Hephaestus

=**﻿Hephaestus**=

Hephaestus was the Greek god of fire, the forge, and all craftsmen. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, or just Hera alone, according to one story. While the gods are known for their beauty, he was considered ugly and unattractive. He was a muscular man with dark hair and a beard. He was disfigured at birth, and further disfigured when Hera hurled him off of Mount Olympus after seeing his ugliness. According to one account, Zeus threw him off in anger after he freed Hera from a trap that he had set. The symbols of Hephaestus are the hammer, anvil, fire, and sometimes the axe.

=﻿Myths=



As a Godly smith, Hephaestus forged many of the tools of the gods, including the winged helmet and sandals of Hermes, Achilles' armor, the chariot of Helios, and Aphrodite's girdle, which made her irresistible to any man who saw her. After he was exiled, he was rescued by two Oceanids, Thetis(mother of Achilles) and Eurynome. While living with them, Hephaestus made them numerous beautiful jewels. Hera saw them at a party and demanded to know who made them. She learned that it was her son and begged him to come back to Olympus. Instead of returning, he sent her a golden throne. Upon sitting on it she became trapped, unable to escape. Despite the best efforts of all the gods, no one could free her. Ares, god of war, was dispatched to force him to return to Olympus. Hephaestus, however, easily frightened him away by conjuring fire. In desperation, Dionysus was sent to convince him to return. He simply got Hephaestus drunk and returned to Olympus with him slung over a donkey. Since Hephaestus stayed mainly in his various workshops, not many myths are known about him after his birth, fall, and return to Olympus. During the Trojan War, he battles the river god, Skamandros, with his godly fire. When Aphrodite arrived at Olypmus, all of the Gods (except Zeus, or course,)fought and quarelled over who would have her hand in marriage. they all offered her fanciful gifts and powers. Hera, however, convinced Hephaestus to craft for her beautiful jewelry. She accepted him as her husband. However, after the wedding, she told all of her other previous suitors when they might give her their gifts. Aphrodite also frequently cheated on him,most often with the war God, Ares. The love between Hephaestus and Aphrodite was difficult, if any was there to begin with. Aphrodite had many other love interests while married to Hephaestus. He soon found out about her adultery with Ares and, being the excellent craftsmen, built a net that would catch Aphrodite in her acts. Once caught, he dragged them in the net to Olympus to make a fool of them. Hephaestus asked the assembled gods for retribution, but they laughed at them and let them go free. It is also said that Hephaestus created the first woman, Pandora. Zeus asked his son to create her to give to the Titan Epimetheus. Hephaestus also had a part in the Trojan War. He sided with the Greeks and created almost all of the weapons and armor for them. He also saved Achilles from dying. One of his obvious weaknesses would be his birth defect. He was never considered handsome, even by his family. He was often bothered by his unfaithful wife. In one story, he was also tricked into drinking too much wine



= **Legacy** =

The Roman counterpart of Hephaestus is Vulcan, from which we get the modern word ,volcano. Like most Greek Gods, he had many children with many mothers. Some examples include Erichthonius of Athens, whom he had with his grandmother, Gaia. With Aglaea, one of the Charites, he had Eucleia, spirit of glory; Euthenia, spirit of prosperity; Eupheme, spirit of good omen, and Philophrosyne, spirit of welcome. His Roman counterpart is seen as more of a god of fire than of the forge. There is a minor planet named 2212 Hephaistos that was named in honor of Hephaestus.