Hephaestus was the crippled, homely looking god of fire, blacksmiths, craftsmen, volcanoes, and the smith’s furnace. He is depicted with his symbols of the smith’s hammer, tongs, and an anvil.

It is said Hephaestus had the skill and talent to make beautiful works of metal and weave them with magic. Most of the metallic possessions of the gods had been forged by Hephaestus, including Zeus’ thunderbolts and scepter, Hermes’ winged sandals and breastplate, Aphrodite’s girdle, Achilles’ armor, and Eros’s bow and arrows.

Mythology

Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera, although it is said that Zeus was not responsible for Hephaestus’s conception. Hera reportedly bore Hephaestus in retaliation for Zeus giving birth to Athena.

As a crippled and unattractive young man, Hephaestus was cast out of Mount Olympus. He fell for an entire day, then landed on the island of Lemnos. It was here that Hephaestus was able to hone his skills as a craftsman and prove his worthiness to the gods, thereby earning his re-entry back to Mount Olympus. Some believe it was the fall from Mount Olympus that caused Hephaestus to become crippled.

Hephaestus’s revenge against Hera for casting him away involved fashioning a magical throne upon which she was trapped when she sat down. He was eventually persuaded to release her from the spell.

A marriage was arranged between Hephaestus and the beautiful goddess Aphrodite. She disliked being married to a filthy iron worker, and had many affairs including one with the fierce god of war, Ares. Their tryst was eventually discovered, and Hephaestus ensnared them with a magic net. They were put on display in front of the other gods, humiliating Ares.

Hephaestus pursued Athena but was rebuked, so he then attempted to rape her. Athena escaped him, and his semen instead impregnated the Gaia, the Earth. From her sprang forth a child, Erichthonius of Athens, who was given to Athena to raise. These events connecting Athena with Hephaestus led to the Temple of Hephaestus being erected near the Athens marketplace, at the foot of the Acropolis.. Much of Athena’s armor and weaponry were forged by Hephaestus.

The legend of Pandora can be attributed to Hephaestus, after he was commissioned by Zeus to create a new type of human. Up to that time, only men existed, so it is said that Zeus convinced Hephaestus to make the first woman out of clay. She held a jar with supernatural powers, from which she released upon mankind all the evils of the world.

Hephaestus in Popular Culture

• Not much mention is made of Hephaestus in modern culture.

• A Soviet astronomer, Lyudmila Chernykh, discovered a planet in 1978 which was named in Hephaestus’s honor.

• Many technology programs bear Hephaestus’s name, including role-playing game construction software and a project designed to help impaired people.

• A circus show in Chicago is an acrobatic retelling of the life of Hephaestus.

• An organization in the United States is called Hephaestus, and is designed to reunite people from Lemnos, Greece in the United States and around the world.

Back to Ancient Greek Olympian Gods