Editing Hephaestus

{{short description|Greek god of blacksmiths}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Hephaestus
| image = Hephaistos Thetis at Kylix by the Foundry Painter Antikensammlung Berlin F2294.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Hephaestus (left) hands to [[Thetis]] the armour of [[Achilles]]. [[Berlin Foundry Cup]], an Attic red-figure [[kylix]], c. 500&ndash;490 BC<ref>[[Digital LIMC]] [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-7510ebbc14f92-8 25775 (Hephaistos 5)].</ref>
| god_of = God of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, artisans, metallurgy, carpenters, forges, sculpting, and blacksmiths
| member_of = the [[Twelve Olympians]]
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]]
| symbol = [[hammer]], [[anvil]], [[tongs]]
| consort = [[Aphrodite]] {{small|(divorced)}}<br> [[Charis (mythology)|Charis]] or [[Aglaia (Grace)|Aglaea]]
| parents = [[Zeus]] and [[Hera]], or Hera alone
| children = [[Thalia (nymph)|Thalia]], [[Erichthonius of Athens|Erichthonius]], and [[Cabeiri]]
| mount = 
| Roman_equivalent = [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]]
}}
{{Special characters}}
{{Ancient Greek religion}}
'''Hephaestus''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|h|ɪ|ˈ|f|iː|s|t|ə|s}} {{respell|hif|EE|stəs}}, {{IPAc-en|US|h|ɪ|ˈ|f|ɛ|s|t|ə|s}} {{respell|hif|EST|əs}}; [[wikt:Hephaestus#Alternative forms|eight spellings]]; {{langx|grc|Ἥφαιστος|Hḗphaistos}}<!--Edit note: the [[rough breathing]] at the beginning of the word provides the "h" sound-->) is the [[Greek god]] of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, [[metallurgy]], metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes.<ref name="ReferenceA">Walter Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' 1985: III.2.ii; see coverage of Lemnos-based traditions and legends at [[Lemnos|Mythic Lemnos]]</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite book|last=Graves|first=Robert|title=The Greek Myths: 1|year=1955|publisher=Penguin Books|location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England|pages=51|isbn=0736621121}}</ref><ref name=Foot/><ref name=Hera/>

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]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Hephaestus's symbols are a smith's [[hammer]], [[anvil]], and a pair of [[tongs]]. In Rome, he was equated with [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]].<ref>Tripp, s.v. Hephaestus, pp. 270&ndash;271.</ref>

== Etymology ==
Hephaestus is probably associated with the [[Linear B]] ([[Mycenaean Greek]]) inscription {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀀𐀞𐀂𐀴𐀍}}}}, ''A-pa-i-ti-jo'', found at [[Knossos]].{{Sfn|Beekes|2009|p=527}} The inscription indirectly attests his worship at that time because it is believed that it reads the [[theophoric name]] ''(H)āpʰaistios'',{{Sfn|Beekes|2009|p=527}} or ''Hāphaistion''.<ref name=Chawick>{{cite book|last=Chadwick|first=John|author-link=John Chadwick|title=The Mycenaean World|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1976 | isbn=0-521-29037-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanworld00chad |url-access=registration| pages=[https://archive.org/details/mycenaeanworld00chad/page/99 99]}} At Google Books.</ref><ref name=AnthologyM>{{cite book|title=Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in translation|page=443|publisher=Hackett Publishing|year=2004|isbn=0-87220-721-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4pZr3JfYqcC&pg=PA443}} At Google Books</ref> The Greek theonym ''Hēphaistos'' is most likely of [[Pre-Greek substrate|Pre-Greek]] origin, as the form without ''-i-'' ([[Attic Greek|Attic]] ''Hēphastos'') shows a typical Pre-Greek variation and points to an original ''s<sup>y</sup>''.{{Sfn|Beekes|2009|p=527}}

