Hephaestus is a Greek god of fire, volcanoes, metal work, blacksmiths, metallurgy, forges, sculpting, carpenters and artisans. A smith's hammer, anvil and pair of tongs are his symbols. Hephaestus may be based on older Attic gods. His mother is Hera, Queen of the Gods.
Zeus may be his father, although Hera is able to reproduce asexually. Hephaestus is lame. In one version it's due to a birth defect, and Hera throws him off Olympus because of it. He falls into the sea and is raised by Thetus, mother of Achilles.
In another version Zeus throws him off the mountain for trying to defend Hera. Hephaestus falls for a whole day.
He lands on the isle of Lemnos in the Aegean, and is injured on landing, thus becoming lame. The ancient Sintians who dwell on Lemnos teach him the arts of metallurgy and secrets of the forge, the fire and the blacksmith.
The Olympians are chagrined and beg him to return but he refuses, until Dionysus gets him drunk and brings him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. When Hephaestus recovers, he's given great respect.
He lives in a palace on the mountain and makes the weapons, armor, tools, accessories and furniture of the Gods. Twenty giant bellows blow at his will.
In one story, still miffed at Hera for throwing him off Olympus, Hephaestus builds her a golden chair. Once she sits in it she can't get up again. At first Hephaestus ignores the pleas of the Gods to release her, saying, "I have no mother."
Then he says he'll release her on condition that he marry Athena in some versions, or Aphrodite in others. Athena spurns him. Goddess of Love Aphrodite marries him but can't commit, and they're later divorced.
The Roman Vulcanus is also lame. The disabled blacksmith is a recurring theme in folklore and art. In the Bronze Age smiths combine copper with arsenic to produce a harder form of bronze or when the usual metal, tin, was not available.
Deadly poison, arsenic can kill by massive overdose or gradual buildup in the tissues and organs. Early effects include discoloration on the soles of the feet. Neurological effects include burning or numbness in feet, later hands.
Bronze Age blacksmiths are subject to chronic arsenic poisoning, just as felt workers and hat makers suffer mercury poisoning. The mythology of Hephaestus begins in the Iron Age, after the Bronze Age in history, when the disabled blacksmith is already entrenched in lore.
On the island of Lemnos, the spot Hephaestus fell to earth is considered sacred. The terra Lemnia is said to cure madness, snakebite and hemorrhage. The priests of Hephaestus also know how to cure wounds inflicted by snakes.
The Ohia snake, also known as the horned viper, sand adder or Vipera ammodytes, is the only venomous snake known in modern and ancient Greece. It has enough toxin to kill an adult but is not normally aggressive. The venom is used in anti-venom against viper bites.
During his godly reign Hephaestus is known as an inventor and creator of miraculous automations. Tripods with golden wheels move at his bidding. He creates handmaidens of gold who support him when he walks.
He makes gold and silver guard dogs who bite intruders and never age. Greek colonists in southern Italy relate Hephaestus to Roman gods Adranus (of Mount Etna) and Vulcanus of the Lipari islands.
Vulcanus dwells beneath the Island of Vulcano, just north of Sicily. The smoke of his forge can be seen rising into the sky from the many fumaroles of the volcanic island, as he makes weapons for war god Mars. The ancient Romans mine alum and sulfur here.
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