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God of Fire.

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Head sculpture of Hephaestus.

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God of Volcanoes.

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Hephaestus is the god of crafts and blacksmith.

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Depicts Hephaestus gift of forging anything.

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Sculpture of Hephaestus.

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Hephaestus on side of an ancient vase.

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Hephaestus on an ancient vase.

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Present day art depicting Hephaestus as the light and source of craftsmanship.

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⚒ Hephaestus :: Greek God of Blacksmiths and Fire

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Shows Hephaestus as the god of forging and fire.

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Hephaestus * Facts and Information on Greek God Hephaestus

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Representing god of crafts.

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Representing one of they many attributes of Hephaestus.

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Temple of Hephaestus.

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Modern drawing of Hephaestus representing fire and volcanoes.

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Ancient Greek art.

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God of Blacksmith.

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One of Hephaestus many attributes.

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Represents a key attribute of Hephaestus.

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Aspect of the god Hephaestus.

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One of Hephaestus Characteristics.

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Greek Gods >> Olympian Gods >> Hephaestus (Hephaistos)

Transliteration

Hêphaistos

Translation

Vulcanos, Vulcan

Hephaestus riding donkey, Athenian red-figure skyphos C5th B.C., Toledo Museum of Art

HEPHAISTOS (Hephaestus) was the Olympian god of fire, smiths, craftsmen, metalworking, stonemasonry and sculpture. He was depicted as a bearded man holding a hammer and tongs--the tools of a smith--and sometimes riding a donkey.

MYTHS

Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:--

His fall from Olympos in which he was cast away by Hera at birth. << More>>

The capture of Hera in a cursed throne and his return to Olympos. << More>>

The adultery of his wife Aphrodite who was trapped with Ares in a golden net. << More>>

The crafting of Pandora, the first woman, at the command of Zeus. << More>>

The attempted violation of Athena which resulted in the impregnation of Earth and the birth of Erikhthonios (Erichthonius). << More>>

The crafting of the cursed necklace of Harmonia which doomed her descendants to a cycle of tragedy. << More>>

The Trojan War in which he fought the river-god Skamandros (Scamander) with fire. << More>>

The crafting of the armour of Akhilleus (Achilles) at the request of the hero's mother Thetis. << More>>

Many other myths are detailed over the following pages.

HEPHAESTUS PAGES ON THEOI.COM

This site contains a total of 12 pages describing the god Hephaistos, including general descriptions, mythology, and cult. The content is outlined in the Index of Hephaestus Pages (left column or below).

FAMILY OF HEPHAESTUS

PARENTS

[1] HERA (no father) (Hesiod Theogony 927, Homeric Hymn 3.310, Apollodorus 1.19, Pausanias 1.20.3, Hyginus Pref)
[2] ZEUS & HERA (Apollodorus 1.19, Cicero De Natura Deorum 3.22)
[3] TALOS (Pausanias 8.53.5)

OFFSPRING

See Family of Hephaistos

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Hephaestus, Thetis and the armour of Achilles, Athenian red-figure nolan amphora C5th B.C., Museum of Fine Arts Boston

HEPHAESTUS (Hêphaistos), the god of fire, was, according to the Homeric account, the son of Zeus and Hera. ( Il. i. 578, xiv. 338, xviii. 396, xxi. 332, Od. viii. 312.) Later traditions state that he had no father, and that Hera gave birth to him independent of Zeus, as she was jealous of Zeus having given birth to Athena independent of her. (Apollod. i. 3. § 5; Hygin. Fab. Praef.) This, however, is opposed to the common story, that Hephaestus split the head of Zeus, and thus assisted him in giving birth to Athena, for Hephaestus is there represented as older than Athena. A further development of the later tradition is, that Hephaestus sprang from the thigh of Hera, and, being for a long time kept in ignorance of his parentage, he at length had recourse to a stratagem, for the purpose of finding it out. He constructed a chair, to which those who sat upon it were fastened, and having thus entrapped Hera, he refused allowing her to rise until she had told him who his parents were. (Serv. ad Aen. viii. 454, Eclog. iv. 62.) For other accounts respecting his origin, see Cicero ( de Nat. Deor. iii. 22), Pausanias (viii. 53. § 2). and Eustathius ( ad Hom. p. 987).

Hephaestus is the god of fire, especially in so far as it manifests itself as a power of physical nature in volcanic districts, and in so far as it is the indispensable means in arts and manufactures, whence fire is called the breath of Hephaestus, and the name of the god is used both by Greek and Roman poets as synonymous with fire. As a flame arises out of a little spark, so the god of fire was delicate and weakly from his birth, for which reason he was so much disliked by his mother, that she wished to get rid of him, and dropped him from Olympus. But the marine divinities, Thetis and Eurynome, received him, and he dwelt with them for nine years in a grotto, surrounded by Oceanus, making for them a variety of ornaments. (Hom. Il. xviii. 394, &c.) It was, according to some accounts, during this period that he made the golden chair by which he punished his mother for her want of affection, and from which he would not release her, till he was prevailed upon by Dionysus. (Paus. i. 20. § 2; Hygin. Fab. 166.)

