Ares and Aphrodite were united for the first time in the palace of Hephaestus: the god of war, handsome in appearance, must have derived a perverse pleasure from violating the marriage and bed of his ill-favored brother. Without their realizing it, Phoebus observed the lovers from above and reported the betrayal to Aphrodite's husband. Hephaestus was devastated and abandoned what he was working on, but as soon as he had recovered began to plot his revenge. With great care he forged slender chains of bronze and a net that could neither be disentangled nor broken. He secretly attached this to the supports of the bed and then pretended to leave for Lemnos, the island where he was most venerated. When Aphrodite and Ares lay on the bed, they were caught in the marvelous trap and were unable to rise. At this point Hephaestus threw open the bronze doors, followed by the gods of Olympus whom he had called as witnesses: modestly, the gods refrained from entering the chamber. All of them laughed uproariously, however, and the lovers, exposed to this mockery, were thrown into great confusion. After he had been freed, the touchy Ares withdrew into the mountains of Thrace. The more shameless Aphrodite flew calmly to Paphos, where she was welcomed by the Charities, or Graces.