THE MAGIC GIRDLE

Zeus married off his not very attractive son Hephaestus, to his beautiful daughter Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love.

In order to improve the chances of an eternal marriage, the clever Hephaestus created a girdle of gold which had the magic power of evoking love between the adorned and the adorer. He told his father of his intended wedding gift and Zeus wasn't at all impressed with the idea. He told his son that he would rue the day he thought of the gift.

Aphrodite was most taken with the beautiful girdle and in a short while she put it to its intended use. Ares, the tall handsome boastful warrior God had long admired Aphrodite and she was certainly enamoured of him and very soon the girdle turned their admiration into a lusty love. Hephaestus was made aware of this infidelity and he caught them in each others arms on Ares' couch. He immediately sealed the unsuspecting lovers in their nest with a magic mesh and summoned the immortals to witness their consternation with much ribaldry.

Hephaestus met in council with the other Gods and complained most bitterly of the cuckoldry. Zeus said to him, “You fool, why did you give Aphrodite the girdle in the first place?”
- DANIEL

As the story “Aphrodites Dream” conveys to us, Hephaestus is in love with the beautiul Aphrodites and fears losing her because of his homeliness. Contriving to control her with his craftyness, the resulting demise of this effort is not surprising. Aphrodites is known to have warlike qualties and therefore it is not surprising that she often chooses Ares, the Greek god of war, as her paramour.
- LJO