Although Hephaestus afterwards remembered the cruelty of his mother, yet he was always kind and obedient towards her, nay once, while she was quarrelling with Zeus, he took her part, and thereby offended his father so much, that he seized him by the leg, and hulled him down from Olympus. Hephaestus was a whole day falling, but in the evening he came down in the island of Lemnos, where he was kindly received by the Sintians. (Hom. Il. i. 590, &c. Val. Flacc. ii. 8.5; Apollod. i. 3. § 5, who, however, confounds the two occasions on which Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus.) Later writers describe his lameness as the consequence of his second fall, while Homer makes him lame and weak from his birth.

After his second fall he returned to Olympus, and subsequently acted the part of mediator between his parents. ( Il i. 585.) On that occasion he offered a cup of nectar to his mother and the other gods, who burst out into immoderate laughter on seeing him busily hobbling through Olympus from one god to another, for he was ugly and slow, and, owing to the weakness of his legs, he was held up, when he walked, by artificial supports, skilfully made of gold. ( Il. xviii. 410, &c., Od. viii. 311, 330.) His neck and chest, however, were strong and muscular. ( Il. xviii. 415, xx. 36.)

In Olympus, Hephaestus had his own palace, imperishable and shining like stars: it contained his workshop, with the anvil, and twenty bellows, which worked spontaneously at his bidding. ( Il. xviii. 370, &c.) It was there that he made all his beautiful and marvellous works, utensils, and arms, both for gods and men. The ancient poets and mythographers abound in passages describing works of exquisite workmanship which had been manufactured by Hephaestus. In later accounts, the Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, Pyracmon, and others, are his workmen and servants, and his workshop is no longer represented as in Olympus, but in the interior of some volcanic isle. (Virg. Aen. viii. 416, &c.)

The wife of Hephaestus also lived in his palace: in the Iliad she is called a Charis, in the Odyssey Aphrodite ( Il. xviii. 382, Od. viii. 270), and in Hesiod's Theogony (945) she is named Aglaia. the youngest of the Charites. The story of Aphrodite's faithlessness to her husband, and of the manner in which he surprised her, is exquisitely described in Od. viii. 266-358. The Homeric poems do not mention any descendants of Hephaestus, but in later writers the number of his children is considerable. In the Trojan war he was on the side of the Greeks, but he was also worshipped by the Trojans, and on one occasion he saved a Trojan from being killed by Diomedes. ( Il. v. 9, &c.)

His favourite place on earth was the island of Lemnos, where he liked to dwell among the Sintians ( Od. viii. 283, &c., Il. i. 593; Ov Fast. viii. 82); but other volcanic islands also, such as Lipara, Hiera, Imbros. and Sicily, are called his abodes or workshops. (Apollon. Rhod iii. 41; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 47; Serv. ad Aen. viii. 416; Strab. p. 275; Plin. H. N. iii. 9; Val. Flacc. ii. 96.)

Hephaestus is among the male what Athena is among the female deities, for, like her, he give skill to mortal artists, and, conjointly with her, he was believed to have taught men the arts which embellish and adorn life. ( Od. vi. 233, xxiii. 160. Hymn. in Vaulc. 2. &c.) But he was. nevertheless, conceived as far inferior to the sublime character of Athena. At Athens they had temples and festivals in common. (See Dict of Ant. s. v. Hêphaisteia, Chalkeia.) Both also were believed to have great healing powers, and Lemnian earth (terra Lemnia) from the spot on which Hephaestus had fallen was believed to cure madness, the bites of snakes, and haemorrhage, and the priests of the god knew how to cure wounds inflicted by snakes. (Philostr. Heroic. v. 2; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 330; Dict. Cret. ii. 14.)

The epithets and surnames by which Hephaestus is designated by the poets generally allude to his skill in the plastic arts or to his figure and his lameness.

He was represented in the temple of Athena Chalcioecus at Sparta, in the act of delivering his mother (Paus. iii. 17. § 3); on the chest of Cypselus, giving to Thetis the armour for Achilles (v. 19. § 2); and at Athens there was the famous statue of Hephaestus by Alcamenes, in which his lameness was slightly indicated. (Cic. de Nat. Deor. i. 30; Val. Max. viii. 11. § 3.) The Greeks frequently placed small dwarf-like statues of the god near the hearth, and these dwarfish figures seem to have been the most ancient. (Herod. iii. 37; Aristoph. Av. 436; Callim. Hymnn. in Dian. 60.) During the best period of Grecian art, he was represented as a vigorous man with a beard, and is characterised by his hammer or some other instrument, his oval cap, and the chiton, which leaves the right shoulder and arm uncovered.

