Hephaestus (Roman Vulcan)
Alternatively Hephaistos.
The Greek god of fire, especially of volcanic and natural fire, and of the arts and craftsmanship, dependent upon fire.
Hephaestus was named Vulcan by the Romans.
Son of Zeus and Hera — although some versions of his story state that he had no father, with Hera bearing him alone in retaliation for Zeus having brought forth Athena — Hephaestus was born lame and ugly, and his mother Hera hated him on first sight.
In one version of the myth, Hera herself, after seeing that he was born deformed, casts him from Olympus.
In another version Zeus hurls him from heaven because he tried to defend Hera when they were having a quarrel. Upon landing on Lemnos — after falling for a full day — Hephaestus brakes his legs and becomes lame. In any case, the sea-goddess Thetis then finds the crippled infant on the beach, and takes him to her underwater grotto where she raises him with the help of Eurynome, mother of the Graces.
To regain his rightful place among the gods, Hephaestus used a clever ruse. He built a golden throne and sent it to Hera as a gift. Upon sitting on it, Hera got imprisoned by its golden arms, which promptly clamped her. To reclaim her freedom Hera had to extract a promise from all the gods that Hephaestus would be accepted into the Pantheon.
Hephaestus became the smith and manufacturer of art, arms and armor for gods and heroes, using a volcano as his forge. According to the Iliad he is married to Aglaia, one of the Graces, but in the Odyssey he is said to be married to Aphrodite.
See Troy, Apollo, Delphi, Olympians, Greeks, Hermes, Hera, Hades, Bacchus, Centaurs, Cerberus, Daedalus, Dionysus, Vulcan, Mars, Oracle, Tarpeian Rock, Tartarus, Telegonus, Telemachus, Mystic Gifts and Charms - New Age Gift Shop & Wicca and Pagan Supplies, Love Spells -- Use these powerful love spells to help you find and keep your true love, The Tarot Store, Divination & Scrying Tools and Supplies, Unique Amulets, Talismans, Good Luck Charms, and Love Tokens, Powerful Witch Doctor Spell Kits, Powerful Spells - Cast by Andreika the Witch, Webmasters Make $$$, AzureGreen - Celebrating All Paths to the Divine, ISIS - Tools for Your Soul's Journey, and The Pyramid Collection - Myth, Magick, Fantasy and Romance.
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Sources: (1) Cooper, J.C. (Editor), Brewer's Book of Myth and Legend, Cassell Academic Publishing; (2) Evans, Bergen, Dictionary of Mythology, Dell Publishing Co., Inc.; (3) Dixon-Kennedy, Mike, Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, ABC-Clio Inc. Publishers; (4) Ayto, John, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, Collins Reference Publishing.
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