== Epithets ==
The [[epithet]]s by which Hephaestus is known by the poets generally allude to his skill in the [[plastic arts]] or to his figure or disability. The Greeks frequently placed miniature statues of Hephaestus near their hearths, and these figures are the oldest of all his representations.<ref>[[Heroditus]], iii, 37; [[Aristophanes]], ''Av''., 436; [[Callimachus]], ''Hymn. in Dian.'', 60.</ref> The meaning of some of his epithets are:<ref>{{cite book|last=Autenrieth|first=Georg|title=A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges|publisher=Harper and Brothers|location=United States of America|year=1891|entry=Hephaestus}}</ref>
* '''Amphigyḗeis''' often translated as "the lame one"; literally "lame on both sides" vel sim. ({{lang|grc|Ἀμφιγυήεις}})
* '''Kyllopodíōn''' "club-footed" or "of dragging feet" ({{lang|grc|Κυλλοποδίων}})
* '''Khalkeús''' "coppersmith" ({{lang|grc|Χαλκεύς}})
* '''Klytotékhnēs''' "renowned artificer" ({{lang|grc|Κλυτοτέχνης}})
* '''Polýmētis''' "shrewd, crafty" or "of many devices" ({{lang|grc|Πολύμητις}})
* '''[[Aetnaeus|Aitnaîos]]''' "Aetnaean" ({{lang|grc|Αἰτναῖος}}), owing to his workshop being supposedly located below [[Mount Etna|Mount Aetna]].<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''Hist. An.'' xi. 3, referenced under [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/69?page=root;size=100;view=image Aetnaeus] in William Smith's [[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]</ref>
*'''Polýphrōn''' "ingenious, inventive" (Πολύφρων)
*'''Agaklytós''' "very famous, glorious" (Ἀγακλυτός)
*'''Aithalóeis theós''' "sooty god" (Αἰθαλόεις θεός)

== Mythology ==

=== Parentage ===
In [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', Hephaestus is described as the son of [[Hera]]; the ''Iliad'' seemingly also refers to Zeus as his father at two points, though it is possible these passages are not referring to Hephaestus as Zeus's literal son. The ''[[Odyssey]]'' does, however, refer explicitly to Hephaestus as having "two parents", the identity of whom would presumably be Zeus and Hera.<ref>Gantz, p. 74.</ref> In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Hera gives birth to Hephaestus on her own, out of revenge for [[Zeus]] having, without her, fathered [[Athena]] (the daughter of Zeus and [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]]).<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+927&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130 927&#x2013;928].</ref> [[Bibliotheca (Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] similarly states that Hera gives birth to Hephaestus alone, though he also relates that, according to Homer, Hephaestus is one of the children of Zeus and Hera.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.3.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022 1.3.6].</ref> Several later texts follow Hesiod's account, including [[Fabulae|Hyginus]], in the preface to his ''[[Fabulae]]''.According to Attic vase painters, Hephaestus was present at the birth of Athena and wielded the axe with which he split Zeus' head to free her. Hephaestus is represented as older than Athena, so the mythology of Hephaestus is inconsistent in this respect.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Some sources state that the origin myth of Hephaestus was that of a "daemon of fire coming up from the [[Gaia|Earth]]"—that he was also associated with gas "which takes fire and burns [and] is considered by many people to be divine" and that only later was a volcano considered Hephaestus's smithy.<ref name="Greek Folk Religion">{{cite book |last1=Nilsson |first1=Martin Persson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwnGYe8WiCUC&q=goldsmith |title=Greek Folk Religion |date=1998 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812210347 |page=89 |access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> He was associated by Greek colonists in southern [[Italy]] with the [[volcano]] gods [[Adranus]] (of [[Mount Etna]]) and [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcanus]] of the [[Lipari]] islands.<!-- His forge was moved to the Lipari islands by the poets. **what poets? --> The first-century sage, [[Apollonius of Tyana]], is said to have observed, "there are many other mountains all over the earth that are on fire, and yet we should never be done with it if we assigned to them giants and gods like Hephaestus".<ref>''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'', book v.16.</ref> Nevertheless, Hephaestus’ domain over fire goes back to Homer’s ''Iliad'', where he uses flames to dry the waters of [[Karamenderes River|Scamandrus River]] in order to force its [[Scamander|eponymous deity]], who was attacking [[Achilles]], to retreat. His favourite place in the mortal world was the island of [[Lemnos]], where he liked to dwell among the Sintians,<ref>Od. viii. 283[[wiktionary:ff.|ff.]]; [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D568 i, 593]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'', viii, 82.</ref> but he also frequented other volcanic islands such as Lipari, Hiera, Imbros and Sicily, which were called his abodes or workshops.<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes]], iii. 41; [[Callimachus]], ''Hymn. in Dian''. 47; Serv. ''ad Aen'', viii, 416; [[Strabo]], p.&nbsp;275; [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historia]]'', iii, 9; [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus|Valerius Flaccus]], ii, 96.</ref>