The Romans, when speaking of the Greek Hephaestus, call him Vulcanus, although Vulcanus was an original Italian divinity.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES

HYMNS TO HEPHAESTUS

I) THE HOMERIC HYMNS

Homeric Hymn 20 to Hephaestus (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.) :
"Sing, clear-voiced Mousa (Muse), of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) famed for inventions ( klytometis). With bright-eyed Athene he taught men glorious crafts throughout the world,--men who before used to dwell caves in the mountains like wild beasts. But now that they have learned crafts through Hephaistos the famed worker ( klytotekhnes), easily they live a peaceful life in their own houses the whole year round. Be gracious, Hephaistos, and grant me success and prosperity!"

II) THE ORPHIC HYMNS

Orphic Hymn 66 to Hephaestus (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"To Hephaistos (Hephaestus), Fumigation from Frankincense and Manna. Strong, mighty Hephaistos, bearing splendid light, unwearied fire, with flaming torrents bright: strong-handed, deathless, and of art divine, pure element, a portion of the world is thine: all-taming artist, all-diffusive power, 'tis thine, supreme, all substance to devour: aither, sun, moon, and stars, light pure and clear, for these thy lucid parts [of fire] to men appear. To thee all dwellings, cities, tribes belong, diffused through mortal bodies, rich and strong. Hear, blessed power, to holy rites incline, and all propitious on the incense shine: suppress the rage of fire's unwearied frame, and still preserve our nature's vital flame."

Dionysus and Hephaestus riding donkey, Caeretan black-figure hydria C6th B.C., Kunsthistorisches Museum

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF HEPHAESTUS

Classical literature offers only a few, brief descriptions of the physical characteristics of the gods.

Homer, Iliad 20. 37 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"Hephaistos (Hephaestus) went the way of these in the pride of his great strength limping, and yet his shrunken legs moved lightly beneath him."

Homer, Iliad 18. 136 ff :
"She found him [Hephaistos] sweating as he turned here and there to his bellows busily, since he was working on twenty tripods . . . Hephaistos took the huge blower off from the block of the anvil limping; and yet his shrunken legs moved lightly beneath him. He set the bellows away from the fire, and gathered and put away all the tools with which he worked in a silver strongbox. Then with a sponge he wiped clean his forehead, and both hands, and his massive neck and hairy chest, and put on a tunic, and took up a heavy stick in his hand, and went to the doorway limping. And in support of their master moved his attendants. These are golden, and in appearance like living young women. There is intelligence in their hearts, and there is speech in them and strength, and from the immortal gods they have learned how to do things. These stirred nimbly in support of their master."

Homer, Odyssey 8. 267 ff (trans. Shewring) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"[Hephaistos speaks :] 'I am a cripple from my birth.'"

Cicero, De Natura Deorum 1. 24 (trans. Rackham) (Roman rhetorician C1st B.C.) :
"At Athens there is a much-praised statue of Volcanus (Vulcan) [Hephaistos] by Alcamenes, a standing figure, draped, which displays a slight lameness, though not enough to be unsightly. We shall therefore deem god to be lame, since tradition represents Volcanus so."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 88 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) :
"The heavyknee bridegroom [Hephaistos] always expected that Kythereia (Cytherea) [Aphrodite] would bear him a hobbling son, having the image of his father in his feet."

ANCIENT GREEK & ROMAN ART

SOURCES (ALL HEPHAESTUS PAGES)

GREEK

Homer, The Iliad - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Homer, The Odyssey - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

Hesiod, Works and Days - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

Hesiod, The Shield of Heracles - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

Hesiod, Astronomy Fragments - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

The Homeric Hymns - Greek Epic C8th - 4th B.C.

Epic Cycle, The Cypria Fragments - Greek Epic C7th - 6th B.C.

Epic Cycle, The Little Iliad Fragments - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.

Pindar, Odes - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.

Greek Elegaic Mimnermus, Fragments - Greek Elegaic C7th B.C.

Greek Elegaic Solon, Fragments - Greek Elegaic C6th B.C.

Aeschylus, Agamemnon - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aeschylus, Fragments - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.

Aristophanes, Birds - Greek Comedy C5th - 4th B.C.

Herodotus, Histories - Greek History C5th B.C.

Plato, Alcibiades - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Cratylus - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Critias - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Protagoras - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Plato, Republic - Greek Philosophy C4th B.C.

Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Apollonius Rhodius, The Argonautica - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.

Callimachus, Hymns - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Callimachus, Fragments - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.

