The Odyssey 8 story in one pass
In Odyssey 8, the Phaeacian bard Demodocus sings how Ares and Aphrodite first lay together secretly in Hephaestus's house. Helios sees them and tells the smith. Hephaestus forges bonds that cannot be broken, hangs them around the bed posts and from the roof beams, then pretends to leave for Lemnos. Ares arrives; Aphrodite welcomes him; the net closes.
Hephaestus calls Zeus and the other gods to witness. The goddesses stay away in shame; the male gods laugh at the slow smith outwitting swift Ares. Poseidon alone refuses the joke and pledges that Ares will pay the adultery fine; Hephaestus releases them. Ares leaves for Thrace; Aphrodite goes to Paphos in Cyprus to bathe and dress [Theoi: Aphrodite Loves, quoting Odyssey 8; Perseus Greek/English also carries the passage, checked 2026-10-19].
Homer's wording treats the relationship as adulterous within a marriage Zeus arranged: Hephaestus reminds the gods of the betrothal gifts he paid for Aphrodite.
Lovers, spouses, and children
| Claim | Early source footing | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Aphrodite married to Hephaestus | Odyssey 8; later vase/literature traditions of the golden throne bargain | Default classical pairing for the adultery plot |
| Ares as long-term lover | Odyssey 8; frequent classical art pairing | Answer "are they lovers?" with yes, plus marriage context |
| Children Deimos, Phobos, Harmonia | Hesiod, Theogony 933ff lists Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia by Ares and Aphrodite | Genealogical, not part of the net scene itself |
| Eros as their child | Some lyric/scholia traditions; not Homer's Odyssey 8 plot | Label as variant, not Odyssey fact |
Theoi's digest also notes later divorce or separation motifs: after the exposure, some authors treat Aphrodite as Ares's consort and give Hephaestus another wife (Aglaia) in other Homeric contexts. Those are tradition-layer details, not additional Odyssey verses.
For another Olympian pairing page on this site, see how later articles handle Helen after Troy when marriage and desire pull apart.
What this story is not
The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (hymn 5) is Aphrodite's affair with the mortal Anchises and the birth of Aeneas. It is not the Ares adultery song. Mixing the two is a common SERP conflation.
Roman poets retell the net episode (for example Ovid, Metamorphoses 4) with Venus and Mars names. The plot spine stays the same: Sun spies, Vulcan nets, gods laugh.
Modern retellings that cast Ares and Aphrodite as an exclusive romantic couple usually drop Hephaestus. That is adaptation, not Homer.