The god of earthquakes reassured the Smith, "if Ares scuttles off and away, squirming out of his debt, I'll pay the fine myself."

But the god of earthquakes reassured the Smith,
"Look, Hephaestus, if Ares scuttles off and away,
squirming out of his debt, I’ll pay the fine myself."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 8, lines 397-399. Bard Demodocus is singing a bawdy song in which Ares sleeps with Hephaestus’ wife Aphrodite and they both end up being chained to the bed. In this passage Poseidon plays the mediator, brokering a reconciliation between Hephaestus and Ares.

Homer Quotes