Greek Papyri III Euphorion, Fragments - Greek Epic C3rd B.C.

Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History - Greek History C1st B.C.

Strabo, Geography - Greek Geography C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.

The Orphic Hymns - Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. - C2nd A.D.

Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.

Aelian, On Animals - Greek Natural History C2nd - 3rd A.D.

Philostratus the Elder, Imagines - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.

Philostratus the Younger, Imagines - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.

Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana - Greek Biography C2nd A.D.

Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History - Greek Mythography C1st - 2nd A.D.

Quintus Smyrnaeus, Fall of Troy - Greek Epic C4th A.D.

Nonnus, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.

ROMAN

Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Hyginus, Astronomica - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.

Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Ovid, Fasti - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.

Virgil, Aeneid - Latin Epic C1st B.C.

Virgil, Georgics - Latin Bucolic C1st B.C.

Cicero, De Natura Deorum - Latin Rhetoric C1st B.C.

Seneca, Medea - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Seneca, Phaedra - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

Statius, Thebaid - Latin Epic C1st A.D.

Statius, Silvae - Latin Poetry C1st A.D.

Apuleius, The Golden Ass - Latin Novel C2nd A.D.

BYZANTINE

Photius, Myriobiblon - Byzantine Greek Scholar C9th A.D.

Suidas, The Suda - Byzantine Greek Lexicon C10th A.D.

OTHER SOURCES
Source status of Hephaistos pages:-
1. Fully quoted: Homer (Iliad & Odyssey), Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle & Homerica, Aesop, Apollodorus, Pausanias, Strabo, Herodotus, Orphic Hymns, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Callimachus, Antoninus Liberalis, Aelian, Hyginus (Fabulae & Astronomica);, Ovid (Metamorphoses & Fasti), Cicero, Apuleius, Apollonius of Tyana;
2. Partially or not quoted (Greek): Pindar, Greek Lyric (Fragments), Greek Elegaic (Fragments), Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Plato, Apollonius Rhodius, Diodorus Siculus, Theocritus, Lycophron, Plutarch, Philostratus & Callistratus, Nonnus, Oppian, Colluthus, Tryphiodorus, et. al.;
3. Partially or not quoted (Latin): Statius, Propertius, Valerius Flaccus, et. al.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.

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HEPHAESTUS - Greek God of Smiths & Metalworking

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Hephaestus was the ancient Greek god of fire, smiths, craftsmen, metalworking, stonemasonry and sculpture. He was depicted as a bearded man holding a hammer and tongs and sometimes riding a donkey. His Roman name was Vulcan.

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Modern day drawing attempting to recreate what Hephaestus looked liked.

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Overview

Hephaestus was one of the Twelve Olympians and the god of fire and the forge. Though lame from birth, he was a master craftsman, fashioning magnificent weapons, talismen, machines, and buildings for gods and mortals alike.

The crippled Hephaestus was always something of an outsider. He was married to the beautiful Aphrodite, goddess of love, though she took many illicit lovers (among them the war god Ares). While Olympus was usually named as Hephaestus' home, the god was most closely associated with the islands of Lemnos and Sicily-the sites of his mythical workshops.

Key Facts

What were Hephaestus' attributes?

Hephaestus was usually imagined as a heavily muscled and bearded figure. He was famously lame, and some sources represented him as rather unattractive, in contrast to the other Olympian gods. He tended to be shown with smithing tools in hand, such as a hammer, ax, or tongs.

How was Hephaestus worshipped?

Hephaestus was not worshipped as extensively as some of the other Olympians. He did, however, have important cults in Athens (where he was one of the city's patron gods) and on the island of Lemnos.

Like the other Olympians, Hephaestus was worshipped with sanctuaries, offerings, and festivals. The temples at his cult centers of Athens and Lemnos were especially impressive, though Hephaestus had sanctuaries elsewhere in the Greek world, too.

Hephaestus' Exile from Olympus

The lame Hephaestus lacked the physical perfection associated with the other major Greek gods. Because of this, he was often mistreated, ridiculed, or rejected by his fellow deities. In one myth, his mother Hera was so disgusted by his misshapen appearance that she cast him from Olympus as soon as he was born (though in other traditions, it was Zeus who exiled Hephaestus).

Hephaestus eventually came back home-where, according to some accounts, he took revenge on his mother by building a chair that trapped her as soon as she sat in it. Understandably, it took a great deal of effort to persuade Hephaestus to release Hera.

Etymology

As with many Greek deities, there is no reliable etymology for the name "Hephaestus." The first known recording of the name (or a form of it) is in an inscription on the palace at Knossos on Crete, where it appears as a-pa-i-ti-jo in the syllabic Linear B script used in Bronze Age Greece (ca. 1600-1100 BCE).