===Fall from Olympus===
In one branch of Greek mythology, Hera ejected Hephaestus from the heavens because of his congenital impairment. He fell into the ocean and was raised by [[Thetis]] (mother of [[Achilles]] and one of the 50 [[Nereid]]s) and the [[Oceanid]] [[Eurynome (Oceanid)|Eurynome]].<ref name="Foot">''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D305 316–321]; Homer, ''Iliad'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D18%3Acard%3D388 18.395–405].</ref>

In another account, Hephaestus, attempting to rescue his mother from the Zeus's advances, was flung down from the heavens by Zeus. He fell for an entire day and landed on the island of [[Lemnos]], where he was cared for and taught to be a master craftsman by the [[Sintians]] &ndash; an ancient tribe native to that island.<ref name="Hera">[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D568 1.590–594]; [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus|Valerius Flaccus]], ii, 8.5; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], i, 3 § 5. Apollodorus confounds the two occasions on which Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus.</ref> Later writers describe his physical disability as the consequence of his second fall, while Homer makes him disabled from birth.

=== Return to Olympus ===
<!--[[Hera]] redirects here-->
Hephaestus was one of the Olympians who returned to Olympus after being exiled.

In an archaic story,<ref group="lower-alpha">Features within the narrative suggest to Kerenyi and others that it is archaic; the most complete literary account, however, is a late one, in the Roman rhetorician [[Libanios]], according to Hedreen (2004).</ref><ref name="Hedreen_2004">Guy Hedreen (2004) The Return of Hephaistos, Dionysiac Processional Ritual and the Creation of a Visual Narrative. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', '''124''' (2004:38–64) p.&nbsp;38 and note.</ref>{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=156&ndash;158}} Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by forging her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to stand up again.<ref group="lower-alpha">A section "The Binding of Hera" is devoted to this archaic theme in Kerenyi (1951, pp&nbsp;156&ndash;158), who refers to this "ancient story", which is one of the "tales of guileful deeds performed by cunning gods, mostly at a time when they had not joined the family on Olympus".</ref> The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he refused, saying "I have no mother".{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=156&ndash;158}} It was Ares who undertook the task of fetching Hephaestus at first, but he was threatened by the fire god with torches.<ref>[[Libanius]], ''[[Progymnasmata]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=kRi-If9IAOYC&pg=PA15 7]</ref> At last, [[Dionysus]], the god of wine, fetched him, intoxicated him with wine, and took the subdued smith back to Olympus on the back of a mule accompanied by revelers &ndash; a scene that sometimes appears on painted pottery of Attica and of Corinth.<ref>Axel Seeberg (1965) Hephaistos Rides Again. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', '''85''', pp.&nbsp;102&#x2013;109, describes and illustrates four pieces of Corinthian painted pottery with the theme</ref><ref>A black red-figure [[calpis]] in the collection of Marsden J. Perry was painted with the return of Hephaestus (Eldridge, 1917, pp&nbsp;38&#x2013;54).</ref><ref name="Eldridge_1917">L. G. Eldridge (1917) An Unpublished Calpis. ''American Journal of Archaeology'', '''21'''.1, pp&nbsp;38&#x2013;54 (January–March 1917).</ref> According to [[Fabulae|Hyginus]], Zeus promised anything to Hephaestus in order to free Hera. Hephaestus asked for the hand of Athena in marriage (urged by [[Poseidon]], who was hostile toward her), leading to his attempted rape of the goddess, who rejected his advances.<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#166 166]</ref> In another version, he demanded to be married to Aphrodite in order to release Hera, and his mother fulfilled the request.<ref>Slater, pp [https://books.google.com/books?id=CEEABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA200 199-200] "And [Hera] was released only when she swore to the truth of his birth story, or, in another version, promised Aphrodite to her son."</ref>

