The answer depends on which text you open
Search results usually say Hephaestus without naming the book. That shorthand matches the most famous narrative: the song of Demodocus in Odyssey 8, where Helios spies Ares and Aphrodite, Hephaestus springs an invisible net, and the gods laugh at the trapped lovers. In that telling Hephaestus speaks as the wronged husband and recalls the betrothal gifts he paid for Aphrodite [Theoi: Aphrodite Loves, quoting Odyssey 8; checked 2026-10-25].
Hesiod's Theogony does not lock the same marriage. Hugh G. Evelyn-White's Loeb translation has Aphrodite bearing Fear (Deimos), Terror (Phobos), Harmony, and other children to Ares, and separately has the smith-god married to Aglaea, youngest of the Graces [Hesiod, Theogony (Evelyn-White) via Perseus, cards covering the Ares-Aphrodite children and the Charites marriage; checked 2026-10-25].
So the honest one-line answer is: Odyssey husband = Hephaestus; Hesiodic genealogy = Hephaestus with Aglaea, Aphrodite linked to Ares as father of several children.
Open Hesiod's Theogony catalog and the tidy schoolbook answer wobbles. There the smith-god is paired with Aglaea, youngest of the Graces, and Aphrodite's children with Ares appear without that Homeric wedding plot.
Later poets, vase painters, and Roman mythographers remix both strands. Some cast Ares as lasting consort; some keep the smith-god marriage as comedy; some list lovers without calling anyone a husband. One English sentence that erases those jobs will look wrong next to a primary text.
Source conflict table
| Source | Aphrodite's spouse or partner | Hephaestus's spouse | What the text is doing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Odyssey 8 (Demodocus) | Married to Hephaestus; affair with Ares | Aphrodite (in this song) | Adultery comedy; net trap; betrothal gifts recalled |
| Hesiod, Theogony | Bears children to Ares; not cast as Hephaestus's wife in those lines | Aglaea (Charis), youngest Grace | Genealogical catalog of gods and children |
| Iliad (Hephaestus scenes) | Consort of Ares in Trojan-War framing in many readings | Charis (a Grace) as wife in the forge scenes | Epic battlefield poem; different household pairing |
| Later mythographers / vase tradition | Often keep Odyssey marriage, then divorce after the net | Sometimes remarried to Aglaea after Aphrodite | Harmonizing Homer with Hesiodic Grace marriage |
Theoi's Hephaestus loves page summarizes the later reconciliation story many handbooks use: Hephaestus divorces Aphrodite after the Ares affair and marries Aglaea [Theoi: Hephaestus Loves, checked 2026-10-25]. That sequence is a reading strategy, not a single Homeric paragraph.
For the Odyssey adultery narrative in more detail on this site, see Are Ares and Aphrodite lovers?. For the smith god's craft side, see Hephaestus.
The table is a reading aid, not a verdict that one poet wins. Each row names what that source is doing: comic episode, family tree, or later tidy summary.
Handbooks such as Theoi collect variants in one place; they are indexes, not a fifth primary poet. When a handbook sentence disagrees with Odyssey 8 or the Theogony lines you just opened, prefer the primary passage for that claim.
How to answer without flattening the sources
If a quiz expects one name, Hephaestus is the expected Odyssey answer.
If the question is "what do the early poets say," lead with the conflict: Odyssey marriage versus Hesiodic Aglaea and Ares-sired children.
Roman Venus inherits much of Aphrodite's mythology; marriage details still track the Greek source you cite. For the name swap, see Are Venus and Aphrodite the same?.
For a homework one-liner, "Hephaestus, in the Odyssey's song of Demodocus" is defensible and cites a real episode. For a genealogy chart, say you are following Hesiod and show Aglaea beside Hephaestus.
If the assignment wants the Roman version, check whether that means Ovid, a Latin handbook, or a museum label. Those are different citation jobs.
MythCairn's page on Ares and Aphrodite as lovers covers the affair tradition without inventing a civil marriage certificate. Use that page for romance questions and this one for husband questions.
Flattening every vase, hymn, and schoolbook into one husband name is how answer boxes manufacture false certainty. Name the text you mean, then answer.