The palace at Knossos was a relic of the Minoan people who lived more than a thousand years before the Greek classical period (490-323 BCE), indicating that the word was present in early Greek society. However, scholars have generally interpreted the name that appears on this inscription as theophoric-that is, as a name that contains the name of the god, rather than the name of the god itself (similar to later Greek names such as Hephaestion).[1]

Today, the etymology of Hephaestus' name is usually thought to have been pre-Greek.[2]

Pronunciation

English

Greek

Hephaestus

Ἥφαιστος

Phonetic

IPA

[hi-FES-tuhs]

/hɪˈfɛs təs/

Other Names

Hephaestus' Roman counterpart was called Vulcan.

Epithets

Many of Hephaestus' epithets referred to his physical appearance or his lameness, such as amphigyeis ("the lame one") and kyllopodiōn ("foot-dragging"). Other epithets were more positive, emphasizing Hephaestus' skills as a craftsman and smith. These epithets included klytotechnēs ("famous artificer"), polymētis ("shrewd"), and chalkeus ("bronze-working").

Attributes

Domains

Hephaestus was the god of crafts of all kinds, especially metalworking. He was also the god of fire, and his workshop was said to be located (appropriately) beneath a volcano.

Iconography

Hephaestus was usually depicted as a burly man, either bearded or unbearded. Due to his lameness, he lacked the physical perfection of the other Olympians, and there are artistic representations that call attention to his crippled legs. In art, Hephaestus was generally dressed simply, in a tunic and a cap called a pilos. He was distinguished by his attributes, the tools of his trade: an ax, double hammer, tongs, bellows, and firebrands.

Though somewhat removed from the other gods, Hephaestus did have an entourage of his own, consisting of the giant, one-eyed Cyclopes, who served as his helpers at his workshop. The god was sometimes also shown riding atop a donkey.

Family

Family Tree

Mythology

Birth and Expulsion

A central aspect of the Hephaestus mythos-and one often depicted in both ancient and modern art-was his expulsion from Olympus, as well as his eventual return. This story saw two main variations:

1. After Hephaestus was born, his mother, Hera, was disgusted when she found out that the child had a malformed foot. Deeming Hephaestus unworthy of divinity, Hera threw him down to earth. After his fall, however, Hephaestus was discovered by the Nereid Thetis and some of her sisters, who kindly nursed him back to health.[9]

2. In another story, it was Zeus who cast Hephaestus out of heaven because the lame god had tried to come to his mother's assistance after she angered Zeus. Hephaestus fell for a full day before landing on the island of Lemnos (this spot, the "Lemnian earth," became a sacred site for pilgrims of Hephaestus, who claimed that it possessed healing powers). This time, it was the Sintian people who helped Hephaestus.[10]

These may or may not have been multiple variants of a single myth. Both of them, interestingly, feature in Homer's Iliad: there, the first fall is said to have taken place right after Hephaestus was born, while the second took place when he was already fully grown.

Yet some sources combine the versions, or make them into mutually incompatible alternatives: the mythographer Apollodorus, for example, writes that Hephaestus was cast out of heaven by Zeus for trying to help his mother, Hera (as in the second account) and that he was saved by Thetis (as in the first account). He then goes on to say that Hephaestus only became crippled as a result of his fall; this would imply that the first fall of Hephaestus-when he was thrown out of heaven because of his lame, malformed feet-could not have happened.[11]

The Return of Hephaestus

Either way, Hephaestus was understandably troubled by the incident and refused to return to Olympus. To avenge himself (based on the first account), Hephaestus built a trap for Hera-a chair with a secret mechanism. Once Hera sat on the chair, it locked her in place.

For some time, Hephaestus wandered the earth and refused to release Hera from the chair. He eventually returned to his proper place on Olympus, albeit not by his own volition. According to most stories, Hephaestus was wined by Dionysus, who gave him enough of his vineyard's finest to ensure that he slept soundly; once Hephaestus was resting peacefully, the wine god placed him on a donkey that carried him to the top of Mount Olympus. Once there, he finally consented to release his mother and forgive her.[12]

In other traditions, however, Hephaestus trapped Hera on the chair because, having been cast out of Olympus as an infant, he did not know who his parents were. As soon as Hera revealed that she was his mother, Hephaestus let her go.[13]

Hephaestus, the Craftsman

Hephaestus was not usually the center of myths; he seldom figured as the hero in dramatic tales, took fewer lovers than his brothers and sisters, and was less conspicuous overall. Unlike most of the other gods, he was often a ridiculous or comedic figure, in part because of his disability.

But Hephaestus was not to be underestimated. He was cunning and vengeful, often earning small victories. Such triumphs came from his tremendous skill as an artisan and his ability to contrive clever traps and tricks. Hephaestus' masterful skill and ingenuity resulted in the creation of almost everything unique or sophisticated in Greek mythology.