The theme of the ''return of Hephaestus'', popular among the Attic vase-painters whose wares were favored among the [[Etruscans]], may have introduced this theme to Etruria.<ref group="lower-alpha">The return of Hephaestus was painted on the Etruscan tomb at the "Grotta Campana" near [[Veii]] was identified by Petersen (1902); the "well-known subject" was doubted in this instance by Harmon (1912).</ref><ref name="Petersen_19022">Petersen (1902) ''Über die älteste etruskische Wandmälerei'', pp&nbsp;149[[wiktionary:ff.|ff.]] Rome.</ref><ref name="Harmon_19122">A. M. Harmon (1912) The Paintings of the Grotta Campana. ''American Journal of Archaeology'', 16.1, 1&#x2013;10 (January–March 1912);</ref> In the vase-painters' portrayal of the procession, Hephaestus was mounted on a mule or a horse, with Dionysus holding the bridle and carrying Hephaestus' tools (including a [[Labrys|double-headed axe]]). In the painted scenes, the padded dancers and phallic figures of the Dionysan throng leading the mule show that the procession was a part of the [[dithyrambic]] celebrations that were the forerunners of the [[Satyr play|satyr plays]] of fifth-century Athens.<ref>The significance of the subject for the pre-history of Greek drama is argued by Webster (1958, pp&nbsp;43[[wiktionary:ff.|ff.]]) and more recently by Hedreen (2004, pp&nbsp;38–64).</ref><ref name="Webster_19582">T.B.L. Webster (1958) Some thoughts on the pre-history of Greek drama. ''Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies'', '''5''', pp&nbsp;43[[wiktionary:ff.|ff.]]</ref> The traveller [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] spoke of having seen a painting of Hephaestus in the temple of Dionysus in Athens. The temple had been built in the 5th century, but may have been decorated at any time before the 2nd century CE. When Pausanias saw it, he said:
{{Blockquote|There are paintings here &ndash; Dionysus bringing Hephaestus up to heaven. One of the Greek legends is that Hephaestus, when he was born, was thrown down by Hera. In revenge he sent as a gift a golden chair with invisible fetters. When Hera sat down she was held fast, and Hephaestus refused to listen to any other of the gods except Dionysus &ndash; in him he reposed the fullest trust &ndash; and after making him drunk Dionysus brought him to heaven.|author=[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]|source=1.20.3}}

=== Craft of Hephaestus ===
[[File:Atenas, Ágora 03.jpg|thumb|The Doric [[Temple of Hephaestus]], [[Agora of Athens]]]][[File:Anthonis van Dyck 066.jpg|thumb|250px|''[[Thetis Receiving the Weapons of Achilles from Hephaestus]]'' by [[Anthony van Dyck]] (1630–1632)]][[File:Peter Paul Rubens 177.jpg|right|250px|thumb|''[[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]] Presenting the Arms of Achilles to Thetis'' by [[Peter Paul Rubens]].]]Hephaestus had his own palace on Olympus, containing his workshop with anvil and twenty [[bellows]] that worked at his bidding.<ref>Il. xviii. 370, &c.</ref> He crafted much of the magnificent equipment of the gods, and almost any finely wrought metalwork imbued with powers that appears in Greek myth is said to have been forged by Hephaestus. He designed all the thrones in the Palace of Olympus,<ref name="Graves 1960 150">{{cite book |last=Graves |first=Robert |title=Greek Gods and Heroes |publisher=Dell Laurel-Leaf |year=1960 |location=United States of America |pages=150 |chapter=The Palace of Olympus}}</ref> the [[Aegis]] [[breastplate]], [[Hermes]]' [[winged helmet]] and [[Talaria|sandals]], [[Aphrodite]]'s famed [[Girdle of Aphrodite|girdle]], [[Eros (mythology)|Eros]]'s bow and arrows, [[Helios]]' chariot, [[Heracles]]' bronze [[clapper (musical instrument)|clappers]], and the shoulder of [[Pelops]].<ref name=":0">The provenance of the staff of office is recounted in ''Iliad'' II</ref> 

Hephaestus also created the gift that the gods gave to mankind: the first woman [[Pandora]] and her [[pithos]]. In some versions of the myth,<ref>{{cite journal |last=West |first=Martin L. |year=1979 |title=The Prometheus Trilogy |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=99 |issue=99 |pages=130–148 |doi=10.2307/630637 |jstor=630637 |s2cid=161700684}}</ref> [[Prometheus]] stole the fire that he gave to man from Hephaestus's forge. 

