She became pregnant, and soon Hera gave birth to the infant Hephaestus. The most commonly recorded birth story is that Hera, while in a spiteful mood over Zeus’ solo bearing of Athena, prayed to the Titans for a child greater than her husband. He didn’t come out fully grown and ready to tackle the world like Athena nor was Hephaestus an infant coddled in a godly crib. Honestly, it was quite unique when compared to the births of the other gods. Hephaestus didn’t exactly have the ideal birth. The translation of Aithaloeis Theos means “sooty god,” relating back to his work as a blacksmith and as a fire god where contact with soot would be inevitable. Hephaestus Aitnaîos points to the location of one of Hephaestus’ purported workshops underneath Mount Etna. He is believed to have had a clubbed foot – or, in some accounts, feet – that required him to walk with the help of a cane.

Meaning “of dragging feet,” this epithet directly refers to one of Hephaestus’ possible disabilities. When looking at some of his epithets, poets generally allude to Hephaestus’ deviant appearance or his respected occupation of a forge god. They solidify the god’s relationship to metalworkers. The hammer, anvil, and tongs – three primary symbols of Hephaestus – are all tools that a blacksmith and metalsmith would use in their daily life. The symbols of Hephaestus revolve around his role as a craftsman and, more specifically, a smith. Otherwise, records suggest that Hephaestus also had a forge on Lemnos – the location of his cult center – and in Lipara: one of many volcanic islands he is said to frequent. His most prominent one lay within his very own palace on Mount Olympus, the home of the 12 Olympian Gods, where he would create divine weapons, impenetrable armors, and luxurious gifts for the other gods and their chosen champions. Due to his patronage of the crafts, Hephaestus was closely affiliated with the goddess Athena.įurther, as a master smithing god, Hephaestus naturally had forges across the Greek world. In the ancient Greek religion, Hephaestus was regarded as the god of fire, volcanoes, smiths, and craftsmen. What is Hapheaestus Called in Roman Mythology?.

How Does Hephaestus Feature in Greek Mythology?.

Forging hephaestus series