Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

The Public Sphere 209
perfect. According to one version of his birth, his mother Hera bore
him by parthenogenesis in order to spite Zeus. Somewhat paradoxically,
Hephaistos’s wife was the beautiful Aphrodite, who perhaps
not unsurprisingly found the nimble-footed Ares a more agreeable
partner. In The Odyssey, we learn that, when the pair began an adulterous
affair, Hephaistos fashioned a miraculous net that locked
them in an inextricable embrace. He then invited all the gods to
come and witness the spectacle. An important temple to Hephaistos
overlooked the Agora in Athens. In its vicinity, much evidence of
bronze working has been found.
Hermes
Hermes, the son of Zeus and Maia, was the god of trade, commerce,
and thieves. He also served as messenger of the gods and
guide of the dead to the underworld. For this reason, he is usually
depicted wearing a traveling hat and winged sandals and carrying
a herald’s staff known as a kêrykeion. Statues of the god in the form
of an upright pillar with sculptured head and erect phallus stood at
street corners throughout Athens. These figures, known as herms,
safeguarded gates and doorways.
Ares
Ares, the god of war, was the son of Zeus and Hera. Despite his
importance, he was little venerated by the Greeks, perhaps because
of his bloodthirsty nature. Even in The Iliad he is treated with
scant respect. When he is wounded and comes sniveling to Zeus,
the latter describes him as a two-faced liar and sends him packing
(5.889f.). Ares received little attention in Athens despite the fact
that the most venerable council, known as the Areiopagos or Hill of
Ares, bore his name.
Hestia
Hestia, guardian of the Olympian hearth, was in some ways the
most neglected of the Olympian deities. She features in no myths,
and no temples were erected in her honor. Both the family hearth
and the hearth that symbolized the city were, however, sacred
to her.
Other important gods who did not reside on Olympos include
Pan and Asklepios, both of whom gained entry into Athens in the
fifth century b.c.e.