Hephaestus, the god of fire and metalworking, after shaming Aphrodite and Ares returned to his home from Mt Olympus. In the aftermath of his travel, he remembered he had created an indestructible spherical object made with the same chains he used to catch the adulterers held a fire born from his rage. He called this object theCore. Originally planningto create two of these to implant in both Aphrodite and Ares to makethem suffer eternal burning, he decided against it for being too brutal. Now with no plans on what to do with such a powerful device, Hephaestus looked to seek counsel with Athena and her wisdom for a potential solution. Athena, curious as to why Hephaestus would approach her after shaming both Ares and Aphrodite questioned:
“What brings you to me Hephaestus?”
Hephaestus did not reply, but only showed Athena the Core and handed it to her. Athena, confused by what the object Hephaestus brought was, took it into her hand. Upon contact with the object, she felt the heat. Although weak now, she could feel the heat growing ever so stronger.
“This Core does not have a limit. It grows stronger every second. I cannot destroy it, nor do I believe any other god or goddess can. Not even Zeus can crack the outer shell. What can we do with such an object? If nothing is done, the heat will consume the world.”, Hephaestus asked.
“I see only one solution to deal with this Core. We must engrave it deep within the land, but I fear the heat will turn any region it is placed under into a second Tartarus. I have with me a case that I made that can disperse the Core’s heat across the land but will not eliminate the heat.” Athena responded placing the Core into the case.
“Will this plan work with the Core being placed on mortal lands instead of on Mt Olympus?” Hephaestus pressed on.
“Mt Olympus is not vast enough to disperse this heat without notice. This however requires that the mortals do not reach ravish deep into the lands. Should they travel too far down, the Core’s heat will be released upon the lands”, Athena answered returning the Core within the case back to Hephaestus.
Hephaestus agreed, left a golden apple for Athena, and descended to the mortal plane with the case Athena made. He placed the Core so deep within the land that he believed no mortal would ever be able to reach it. As he returned from this descent, he felt the land once more to feel that the heat from the Core could no longer be noticed. Thus, Hephaestus prayed that mortals would not ravish the lands to expose the Core’s potential devastation.
Analysis
This myth gives a potential reason to why global warming currently exists, with the effects of the object called the Core being directly similar in that it is overall a growing heat that increases over time. Global warming is currently an issue given how humanity is using the Earth’s resources without properly accounting for the potential repercussions. The Core being placed deep within the land in the myth which slowly heats up relates to the overall situation where Earth is increasing in temperature. The continual heat being produced by the manifestation of Hephaestus’ negative emotions makes the land warmer. This explanation is lacking for today's knowledge of science but back then it could be attributed to a god’s potential wrath. With today’s knowledge, global warming is due to a multitude of factors but can be directly contributed to the weakening ozone layer and not that the internal of the Earth is heating up which would be incorrect.
The Core does share similarities to our earth’s core as it is significantly hotter than the earth’s surface. This part of the myth could explain why the center of the earth is hotter than the exterior, and that there exists a solid center but no explanation on a liquid outer ore followed by the mantle and the earth’s surface most people are used to. That is not to discredit that there is no potential liquid outer core since it is not stated and only loosely mentioned that Hephaestus placed it so deep within the land that no mortal could reach it. That is technically true as well since with the technology currently available, science cannot get anywhere close to the center of the earth to have a sample. Everything known about the center is inferred through other scientific discoveries. (Brush)
The Core’s strength is also referenced when compared to Zeus’ own strength, which should be considered very powerful since he is the king of the gods that had overthrown the previous titans and is so powerful that he can directly say to the others to test him and he will send them back to Olympus or directly send them down to Tartarus. This shows his level of power and respect among the gods as he had summoned all to declare what the god’s stance in the war was and then proceeded to tell all of them the punishment would receive should they not comply with what Zeus decided. (Homer, Iliad 8. 1-52)
The Core’s strength would not be surprising when considering that Hephaestus is not only the god of fire but also craftsmanship, as stated when Thetis went to Olympus to obtain armour for his son Hector. With Thetis choosing his armour out of everyone else's armour from the gods implies that he is the greatest craftsman among the gods (Homer. Iliad 18, 127-147). Metallurgy should be contributed to Hephaestus, which can also be contributed to the advancement of the technology that is connected to the industrial revolution since metal is important as well as mechanizing the metals. The industrial revolution can be a starting point when humans started to damage the ozone layer at a startling rate with how much fossil fuel was being burned.
This myth draws on inspiration from the well-known myth in the Odyssey where Ares and Aphrodite are caught in the act of adultery and captured by Hephaestus to be brought in front of the rest of the gods on Mt Olympus to be shamed (Homer, Odyssey 8.256-366). Drawing upon the human emotions that Hephaestus most likely felt when he was cheated on would equate to him doing some irrational things and not thinking of what could go wrong with his actions. These negative emotions are what brought him to create the Core.
There are references to the chains from which Hephaestus caught Ares and Aphrodite, which were strong enough to stop the God of War himself from escaping. It was so powerful that only with the pleas from Poseidon were they set free, giving credibility to Hephaestus’ skill that he could craft an object no god could break (Homer, Odyssey 8.256-366).
When referring to Athena as wise, it could be taken that her cunning and intelligence might have a solution for Hephaestus concerning the Core that he made. This decision makes a lot of sense since she is the goddess of wisdom. If any of the gods or goddesses had a solution it would most likely be her since she had said to Odysseus that she among all gods is renowned for her wit and tricks (Homer, Odyssey 13.296-299). Athena is also known for her craftsmanship which should be brought up since she had a magical case which can help disperse the Core’s heat. The case used to hold the Core should be assumed to be multi purposed since Athena being wise as she is, would not randomly have a case that disperses a magical items power.
Hephaestus leaving a golden apple for Athena is a reference to when Paris was handed a golden apple in order to choose the fairest one in the banquet. Paris had chosen Aphrodite as the fairest one, with Athena and Hera also being present and offering a gift to Paris were they to choose them. Paris instead had chosen the gift from Aphrodite which was Helen, which led to the Trojan war since Helen was already taken by another man. This incident has some impact on Hephaestus since Aphrodite was his wife. In this myth, it seems that Hephaestus disagrees with Paris’s decision and thought of Athena as the fairest or it could just be a reference to that incident and with the recent adultery, Hephaestus no longer thinks Aphrodite deserves to have the golden apple. This gesture would be a payment and complement since he required the help of Athena to solve his problem and felt that he could not get appropriate help without an offering of some sort. (Homer, Iliad 24. 1-50) His favour to Athena could also be attributed to how Athena offered wisdom instead of purely superficial attributes since Hephaestus is not that good looking himself and could understand the values of what could be displayed that cannot be seen with the naked eye but instead with what must be conversed.
Athena has more connections to golden apples though minor in Hercules twelve labours, she had to return the golden apple of Hesperides back to the gods since it was the possession of the gods and not meant for mortal men (Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2.5.11). This connection also fits with how Hephaestus gives her a golden apple before descending Mt Olympus to where the mortals are.
Citations
1. Homer, Odyssey 13. 296-299.
2. Homer, Odyssey 8. 256-366.
3. Homer, Iliad 24. 1-50.
4. Homer, Iliad 8. 1-52.
5. Homer. Iliad 18, 127-147
6. Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 2.5.11
7. Brush, Stephen G. Discovery of the Earth's Core. 1 Sept. 1980, aapt.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1119/1.12026.
Comments