Hephaestus gave to the blinded [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]] his apprentice [[Cedalion]] as a guide. In later accounts, Hephaestus worked with the [[Cyclopes]] Brontes, Steropes and Arges, who were highly skilled blacksmiths in their own right and forged [[Zeus]]' [[Thunderbolt|thunderbolts]], [[Poseidon|Poseidon's]] [[trident]] and [[Hades]]' [[Cap of invisibility|helmet of darkness]].<ref name="Graves 1960 150" /><ref>Virg. Aen. viii. 416, &c.</ref>

==== Automatons ====
According to [[Homer]], Hephaestus built [[automaton]]s of metal to work for him or others. This included tripods with golden wheels, able to move at his wish in and out the assembly hall of the celestials;<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'', 18. 373–379</ref> and "handmaidens wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids", who had "understanding in their hearts, and speech and strength", as a gift of the gods. They moved to support Hephaestus while walking.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'', 18. 417–421</ref> And he put golden and silver lions and dogs at the entrance of the palace of [[Alkinoos]] in such a way that they could bite the invaders; these guard dogs didn't age nor perish.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'', 7. 91–4</ref>

A similar golden dog (''Κυων Χρυσεος'') was set by Rhea to guard the infant Zeus and his nurse, the goat [[Amalthea (mythology)|Amaltheia]], on the island of Krete. Later [[Tantalus]] was said to have stolen the automaton when it guarded Zeus's temple, or to have persuaded [[Pandareus|Pandareos]] to steal it for him. Later texts attempt to replace the automaton with the idea that the golden dog was actually [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], transformed by Hephaestus.<ref>Antoninus Liberalis, ''Metamorphoses'', 11 and 36.</ref>

=== Other myths ===
[[File:Vulcan Coustou Louvre MR1814.jpg|thumb|''Hephaestus at the Forge'' by [[Guillaume Coustou the Younger]] ([[Louvre]])]]Hephaestus fought against the [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Giants]] and killed [[Mimas (Giant)|Mimas]] by throwing molten iron at him.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D6%3Asection%3D2 1.6.2]; other sources give Mimas' killer as Zeus or Hephaestus' brother Ares.</ref> He also fought another Giant, [[Aristaeus (Giant)|Aristaeus]], but he fled.<ref>Gantz, p. 451</ref> During the battle Hephaestus fell down exhausted, and was picked up by Helios in his chariot. As a gift of gratitude, Hephaestus forged four ever-flowing fountains and fire-breathing bulls for Helios' son [[Aeëtes]].<ref>[[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' [https://archive.org/details/theargonauticaof00apoliala/page/106/mode/2up?view=theater 3.220–234]</ref>

At the marriage of [[Peleus]] and [[Thetis]], Hephaestus gave a knife as a wedding present.<ref name="Photius, Bibliotheca excerpts - GR">{{Cite web |title=Bibliothèque de Photius : 190. Ptolémée Chennus, Nouvelle Histoire. |url=http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/erudits/photius/ptolemee.htm |website=remacle.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ToposText |url=https://topostext.org/work/237#190.46 |website=topostext.org}}</ref> During the Trojan War began, Hephaestus sided with the Greeks and forged the armour of [[Achilles]], the [[cuirass]] of [[Diomedes]], and [[Agamemnon]]'s staff of office,<ref name=":0" /> but Hephaestus was also worshipped by the Trojans and saved one of their men from being killed by Diomedes.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D5%3Acard%3D1 v, 9 ff.]</ref> 

===Consorts, victims and children===

==== Hephaestus and Aphrodite ====
[[File:Guillemot, Alexandre Charles - Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] Surprised by [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan]]'' by Alexandre Charles Guillemot (1827)]]
Though married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had an affair with [[Ares]], the god of war. Eventually, Hephaestus discovered Aphrodite's affair through [[Helios]], the all-seeing Sun, and planned a trap during one of their trysts. While the lovers lay together in bed, Hephaestus ensnared them in an unbreakable chain-link net so small as to be invisible and dragged them to Mount Olympus to shame them in front of the other gods for retribution. 

