The great god of fire and blacksmith known as Hephaestus grew tired of the constant bickering and whining from his wife Aphrodite. Hephaestus longed to understand the reasoning behind the constant resentment behind Aphrodite’s words. Hephaestus wanted Aphrodite to love him the way he loves her. This made him forge two gifts for Aphrodite both of which she refused.
The first gift Hephaestus forged was a gold rose with iron thorns. Aphrodite rejected this gift immediately and yelled “you think of me as thorns, but you have never been in cage as I have”.
Hephaestus took what Aphrodite said quite literally and forged a second gift which was a gold dove cage. Aphrodite once again rejected this gift instantly and told Hephaestus “A dove cage reminds me of the pain I have to face with everyday because of you, why would I ever want to accept this gift”.
Hephaestus who as able once able to solve everything through his superior knowledge in metal working and artisanry could not.
Hephaestus had run out of ideas and approached Helios with his dilemma. Helios being an oracle and the Titan god of the, offered guidance in exchange for an autonomous chariot that could carry the sun.
Helios told Hephaestus “If you can do this one thing for me, I shall provide you with guidance to get what you desire”. Hephaestus clinging on to an ounce of hope decided to spend his time working on the autonomous chariot.
Helios knew that his guidance would be of no help since he would foretell eternal resentment from Aphrodite. Helios decided to provide Hephaestus his guidance after the autonomous chariot was finished.
After many nights and days Hephaestus created the autonomous chariot perfect in size and shape, and strong enough to carry the sun.
Hephaestus told Helios “Before we begin to transition the chariots, I must let you know that we would have to constantly fix the chariot to fit the current environment, we don’t want another Phaethon incident”. Helios was unfazed and did not care for that as long as he could spend the rest of his days with his wife mourning the death of his beloved son.
Helios uttered “No matter what you do in this life you shall never fill the void that is within Aphrodite’s heart. Eternal resentment is all that you will get from Aphrodite as you do not meet her standards of beauty”.
These words made Hephaestus the almighty god of fire and blacksmith wallow in despair.
The almighty god of Thunder heard the conversation between Helios and Hephaestus through his bird informants in the sky.
Zeus feeling remorseful contemplating on his past with Patheon decides to not interfere and instead let the fates decide what becomes of the humans. He lets the autonomous chariot be guided by the mortals present on Earth,
The autonomous chariot flies to this day coming closer towards the earth, slowly raising the global temperature, as the environment has changed from when the chariot was first created.
Analysis
The myth uses elements of Homer’s poem where Zeus granted the marriage between Aphrodite and Hephaestus since Hephaestus was able to free Hera from the cursed golden throne (Homer, Odyssey 8.267.). As such, Aphrodite did not willingly marry Hephaestus rather she was forced to. The myth incorporates this piece of information into the narrative to explain Hephaestus’s unrequited love and why he longs for it. One specific element that the myth chooses to incorporate is the adultery that was committed by Aphrodite in the Odyssey. In the Odyssey, Helios is described as the god of the sun that is able to see and hear everything that goes on within Mount Olympus and the mortal men (Homer, Odyssey 12.375.). As such, in the Odyssey Helios was the one who was able to tell Hephaestus about the affair Aphrodite was having (Homer, Odyssey 8.271-278.; Homer, Hymn to Helios, 10.; Sophocles, Ajax 847ff.). In the myth the adultery being committed is seen and heard by the sun god Helios, which is a factor that he considers as an oracle when giving Hephaestus guidance. The myth decided to include the titan sun god Helios as one of the perpetrators for global warming as he rides a chariot carrying the sun, thus providing warmth to all beings.
In the myth the narrative piece of winning Aphrodite back through two gifts was fabricated. This narrative was created in the myth to show Hephaestus’s love and his willingness to go to extreme lengths to be loved by Aphrodite. The first gift Hephaestus forged was a gold rose with iron thorns to match the beauty of Aphrodite’s appearance and show her ruthlessness. She rejected this gift as she thought that the addition of thorns was an insult against her beauty. The second gift Hephaestus forged was a dove cage. Hephaestus made a dove cage since Aphrodite mentioned being “caged” in the myth. However what Hephaestus failed to understand was that the dove cage was the situation that Aphrodite was exactly in. The dove symbolizes Aphrodite, and the cage symbolizes her forced marriage with Hephaestus. Therefore, a dove cage exists both mentally and physically with Aphrodite.
In the myth Hephaestus pleaded Helios for guidance which was also fabricated. The myth chose Helios to provide guidance to Hephaestus since he is a god who is able to see and hear everything occurring in the lands of gods and mortal men. An example of Helios’s power of seeing and hearing everything in ancient myth would be when he was able to report the affair Aphrodite was having, or when was able to report the kidnapping of Persephone (Homer, Hymn to Demeter 75ff.; Homer, Hymn to Helios, 10.). However, in the Iliad Odysseus was able to rob Helios’s Oxen, which Helios was not able to see coming (Homer, Odyssey 12.375.). The myth chose to ignore this weak side of Helios portrayed by Homer in the Iliad to make him an oracle that is able to foretell the future. As such, the myth utilizes the prophetic nature of Helios to explain why he among all the gods was chosen to be an oracle and provide guidance to Hephaestus.
