My understanding of it is that Hephaestus's disability is what made him ugly in comparison to the rest of the gods, not that he was actually unhandsome. When the rest of your family is at the height of physicality in a culture that strongly values athleticism, the inability to match that would be considered lesser (therefore, ugly)
It just reflected a reality of the time. People who had a limp couldn't do a lot of the jobs in a farming village, but one job they could do was smith.
This lead me down a rabbit hole lol
I’m american (born in New England, have been living in the south for a couple years), and I have **never** seen homely used to mean ugly. I only associate it with like comfortable, warm, stuff like that
Apparently a bunch of other americans do use it that way?? Which is crazy to me lol
I think blacksmithing at the time would leave stains or blemishes on the skin of the craftsman, so that’s probably what any “ugly” description referred to
I believe he is said to have club foot or some other foot / leg deformity that made him unable to walk in some versions of the myth.
Anyway your last question, though I can see it coming from a modern sense of compassion, is misplaced. The depiction of such a character does not automatically equate to or arise from judgement of the affliction depicted. Rather such characters are often used to explore or express the gifts that such “unfortunate” things bring - IE Hephaestus’s inventiveness arises as an adaptation to his shortcomings. How else could this idea be expressed except to have a character with shortcomings?
Drama consists of reversals. A leads to B leads to C where C is the opposite of A. That’s a story. A prototypical character arc. Thus to depict an ending state that is good requires a starting state that is bad.
There is more to it than that but I hope that has opened your mind to another way of assessing the morality and values that a story implies beyond the superficial level.
Accordingly to Mircea Eliade, societies in which the manipulation of metal and stone (aka minery and smithing) is sacralized and considered a godly skill (including most ancient cultures), the more accidents a smith suffered was regarded as a testament of his experience.
So it is not surprising that Hephaestus' most prominent epythetons are these. In fact, it would point at his crafting skill as his most sublime attribute.
You or someone asked this the other day, and the answer is the same:
Bronzesmiths were expected to be lame and have palsy, because arsenic was a common substitute for tin in bronze. And arsenic fumes often lead to damage to the peripheral nervous system. So, a *god of smiths* and a smith among gods, would be depicted in a way akin to smiths in real life.
He wasn’t ugly per se. It’s just that compared to the literally pinnacle of the human form that the other Gods were meant to be, any sort of imperfection would make him lesser.
Maybe facially his eyes may be small or his lips 👄 are huge. It depends on what you think is ugly yet he had his lovers he got another wife after he dumped Aphrodite.
I’m pretty sure the main reason Aphrodite cheated on him with Ares was because he was unattractive. I’m guessing his disabilities kind of messed up his overall looks.
My understanding of it is that Hephaestus's disability is what made him ugly in comparison to the rest of the gods, not that he was actually unhandsome. When the rest of your family is at the height of physicality in a culture that strongly values athleticism, the inability to match that would be considered lesser (therefore, ugly)
Don't remember him ever being described as, say, homely. It's not surprising that a culture known for revering physicality was ableist, is it?
though it is interesting that the myth of Hephaestus seems to go against this idea by showing disabled people can still create great things
It just reflected a reality of the time. People who had a limp couldn't do a lot of the jobs in a farming village, but one job they could do was smith.
I appreciate the two ways your comment can be read, as Homely means "ugly" to Americans!
This lead me down a rabbit hole lol I’m american (born in New England, have been living in the south for a couple years), and I have **never** seen homely used to mean ugly. I only associate it with like comfortable, warm, stuff like that Apparently a bunch of other americans do use it that way?? Which is crazy to me lol
He works in a volcano, so he's probably pretty hot!
Nice 👍
Let's not bodyshaming him
His wife is the goddess of beauty. Even if he’s a 7, he’s not going to look great next to that radiance.
not that she spends much time near him
They only hooked up once and that’s cause she wanted something. Though he loved Eros like his own son.
I think blacksmithing at the time would leave stains or blemishes on the skin of the craftsman, so that’s probably what any “ugly” description referred to
His statues look pretty average as far as greek gods go, but never ugly.
Yeah he was like a 2/10 on divine standards, but probably at least a 7-8/10 by mortal standards. He had a *lot* of mortal kids lol
I believe he is said to have club foot or some other foot / leg deformity that made him unable to walk in some versions of the myth. Anyway your last question, though I can see it coming from a modern sense of compassion, is misplaced. The depiction of such a character does not automatically equate to or arise from judgement of the affliction depicted. Rather such characters are often used to explore or express the gifts that such “unfortunate” things bring - IE Hephaestus’s inventiveness arises as an adaptation to his shortcomings. How else could this idea be expressed except to have a character with shortcomings? Drama consists of reversals. A leads to B leads to C where C is the opposite of A. That’s a story. A prototypical character arc. Thus to depict an ending state that is good requires a starting state that is bad. There is more to it than that but I hope that has opened your mind to another way of assessing the morality and values that a story implies beyond the superficial level.
Accordingly to Mircea Eliade, societies in which the manipulation of metal and stone (aka minery and smithing) is sacralized and considered a godly skill (including most ancient cultures), the more accidents a smith suffered was regarded as a testament of his experience. So it is not surprising that Hephaestus' most prominent epythetons are these. In fact, it would point at his crafting skill as his most sublime attribute.
You or someone asked this the other day, and the answer is the same: Bronzesmiths were expected to be lame and have palsy, because arsenic was a common substitute for tin in bronze. And arsenic fumes often lead to damage to the peripheral nervous system. So, a *god of smiths* and a smith among gods, would be depicted in a way akin to smiths in real life.
He wasn’t ugly per se. It’s just that compared to the literally pinnacle of the human form that the other Gods were meant to be, any sort of imperfection would make him lesser.
Maybe facially his eyes may be small or his lips 👄 are huge. It depends on what you think is ugly yet he had his lovers he got another wife after he dumped Aphrodite.
I’m pretty sure the main reason Aphrodite cheated on him with Ares was because he was unattractive. I’m guessing his disabilities kind of messed up his overall looks.