Hephaestus

Hephaestus
Hephaestus
God of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, artisans, metallurgy, carpenters, forges, sculpting, and blacksmiths
Member of the Twelve Olympians
	Hephaestus at the Forge by Guillaume Coustou the Younger (Louvre)
Abode	Mount Olympus
Symbol	hammer, anvil, tongs
Personal information
Parents	Zeus and Hera, or Hera alone
Siblings	Ares, Hebe, Eileithyia, and many paternal half-siblings
Consort	Aphrodite (divorced); Aglaea
Children	Thalia, Erichthonius, Eucleia, Eupheme, Philophrosyne, Cabeiri and Euthenia
Equivalents
Roman equivalent	Vulcan

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Hephaestus (UK: /hɪˈfiːstəs/ hif-EE-stəs, US: /hɪˈfɛstəs/ hif-EST-əs; eight spellings; Greek: Ἥφαιστος, translit. Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.^[1] Hephaestus's Roman counterpart is Vulcan. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was either the son of Zeus and Hera or he was Hera's parthenogenous child. He was cast off Mount Olympus by his mother Hera because of his lameness, the result of a congenital impairment; or in another account, by Zeus for protecting Hera from his advances (in which case his lameness would have been the result of his fall rather than the reason for it).^[2]^[3]^[4]

As a smithing god, Hephaestus made all the weapons of the gods in Olympus. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centres of Greece, particularly Athens. The cult of Hephaestus was based in Lemnos.^[1] Hephaestus's symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs.

^ ^a ^b Walter Burkert, Greek Religion 1985: III.2.ii; see coverage of Lemnos-based traditions and legends at Mythic Lemnos
^ Graves, Robert (1955). The Greek Myths: 1. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books. p. 51. ISBN 0736621121.
^ Cite error: The named reference Foot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Hera was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[ReferenceA-1] Walter Burkert, Greek Religion 1985: III.2.ii; see coverage of Lemnos-based traditions and legends at Mythic Lemnos

[2] Graves, Robert (1955). The Greek Myths: 1. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books. p. 51. ISBN 0736621121.

[Foot-3] Cite error: The named reference Foot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Hera-4] Cite error: The named reference Hera was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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Hephaestus
God of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, artisans, metallurgy, carpenters, forges, sculpting, and blacksmiths
Member of the Twelve Olympians
Hephaestus at the Forge by Guillaume Coustou the Younger (Louvre)
Abode	Mount Olympus
Symbol	hammer, anvil, tongs
Personal information
Parents	Zeus and Hera, or Hera alone
Siblings	Ares, Hebe, Eileithyia, and many paternal half-siblings
Consort	Aphrodite (divorced) Aglaea
Children	Thalia, Erichthonius, Eucleia, Eupheme, Philophrosyne, Cabeiri and Euthenia
Equivalents
Roman equivalent	Vulcan