o
f virginal self-control, would not let him; so as he ejaculated, his semen fell
on her leg. In revulsion Athene wiped it off with some wool, which she threw on
the ground. And as she was fleeing and the semen fell to the earth, Erikhthonios
came into being."
Callimachus, Hecale Fragment 1. 2 (from Papyri) (trans. Trypanis) (Greek poet C3
rd B.C.) :
"Pallas [Athena] laid him [Erikhthonios], the ancient seed of Hephaistos within
the chest, until she set a rock in Akte (attika) for the sons of Kekrops; a birt
h mysterious and secret, whose lineage I neither knew nor learnt, but they thems
elves [the daughters of Kekrops] declared, according to report among the primeva
l birds, that Gaia (earth) bare him to Hephaistos."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 2. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A
.D.) :
"Men say that Erikhthonios had no human father, but that his parents were Hephai
stos and Ge (Earth)."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 14. 6 :
"Above the Kerameikos [in Athens] . . . is a temple of Hephaistos. I was not sur
prised that by it stands a statue of Athena, be cause I knew the story about Eri
khthonios."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 18. 13 :
"There are also represented [on the throne of the Amyklaian at Amyklai in Lakeda
imon] . . . Athena running away from Hephaistos, who chases her."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 166 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"When Father Liber [Dionysos] had brought him [Hephaistos] back drunk to the cou
ncil of the gods, he could not refuse this filial duty [and free Hera from the m
agical throne he had trapped her in]. Then he obtained freedom of choice from Jo

ve [Zeus], to gain whatever he sought from them. Therefore Neptunus [Poseidon],

because he was hostile to Minerva [Athene], urged Volcanus [Hephaistos] to ask f
or Minerva in marriage. This was granted, but Minerva, when he entered her chamb
er, defended her virginity with arms. As they struggled, some of his seed fell t
o earth, and from it a boy was born, the lower part of whose body was snake-form
ed. They named him Erichthonius, because eris in Greek means strife and khthon mea
ns earth. When Minerva [Athena] was secretly caring for him, she gave him in a ch
est to Aglaurus, Pandrosus, and Herse, daughters of Cecrops, to guard."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 13 :
"Euripides gives the following account of his [Erikhthonios ] birth. Volcanus [H
ephaistos], inflamed by Minerva s [Athene s] beauty, begged her to marry him, bu
t was refused. She hid herself in the place called Hephaestius [sanctuary in Ath
ens?], on account of the love of Volcanus. They say that Volcanus [Hephaistos],
following her there, tried to force her, and when, full of passion he tried to e
mbrace her, he was repulsed, and some of his seed fell to the ground. Minverva [
Athene], overcome by shame, with her foot spread dust over it. From this the sna
ke Erichthonius was born, who derives his name from the earth and their struggle
. Minerva is said to have hidden him, like a cult-object, in a chest. She brough
t the chest to the daughters of Erechtheus and gave it to them to guard, forbidd
ing them to open it."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 2. 759 ff (trans. Melville) (Roman epic C1st B.C. to C1st A.
D.) :
"The infant boy [Erikhthonios], great Volcanus [Hephaistos ] child, the babe no
mother bore."
Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3. 22 (trans. Rackham) (Roman rhetorician C1st B.C.) :
"Volcanos [Hephaistos] . . . was reputedly the father by Minerva [Athene] of the
Apollo [Erikhthonios] said by the ancient historians to be the tutelary deity o
f Athens."
HEPHAISTOS LOVES: AGLAIA
LOCALE: Mt Olympos (Home of the Gods)
Hesiod, Theogony 945 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) :
"And Hephaistos, the famous Lame One (agaklytos Amphigueeis), made Aglaia, young
est of the Kharites, his buxom wife."
Homer, Iliad 18. 136 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Kharis of the shining veil saw her [Thetis] as she came forward [entering the h
ouse of Hephaistos], she, the lovely goddess the renowned strong-armed one had m
arried. She came, and caught her hand and called her by name and spoke to her: Wh
y is it, Thetis of the light robes, you have come to our house now? We honour yo
u and love you; but you have not come much before this. But come in with me so I
may put entertainment before you.
She spoke, and, shining among divinities, led the way forward and made Thetis si
t down in a chair that was wrought elaborately and splendid with silver nails, a
nd under it was a footstool."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9. 35. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd
A.D.) :
"Homer, he too refers to the Kharites (Graces), makes one the wife of Hephaistos
, giving her the name of Kharis."
HEPHAISTOS LOVES: PERSEPHONE

LOCALE: Mt Olympos (Home of the Gods)

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 562 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"All that dwelt in Olympos were bewitched by this one girl [Persephone], rivals
in love for the marriageable maid, and offered their dowers for an unsmirched br
idal. Hermes . . . offered his rod as gift to adorn her chamber. Apollon produce
d his melodious harp as a marriage-gift. Ares brought spear and cuirass for the
wedding, and shield as bride-gift. Lemnian Hephaistos held out a curious necklac
e of many colours, new made and breathing still of the furnace, poor hobbler! Fo
r he had already, though unwilling, rejected his former bride Aphrodite, when he
spied her rioting with Ares . . . [but all the suitors were turned away by her
mother Demeter]."