Hephaestus

Hephaestus

Hephaestus, the god of fire, especially the blacksmith's fire, was the patron of all craftsmen, particularly those working with metals. Hephaestus is known as the son of Hera and Zeus, although Zeus had nothing to do with the conception. Known as the lame god, Hephaestus was born weak and crippled. Displeased by the sight of her son, Hera threw Hephaestus from Mount Olympus, and he fell for a whole day before landing in the sea. Nymphs found him and then took him to the island Lemnos where the island people cared for him. Hephaestus’s Roman counterpart would be Vulcan, the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes and he uses a blacksmith’s hammer. Out of all the gods Of Olympus, Hephaestus was one of the kindest of gods, the other being Athena. Hephaestus loved the things he forged and his most cherished creation being Pandora, whom he treated as if she was his own daughter. Hephaestus was also very under confident because Hera hated him. Hephaestus hated it when his wife, Aphrodite, cheated on him with Ares and then Kratos. Hephaestus was more known for his craftsmanship, development of weapons, crafts for the gods. Even today, the pursuit of better technologies and methods of manufacturing are still actively pursued. Hephaestus was the first ancient god, developed by an ancient culture, that represented this desire in man to learn and make things.
Hephaestus' mother was Hera, and his father was Zeus. Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Athena, Ares, and Persephone were his most known siblings but he had much more because of Zeus' many other relationships with other mortal women and goddesses. The god's relationship with this mother can be characterized as "love and hate". He is sometimes seen rushing to her aid while other times he is seen as taking revenge on her. On several occasions, Hephaestus showed his respect to his “father”, Zeus. The most notable example is the help he offered to Zeus, in the battle against the Giants, where the lame god threw lit brands at the rebels. Hephaestus was kind, but also vengeful. He loved crafting and pursued to develop better weapons and technology for man and the gods. Although many didn’t love him, he still felt the need to help his family when it was needed. Hephaestus is one of the best gods because of what he went through. He was cast out by his mother and father, he was given an unloving wife, and many did not like him because of his looks, but he still stayed strong.