Hephaestus ran a massive workshop on Mount Olympus, complete with twenty bellows, a forge, and an anvil. Hephaestus also boasted a retinue of assistants, including not only several Cyclopes but also automata, which the clever god had crafted himself. Homer described these marvelous creations in the Iliad as "handmaidens wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids. In them is understanding in their hearts, and in them speech and strength, and they know cunning handiwork by gift of the immortal gods."[14]

In later traditions, Hephaestus also had workshops in other, even more exotic locations. Some sources, for example, placed Hephaestus' workshop at or near the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily.[15] Others placed the workshop on the island of Lemnos, said to be especially sacred to Hephaestus.[16]

Hephaestus fashioned countless beautiful things for gods, kings, and heroes, including palaces, temples, statues, armor and weapons, and jewelry. Among his most famous creations were aegis (the mighty shield used by Zeus and Athena);[17] the necklace of Harmonia, sometimes said to curse whoever wore it (this was Hephaestus' revenge on his wife, Aphrodite, who produced Harmonia through her adulterous affair with Ares);[18] and the armor of various heroes, including Heracles,[19] Achilles,[20] and Aeneas.[21]

Aphrodite and Ares

Hephaestus married Aphrodite, the most beautiful of all the goddesses, but their marriage was an unhappy one. In a famous scene from theOdyssey, a blind poet named Demodocus sings of how Hephaestus discovered that his wife was having an affair with Ares, the god of war.

Hephaestus, the story goes, hatched a plan to catch Aphrodite and Ares in the act. He went to his workshop and created a net so fine that it could not be seen by the naked eye. He then placed the net over his bed; when Aphrodite and Ares, thinking Hephaestus was away, went to Hephaestus' bed to have sex, Hephaestus trapped them in the net and called all the gods over to look upon the ridiculous scene.

"Soon shall both lose their desire to sleep," says Homer's Hephaestus, complaining about his cheating wife, "but the snare and the bonds shall hold them until her father pays back to me all the gifts of wooing that I gave him for the sake of his shameless girl; for his daughter is fair but bridles not her passion."[22]

All the gods laughed heartily at the scene-all except Poseidon, the god of the sea, who insisted that Hephaestus let Ares and Aphrodite go. Hephaestus finally agreed; released from Hephaestus' adamantine net, Ares and Aphrodite both fled the scene, ashamed.[23]

With this colorful depiction of their relationship in mind, it was unsurprising that Hephaestus and Aphrodite had no children together.

Athena and Athens

In another important myth, Hephaestus played a key role in the foundation of Athens. It began when Hephaestus first took an interest in Athena. Hephaestus and Athena, incidentally, were often viewed as counterpart deities. Both were creators and benefactors who brought the gifts of wisdom, creativity, and craft to humankind.

According to one version of the story, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena, but she eluded him just as he was about to consummate the act, causing him to ejaculate on the ground. His spilled semen impregnated Gaia, and out of the earth sprang Erichthonius, a prince raised by Athena who would become an early ruler of Athens.[24]

In another (less familiar) version, Hephaestus earned Athena's hand in marriage because he had, in a sense, helped to deliver her; he had done so by splitting Zeus' head open as she began to emerge from it. While Zeus gave his blessing to Hephaestus, Athena remained reluctant. In the marriage bed, when Hephaestus was about to consummate the marriage, Athena lost her nerve and fled, causing Hephaestus to ejaculate upon the earth. In this version as well, Hephaestus' spilled seed gave rise to Erichthonius.[25]

Whatever the exact details, Hephaestus' child Erichthonius went on to become one of the founding figures of the great city of Athens. Like many children born from the earth, Erichthonius was sometimes depicted as having serpent features, though he was still regarded as a great king and the ancestor of the Athenian people.

Hephaestus and the Trojan War

According to the Iliad, it was Hephaestus who made Achilles a new set of armor when his previous set was stripped from the corpse of Patroclus by the Trojan hero Hector. (Achilles' friend Patroclus had donned the awe-inspiring armor in a fatal effort to scare the Trojans away from the Greek camp.) The shield was particularly magnificent, decorated with elaborate scenes illustrating every facet of human life; it is described in detail by Homer.[26]

Later, Hephaestus helped Achilles fight off the river god Scamander. Achilles was on a rampage, killing countless Trojan warriors and throwing their corpses into the Scamander River. The river god, choking on bodies and blood, tried to drown Achilles in his rushing waters. The great hero might have perished then and there if Hera had not sent Hephaestus to help him. Hephaestus threatened to scorch Scamander and his river with fire if he did not leave Achilles alone; Scamander immediately did as he was asked.[27]

Other Myths

Hephaestus featured in a handful of other myths. In the terrible war between the Olympian gods and the so-called Giants (monsters born to the primordial earth goddess Gaia), Hephaestus killed the Giant called Mimas.[28]

In another important (and deeply misogynistic) myth-recounted by Hesiod in two different poems[29]-Zeus sought to punish humanity for the theft of fire by presenting them with the first woman. This woman was designed to unleash every conceivable evil on humanity and was, ironically, named Pandora ("all-gifted"). Naturally, it was the skilled craftsman Hephaestus who was tasked with creating Pandora.

