Myth
Thirty blistering days of stonemasonry, metalworking, and craftsmanship have come to an end for Hephaestus. After being assigned by Zeus to assemble armours and weapons for the Olympians, Hephaestus is exhausted, but his work is not entirely done. He furnishes a necklace, shimmering with golden accents, for his beautiful wife, Aphrodite. Once completed, Hephaestus leaves Lemnos to return to Olympus and reunite with the love of his life. Upon opening the doors to his palace on Mount Olympus, he frantically searches for Aphrodite, ecstatic to give her his gift. He searches the entire palace but somehow cannot find her, until he enters their bedroom. Hephaestus turns pale; tears uncontrollably stream down his face. He has found Aphrodite and Ares in bed together. Sadness turned to anger, and Hephaestus vowed to avenge himself for Aphrodite’s infidelity. Bounding her to the bed by chains, unable to escape, Hephaestus’ revenge begins. For two weeks, Hephaestus invited nymphs to his palace, forcing a chained Aphrodite to witness and endure the very pain that he experienced. Talk of Aphrodite missing spread across Olympus and so Zeus took it upon himself to find his daughter. Uncovering what Hephaestus has done to Aphrodite, Zeus threw Hephaestus from Olympus, causing him to land in the Arctic. Shivering beyond compare, Hephaestus had to find a way to keep warm. Hephaestus reached into his tunic pocket for his metal tongs to reflect the beaming sunlight onto a couple of branches he found and make a fire. For centuries, Hephaestus has lived in the Arctic, punished for his wrongful actions. Doubtful of when he will find a way to escape or when his punishment will be lifted, Hephaestus ignites a fire every day to comfort his cold and frigid body, unaware of the devastating consequences he has left for the Arctic wildlife. Due to the constant fire that burns, portions of ice have melted away, leaving the Arctic a warmer place ever since Hephaestus has inhabited.
Word Count: 325
Analysis
In the aetiological myth of The Chilling Damnation, global warming was created. Banished to a climate that is the opposite of the environment Hephaestus is comfortable in, Hephaestus must undergo drastic means to adapt to the frosty Arctic. Every day, Hephaestus ignites a fire that not only warms his body, but warms his surrounding environment, thus explaining how global warming in the Arctic began.
In Ancient classics, Hephaestus is the god of blacksmiths, craftsmen, metalworking, stonemasonry, and sculpture (Hom. Il. 2.426). Possessing skills of such caliber is important in Ancient Greece as the Olympian gods rely on tools for protection. Therefore, the responsibility of constructing armour and weapons for all gods is assigned to Hephaestus (Hom. Il. 15.310). I chose to mention Hephaestus’ characteristics at the beginning of the myth as Hephaestus is a god that typically does not first come to mind when discussing Greek mythology. On that account, I listed his main attributes to ensure that readers will be familiar with Hephaestus, one of the most underrated Greek gods. The place Hephaestus spends most of his time was the island of Lemnos so I decided to incorporate that factoid into my myth (Ov. Met. 13.314).
Originally, Hephaestus made a necklace for Aphrodite’s daughter, Harmonia (Apollod. Bibl. 3.25). It was an effort to retaliate against Aphrodite’s adultery as the necklace brought misfortune to those who wore it (Apollod. Bibl. 3.25). I decided to change the mythological context as I wanted the necklace to symbolize Hephaestus’ love for Aphrodite rather than one of revenge and hatred. Hence the necklace displays Hephaestus’ strong emotional attachment to Aphrodite, making her unfaithfulness more unbearable and distressing for Hephaestus. When Hephaestus discovered his wife’s affair, he tied both Aphrodite and Ares to the bed posts with chains that could not be removed or broken (Hom. Od. 8.267). He then dragged both gods to the center of Olympus to be ridiculed by other gods and goddesses for their immoral actions (Hom. Od. 8.267). In my myth, Aphrodite was the only person bound to the bed posts and the punishment Hephaestus inflicted on her differed from Homer’s work. By only punishing Aphrodite, I thought it made Hephaestus’ revenge more personal as I believe his anger was directed more towards Aphrodite than Ares since they did have a romantic relationship. I constructed a different punishment because I believe it is more extreme and intriguing than the original myth, therefore increasing levels of engagement with the myth. Furthermore, even though Aphrodite was born from the castrated genitals of Ouranos (Hes. Theog. 188), Zeus is referred to as Aphrodite’s father (Hom. Il. 5.370). In my myth, I wanted to mention the father-daughter relationship between Zeus and Aphrodite to not only further excel the story but to construct a strong parental bond. In classical myths, I find that parent-child relationships are not placed of high importance as themes of disloyalty and betrayal are common among parents and their children. For example, Zeus granted consent and was even an accomplice in the rape and abduction of his daughter Persephone (Hes. Theog. 914). Zeus’ wicked and vile nature is evident and his lack of protection for the wellbeing of Persephone is non-existent. Consequently, I wanted to fabricate a healthier foundation for Aphrodite and Zeus’ relationship by way of eliminating the toxicity present in most parent-child relationships. Hence, Zeus protecting Aphrodite is an ode to the duties a true parent must accomplish.