The gods laughed at the sight of these naked lovers, and [[Poseidon]] persuaded Hephaestus to free them in return for a guarantee that Ares would pay the adulterer's fine, or that he, Poseidon, would pay it himself. Hephaestus states in ''The Odyssey'' that he would return Aphrodite to her father and demand back his bride price. The [[Emily Wilson (classicist)|Emily Wilson]] translation depicts Hephaestus demanding/imploring Zeus before Poseidon offers, however, leading the reader to assume Zeus did not give back the "price" Hephaestus paid for his daughter and that this was the reason Poseidon intervened.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Emily |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PpJYDgAAQBAJ&q=EMILY+WILSON%E2%80%99S+TRANSLATION++THE+ODYSSEY |title=The Odyssey |date=7 November 2017 |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=9780393634563 |pages=BOOK 8, LINES 265–367}}</ref>  Some versions of the myth state that Zeus did not return the dowry, and in fact Aphrodite "simply charmed her way back again into her husband’s good graces."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Richardson |first1=Donald |title=Great Zeus and All His Children |date=1984 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=9780133649505 |page=26}}</ref> In the ''[[Iliad]]'', Hephaestus is described as married to the [[Charites|Grace]] [[Charis (mythology)|Charis]] during the events depicted in the [[Trojan War]],<ref name="auto">[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' 18.382</ref> while in the ''[[Theogony]]'', he is married to the Grace [[Aglaia (Grace)|Aglaea]].<ref name=":hesd" /> The later ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' by [[Nonnus]] explicitly states that, though Hephaestus and Aphrodite were once married (she is referred to as his "ancient wife"), that they have since separated and Hephaestus is now married to Charis.<ref name="nonnus 29.317">[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#29.317 29.317]</ref>

In a much later, interpolated detail, Ares put the young soldier [[Alectryon (mythology)|Alectryon]], by their door to warn them of Helios's arrival as he suspected that Helios would tell Hephaestus of Aphrodite's infidelity if the two were discovered, but Alectryon fell asleep on guard duty.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gallagher |first=David |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789042027091/B9789042027091-s006.xml |title=Avian and Serpentine |date=2009-01-01 |publisher=Brill Rodopi |isbn=978-90-420-2709-1 |language=en}}</ref> Helios discovered the two and alerted Hephaestus, as Ares, in rage, turned Alectryon into a [[rooster]], which always crows at dawn when the sun is about to rise.<ref>[[Lucian]], ''Gallus'' [http://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php?id=home:texts_and_library:dialogues:the-rooster 3], see also scholiast on [[Aristophanes]], ''[[The Birds (play)|Birds]]'' [https://archive.org/details/scholiaonavesar01whitgoog/page/n272/mode/2up?view=theater 835]; [[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]], ''Ad Odysseam'' 1.300; Ausonius, 26.2.27; Libanius, ''Progymnasmata'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=kRi-If9IAOYC&pg=PA31 2.26.]</ref>

The [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebans]] told that the union of Ares and Aphrodite produced [[Harmonia (mythology)|Harmonia]], but that of the union of Hephaestus with Aphrodite, there was usually no issue. Because Harmonia was conceived during Aphrodite's marriage to Hephaestus, for revenge, on Harmonia's wedding day to [[Cadmus]], Hephaestus gifted her with a finely worked but cursed [[Necklace of Harmonia|necklace]] that brought immense suffering to her descendants, culminating with the story of [[Oedipus]].<ref>Roman Monica and Luke, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tOgWfjNIxoMC&pg=PT213 201]</ref>

