And right anon swich strif ther is bigonne,
For thilke grauntyng, in the hevene above,
Bitwixe Venus, the goddesse of love,
And Mars, the stierne god armypotente,
That Juppiter was bisy it to stente.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. The battle between Arcite and Palamon for the love of Emily spills over into heaven, where it causes strife among the deities. Goddess of love Venus, to whom Palamon has prayed to for victory, and god of war Mars, to whom Arcite has prayed for success, are at loggerheads. Father of the gods Jupiter is having a hard time keeping the peace between the two.