Hephaestus
| Hephaestus | |
|---|---|
God of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, artisans, metallurgy, carpenters, forges, sculpting, and blacksmiths | |
| Member of the Twelve Olympians | |
Hephaestus (left) hands to Thetis the armour of Achilles. Berlin Foundry Cup, an Attic red-figure kylix, c. 500–490 BC | |
| Abode | Mount Olympus |
| Symbol | hammer, anvil, tongs |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Zeus and Hera, or Hera alone |
| Siblings | Ares, Hebe, Eileithyia |
| Consort | Aphrodite (divorced) Charis or Aglaea |
| Children | Thalia, Erichthonius, and Cabeiri |
| Equivalents | |
| Roman | Vulcan |
| Part of a series on |
| Ancient Greek religion |
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Hephaestus (UK: /hɪˈfiːstəs/ hif-EE-stəs, US: /hɪˈfɛstəs/ hif-EST-əs; eight spellings; Ancient Greek: Ἥφαιστος, romanized: Hḗphaistos) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the son of Hera, either on her own or by her husband Zeus. 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).
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. Hephaestus's symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs. In Rome, he was equated with Vulcan.