Worship

Festivals

The most well-known ancient festivals of Hephaestus were celebrated in Athens, where, as the father of the founding hero Erichthonius, he was especially revered. The Hephaestia, celebrated every four years, involved a torch race and sacrifices to the god.[30] In another festival, the Chalkeia, craftsmen walked in a procession through the city in honor of Hephaestus and his counterpart Athena.[31]

In different parts of the Greek world, Hephaestus was also connected with the mystery cult of the Cabiri (whom he was said to have fathered).[32] These mysteries most likely involved initiation rites, feasting, and sacrifices; they were practiced primarily in Asia Minor, Macedonia, Boeotia, and some northeastern Aegean islands.

Temples

The public cult of Hephaestus was not as widespread in Greece as that of most of the other Olympians. Hephaestus did, however, have important cult centers at Lemnos, an Aegean island that was especially sacred to him, and Athens, where he was worshipped together with Athena as one of the city's chief patron gods.

At Lemnos, the spot where Hephaestus supposedly landed when he was thrown from heaven was an especially sacred site. It was believed that this spot could cure various ailments, including snake bites.[33]

There was a large temple of Hephaestus, called the Theseium, near the agora of Athens; in it, the cult statue of Hephaestus stood next to that of Athena.[34]

Hephaestus also had a handful of temples in Sicily, where he was sometimes said to have had a workshop.

Pop Culture

Hephaestus has enjoyed a lively presence in popular media. In films and television based on Greek mythology, he usually appears as a powerful, thick-armed craftsman in the archetypal blacksmith mode. In the 1981 film Clash of the Titans, he was played by the large British wrestler Pat Roach. In the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, meanwhile, he appeared as a large, leather-clad blacksmith played by actors Julian Garner and James Hoyte.

In video games, too, Hephaestus is a renowned crafter of items. In the God of War series, he makes weapons for the protagonist, Kratos. In the classic video game Diablo II, a crazed blacksmith and dungeon master is named Hephaesto in a clear homage to the Greek deity.

Finally, Hephaestus plays a role in the popular Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series by Rick Riordan-a series that has reignited interest in Greek mythology. In the fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, Hephaestus appears as the master of the kiln, with a workshop that pumps out finely-tuned objects. Because the novel is a modern retelling, however, his most notable act is repairing an old Toyota that had broken down.

1. See, for example, John Chadwick, The Mycenaean World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 99; Robert S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 527.
↩

2. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary,527.
↩

3. Homer, Iliad 1.571ff, 577ff, 14.338, 18.396, 21.332, Odyssey 8.312.
↩

4. Homer, Iliad 1.590-94. Cf. Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 2.82ff; Apollodorus, Library 1.3.5.
↩

5. Servius on Virgil's Aeneid 8.454, Eclogues 4.62.
↩

6. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 365-66; Thucydides, Histories 3.88.3; Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.36ff, 4.760ff; Callimachus, Hymn 3.46ff; Strabo, Geography 6.2.10; Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 3.22; Virgil, Aeneid 8.372ff; Statius, Silvae 3.1.130; Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 5.16; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 29.348ff, 30.42ff.
↩

7. Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 3.22; Statius, Silvae 3.1.130; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 14.17ff.
↩

8. Homer, Iliad 15.310ff; Virgil, Aeneid 8.372ff; Statius, Silvae 3.1.130.
↩

9. Homer, Odyssey 8.266ff. Cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.170ff; Hyginus, Fabulae 148; Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 14.40ff.
↩

10. Euripides, Ion 20ff, 266ff; Apollodorus, Library 3.14.6; John Tzetzes on Lycophron's Alexandra 111; scholia on Homer's Iliad 2.547; etc.
↩

11. Sophocles, frag. 844 Lloyd-Jones.
↩

12. Philostratus, Heroicus 5.2; Dictys of Crete, Journal of the Trojan War 2.14.
↩

Greek

Homer: Hephaestus appears in the Iliad and the Odyssey (eighth century BCE) as the craftsman of Mount Olympus; in the Iliad, he makes a stunning suit of armor for Achilles.

Hesiod: Hephaestus' genealogy and mythology are described in the seventh-century BCE epics of Hesiod, including the Theogony and the Works and Days. In the Shield of Heracles (traditionally, but dubiously, attributed to Hesiod), Hephaestus is the one who makes Heracles' armor and shield.