In the myth Helios offered to give guidance to Hephaestus only if he forged him an autonomous chariot that guided the sun for him. Helios knew that his guidance would be of no help to Hephaestus, so he decided to tell him after he was done. This is an example of cunning intelligence. Cunning intelligence is a common theme in many other myths such as the Iliad where Odysseus had to use his cunning intelligence to get the things he desired. In the same way Helios used his cunning intelligence to get what he desired. Odysseus and Helios in this myth are alike since Odysseus in the Iliad used his cunning intelligence to trick Polyphemus in order to escape a dire situation. In the same way Helios tricks Hephaestus into making a chariot for him so he could escape the dire situation of driving a chariot for all eternity. Helios in the myth also decides to trick Hephaestus so that he could finally mourn the death of his child Phaethon with his wife. The inclusion of this piece of narrative in the myth was ultimately done to create a motive for Helios’s trickery.
The myth uses Phaethon to explain why Helios wanted an autonomous chariot in the first place. Phaethon in ancient sources is described as the son of Helios who was unfortunately killed by Zeus (Ovid, Metamorphosis 2.1ff.). Phaethon was killed because he begged his father Helios to ride the chariot of the sun (Ovid, Metamorphosis 2.1ff.). Reluctant Helios initially refused but allowed it after Phaethon persisted. What happened next was the death of Phaethon as he lost control of the chariot forcing Zeus to intervene and strike him down (Ovid, Metamorphosis 2.1ff.). The myth uses this in its narrative to drive the reasoning behind Helios’s and Zeus’s actions.
The myth enforces the readers on Aphrodite standards of beauty. Specifically, the myth points to Aphrodite’s beauty, which far exceeds the ugliness that Hephaestus’s face portrays. Hephaestus is mentioned as ugly in many ancient sources due to his weak legs (Homer, Iliad 17.410ff.; Homer, Odyssey 8.311-330.). Hephaestus being ugly is utilized in this myth to create the theme of eternal resentment. In the myth Aphrodite will never love Hephaestus due to his physical features combined with the forceful nature of their marriage. Helios knowing this information in the myth tells Hephaestus to give up, as he would foretell eternal resentment. This was done in the myth since Helios knows that his guidance is true, and therefore urges Hephaestus that Aphrodite will never love him back. The end result of Helios’s trickery using his cunning intelligence was the creation of the autonomous chariot, and a sad god. However, Helios’s cunning intelligence did not make him realize that the autonomous chariot needed maintenance at times. Hephaestus refused to provide the maintenance that the autonomous chariot needed, and as such the world gets warmer every day as the chariot flies closer and closer to the earth. In the myth Helios, after getting a taste of freedom refuses to do anything about the autonomous chariot and spends his life with his wife waiting for the day the world gets engulfed in flames due to his own selfishness.
In the myth Zeus was chosen to be included in the end because of his connection to Phaethon. Zeus was also included in the end because of his status as the king of Olympus. This status ultimately allows Zeus to have the final say in what happens to the autonomous chariot. In the myth Zeus decides not to interfere as he feels remorse for striking down Helios’s son Patheon in the past. The myth mentions Zeus as being remorseful, however in ancient sources Zeus did not care for the death of Patheon at all (Ovid, Metamorphosis 2.1ff.).
The myth chose to portray Zeus in a remorseful manner to create the common theme of fate and guilt. Since Zeus is guilty of his actions in the myth, he plans to do nothing about the autonomous chariot and allow Helios to take a break from his eternal work as a chariot driver. Hephaestus refuses to work on the autonomous chariot and Zeus refuses to intervene. Therefore, the condition of the autonomous chariot is entirely in the hands of mortal beings and not gods as mentioned in the ending of the myth. The myth includes this distinction to provide the origins of global warming. The myth therefore suggests that without any godly intervention, the mortal beings on Earth can help stop the impending doom of the autonomous chariot by keeping the environment stable since the myth mentions how the chariot needs to be stable in order “to fit the current environment”. Since Hephaestus refuses to fix the chariot, the environment needs to be accustomed to the chariot, rather than the chariot being accustomed to the environment. Therefore, the chariot cannot be accustomed to the environment as Hephaestus would have to “constantly fix the chariot”, which he refuses to do as told in the myth. This piece of narrative information was included in the myth to explain a way in which we as humans can stop or slow down global warming.
The myth provides the theme of redemption as mortal beings can overcome global warming by banding together and keeping the environment stable, thereby keeping the autonomous chariot in good condition. Mortal beings according to this myth can reduce the amount of pollution produced, thereby providing a more suitable environment for the autonomous chariot to operate within. The myth proposes that cleaner air will allow the autonomous chariot to function properly, since the chariot was first made before carbon emissions rose. However, with carbon emissions at an all-time high, it is likely that the earth will continue to get warmer as the chariot breaks down and comes closer towards the earth.
Reference List
Homer. The Iliad. Translated by A.T. Murray Loeb Classical Library Volume 1. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press, 1924.
Homer, Iliad 17.410ff.
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Murray, A T. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1919.
Homer, Odyssey 8.267.
Homer, Odyssey 8.271-278.
Homer, Odyssey 8.311-330.
Homer, Odyssey 12.375.
Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica. Translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.
Homer, Hymn to Helios 10.
Homer, Hymn to Demeter 75ff.
Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by More, Brookes. Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922.
Ovid, Metamorphosis 2.1ff.
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VII: The Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1907.
Sophocles, Ajax 847ff.