In classical works, Hephaestus protected his mother, Hera, when she was being hit and beaten by Zeus (Hom. Il. 1.590). Hephaestus’ loyalty to his mother offended Zeus so he hurled Hephaestus from Olympus as punishment, he landed on the island of Lemnos, but eventually returned home (Hom. Il. 1.590) In my myth, I stated that Hephaestus landed in the Arctic and I did not mention if he returned to Olympus or not. I chose the Arctic as the place of Hephaestus’ damnation as it is a place outside of his comfort zone. Since Hephaestus welds and forges as part of his day-to-day work, he is used to being in warm environments due to heat transfer and emission. In addition, Hephaestus’ workshops are located on volcanic islands such as Lipara, Hiera, and Imbros, all of which possess scorching thermal features (Ap. Rhod. Argon. 3.41). Thus, being banished to a climate that is the complete opposite of Hephaestus’ standard makes his punishment harsher and more jarring than being sent elsewhere. Upon landing in the Arctic, Hephaestus pulls out his metal tongs. Metal tongs are one of Hephaestus’ symbols as he tends to always have them on hand (Hom. Il. 1.568). Not only do readers learn about Hephaestus’ relation to the metal tongs but it is an important element of the global warming phenomenon I chose to document in my myth, climate change in the Arctic. The metal tongs are used to radiate the rays of sunlight onto the wood from the branches, causing a fire to form. Since Hephaestus is the god of fire, I felt it was necessary to incorporate that materiality into the myth (Hom. Il. 1.568).
The Arctic is a numbing and glacial area, therefore, the fire Hephaestus has to create to stay warm must be substantial. Igniting vast fires will have a negative impact on the Arctic’s climate as it contributes to melting icecaps and glaciers. Since the Arctic is home to wildlife such as polar bears, seals, and whales, they will inevitably suffer from the increasing temperatures as the fires serve as a medium of habitat destruction. Lastly, I wanted to end the myth with a cliff-hanger as it is uncertain if Hephaestus will ever make it out of the Arctic. The longer Hephaestus stays in the Arctic, the warmer the temperatures will be. With that noted, it can be inferred that global warming in the Arctic will be constant due to Hephaestus’ inhabitation. From a real-world perspective, climate change in the Arctic has been constant as Arctic temperatures continue to rise. For that reason, it makes sense to have the length of Hephaestus’ punishment be undetermined.
Word Count: 1009
Bibliography
Apollodorus. 1921. Bibliotheca. Translated by Sir James George Frazer. Loeb Classical Library
Volumes 121 & 122. London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Apollonius Rhodius. 2012. Argonautica. Translated by Seaton, R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume
001. London: William Heinemann Ltd.
Hesiod. 1914. Theogony. Translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57.
London: William Heinemann Ltd.
Homer. 1924. Iliad. Translated by Murray, A T. Loeb Classical Library Volumes1. London: William
Heinemann Ltd.
Homer. 1919. Odyssey. Translated by Murray, A T. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. London:
William Heinemann Ltd.
Ovid. 1922. Metamorphoses. Translated by More, B. Boston: Cornhill Publishing Co.
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