Homeric Hymns: The twentieth Homeric Hymn (seventh or sixth century BCE) is dedicated to Hephaestus.

Pindar: Hephaestus does not make very many appearances in Pindar's poetry (fifth century BCE), though he does play a role in Olympian Ode 7 as Zeus' "midwife" during the birth of Athena.

Aeschylus: In the tragedy Prometheus Bound (a fifth-century BCE tragedy that may or may not have actually been written by Aeschylus), it is Hephaestus who chains Prometheus to the mountain where his punishment for stealing the gods' fire is to take place.

Apollonius of Rhodes: There are references to the famous workshop of Hephaestus in Book 4 of the third-century BCE epic Argonautica, which tells the story of Jason and the Argonauts.

Callimachus: In the third Hymn, dedicated to Artemis, it is Hephaestus who gives Artemis her weapons.

Orphic Hymns: The Orphics were a Greek cult that believed a blissful afterlife could be attained by living an ascetic life. Orphic Hymn 65 (third century BCE to second century CE) is dedicated to Hephaestus.

Strabo, Geography: A late first-century BCE geographical treatise and an important source for many local Greek myths, institutions, and religious practices from antiquity.

Lucian: Hephaestus features in Lucian's satirical Dialogues of the Gods (late first to early second century CE).

Pausanias, Description of Greece: A second-century CE travelogue; like Strabo's Geography, an important source for local myths and customs.

Quintus of Smyrna: In the fourth-century CE epic Posthomerica, as in the Homeric epics, Hephaestus plays a minor role as the Olympian craftsman.

Nonnus: In the epic poem Dionysiaca (fifth century CE), which relates the adventures of the young god Dionysus, Hephaestus is recruited by his mother, Hera, to help the Indians fight against Dionysus.

Roman

Virgil: Vulcan (the Roman equivalent of Hephaestus) appears in his typical epic role in Book 8 of the Aeneid (19 BCE), making a suit of armor for the protagonist Aeneas.

Ovid: The myths of Vulcan/Hephaestus feature in some of Ovid's poetry, such as the Metamorphoses (ca. 8 CE).

Statius: The fifth poem of Book 1 of the Silvae (first century CE) is one of the only works to present a positive image of the relationship between Vulcan/Hephaestus and Venus/Aphrodite. In Statius' epic Thebaid, however, the married couple is back to their typical bickering and jealousy.

Mythological Handbooks (Greek and Roman)

Diodorus of Sicily, Library of History: A work of universal history, covering events from the creation of the cosmos to Diodorus' own time (mid-first century BCE). Contains references to Hephaestus.

Apollodorus, Library: A mythological handbook from the first century BCE or the first few centuries CE with references to Hephaestus.

Hyginus, Fabulae: A Latin mythological handbook (first or second century CE) that includes sections on the myths of Vulcan/Hephaestus.

Fulgentius, Mythologies: A Latin mythological handbook (fifth or sixth century CE) with sections on the myths of Vulcan/Hephaestus.

Burford, Alison. Craftsmen in Greek and Roman Society. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1972.

Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985.

Cartwright, Mark. "Hephaistos." World History Encyclopedia. Published online 2019. https://www.worldhistory.org/Hephaistos/.

Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources. 2 vols. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.

Graf, Fritz, and Anne Ley. "Hephaestus." In Brill's New Pauly, edited by Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, Christine F. Salazar, Manfred Landfester, and Francis G. Gentry. Published online 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e507970.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. London: Penguin, 1955.

Guthrie, W. K. G. The Greeks and their Gods. London: Methuen, 1962.

Kerényi, Károly. The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson, 1951.

Long, C. R. The Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome. Leiden: Brill, 1987.

Rose, H. J. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. London: Methuen, 1929.

Smith, William. "Hephaestus." In A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Spottiswoode and Company, 1873. Perseus Digital Library. Accessed May 27, 2021. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DH%3Aentry+group%3D6%3Aentry%3Dhephaestus-bio-1.

Theoi Project. "Hephaistos." Published online 2000-2017. https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hephaistos.html.

Authors

Avi Kapach

Avi Kapach is a writer, scholar, and educator who received his PhD in Classics from Brown University

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Hephaestus was the Greek god of craftsmanship, smithing, and fire. Though lame from birth, he was a master blacksmith who created many magnificent weapons and machines.

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Craftsmanship and fire.

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Depicts Hephaestus as god of fire.

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Hephaestus in ancient literature.

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God of Fire.

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Sculpture of Hephaestus.

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God of Forging.

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Depicts Hephaestus forging anything into something of worth.

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▷ Hephaestus: God Of Blacksmiths And Fire +23 Data