HEPHAESTUS

Hephaestus was one of the gods of fire. His fires were the fires that people used to work metals, unlike Hestia, who claimed the fires for the hearth and for cooking. Hephaestus is usually pictured as lame and ugly, and one of the stories about him says that when he was born, he was so ugly that he was thrown from Olympus, and landed in a volcano (either on the island of Lemnos, or at Mount Aetna in Sicily, which is where he later set up his workshop).

Hephaestus became a great craftsman, and was the maker of all of the tools and weapons of the gods (even if they were not metal). Another of the stories about Hephaestus is that in order toprevent a fight among the gods over the beautiful Aphrodite, a marriage was arranged between her and Hephaestus. Aphrodite was not pleased to be promised to someone so ugly, and started to have an affair with Ares, god of war (and brother of Hephaestus). When Hephaestus found out, he made a great net, which he threw over Aphrodite and Ares when they were together Trapped in the net, they were dragged to Olympus by Hephaestus, and they were not pleased when the other gods laughed at their predicament!

Hephaestus also created Hermes’s helmet and sandals, Zeus’s Aegis shield, the armor of Achilles, Poseidon’s trident, and even the bow and arrows used by Eros.

Hephaestus the the god of smiths and fire. He was either the son of Zeus and Hera or the son of just Hera. He was very ugly and lame. His wife was the beautiful goddess of love, Aphrodite.

Hephaestus was very kind and was always trying to stop fights between Zeus and Hera. During one disagreement, Hephaestus stepped between them and sided with his mother. Zeus was furious and threw Hephaestus out of Olympus. He fell for an entire day and then landed on a small island in the ocean. There he was cared for by the nereid Thetis, though he never fully recovered and remained lame from there on.