The author of ''[[Octavia (play)|Octavia]]'' (traditionally attributed to [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], but now agreed to not be his) writes that "[we] delude ourselves that [Eros] was born from Venus and sprung from the loins of Vulcan", implying the notion that Eros/Cupid was the son of Vulcan/Hephaestus was a decently common one in late antiquity.<ref>[[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Octavia (play)|Octavia]]'' [https://www.attalus.org/poetry/octavia.html 564]</ref> [[Nonnus]] also seemingly presents Eros as the son of Aphrodite and Hephaestus,<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca02nonnuoft/page/392/mode/2up?view=theater 29.333]</ref> but it has been suggested that the use of ''{{lang|grc|πολυφράδμων}}'' (a word that can mean both 'wise' and 'cunning') to describe Aphrodite and the emphasis given in Hephaestus fearing that Eros would be born crippled like him, only for the child to be abled-bodied, strongly implies that Nonnus means for Ares to be understood as the real father, while Aphrodite passed her son as Hephaestus'.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca01nonnuoft/page/178/mode/2up?view=theater 5.135–43]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shorrock |first=Robert |title=The Challenge of Epic: Allusive Engagement in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus |date=2001 |publisher=BRILL publications |isbn=978-90-04-11795-2 |series=Mnemosyne |volume=20 |pages=54–5}}</ref> Ulrich von Wilamovitz's conjecture of a badly preserved scholium on the ''[[Argonautica]]'' to read that [[Ibycus]] made Eros the son of Aphrodite and Hephaestus is widely accepted by scholars, but cannot be proven as the ancient text is unreadable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Breitenberger |first=Barbara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MCCl0yBS4UsC |title=Aphrodite and Eros: The Development of Erotic Mythology in Early Greek Poetry and Cult |date=May 13, 2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-96823-2 |location=NYC, New York |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MCCl0yBS4UsC&pg=PT171 171–172]}}</ref>

Hephaestus was somehow connected with the archaic, pre-Greek [[Phrygia]]n and [[Thrace|Thracian]] mystery cult of the [[Kabeiroi]], who were also called the ''Hephaistoi'', "the Hephaestus-men", in Lemnos. One of the three Lemnian tribes also called themselves Hephaestion and claimed direct descent from the god.

==== Hephaestus and Athena ====
[[File:Athena Scorning the Advances of Hephaestus.jpg|thumb|''[[Athena]] Scorning the Advances of Hephaestus'' by [[Paris Bordone]] (between c. 1555 and c. 1560)]]
Hephaestus is to the male gods as Athena is to the female goddesses, for he was believed to have taught the mortals crafts and arts alongside Athena.<ref>Od. vi. 233, xxiii. 160. Hymn. in Vaulc. 2. &c.</ref> At Athens, they had temples and festivals in common.<ref group="lower-alpha">See Dict of Ant. s. v. Hêphaisteia, Chalkeia.</ref> Both were believed to have great healing powers, and Lemnian earth (terra Lemnia), from the spot on which Hephaestus had fallen, was believed to cure madness, snakebite and haemorrhage; priests of Hephaestus knew how to cure wounds inflicted by snakes.<ref>Philostr. Heroic. v. 2; Eustath. ad Hom. p.&nbsp;330; Dict. Cret. ii. 14.</ref> He was represented in the temple of Athena Chalcioecus (Athena of the Bronze House<ref>The Museum of Goddess Athena, [http://www.goddess-athena.org/Museum/Temples/Sparta/index.htm Sanctuary of Athena Chalkiokos at Sparta]</ref>) at Sparta, in the act of delivering his mother;<ref>Paus. iii. 17. § 3</ref> on the chest of Cypselus, giving Achilles's armor to Thetis;<ref>v. 19. § 2</ref> and at Athens there was the famous statue of Hephaestus by Alcamenes, in which his physical disability was only subtly portrayed.<ref>Cic. de Nat. Deor. i. 30; Val. Max. viii. 11. § 3</ref>  He had almost "no cults except in Athens".<ref name="Greek Folk Religion" /> The Greeks frequently placed miniature statues of Hephaestus near their hearths, and these figures are the oldest of all his representations.<ref>Herod. iii. 37; Aristoph. Av. 436; Callim. Hymnn. in Dian. 60</ref> In [[Athens]], there is a [[Temple of Hephaestus]], the ''Hephaesteum'' (miscalled the "Theseum") near the [[agora]]. Athena is sometimes thought to be the "soulmate" of Hephaestus.<ref>Stein, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JwgtCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 p. 11], which goes on to say: "Yet a kind of cloudy mysteriousness shrouds their relationship; no single tradition was ever clearly established on this subject, and so what confronts us is a blurred image based on rumors and conflicting reports."</ref> Nonetheless, Hephaestus "seeks impetuously and passionately to make love to Athena: at the moment of climax she pushes him aside, and his semen falls to the earth where it impregnates Gaia."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hillman |first1=James |title=Facing the Gods |publisher=Spring Pubns |year=1980 |isbn=978-0882143125}}</ref>

An Athenian [[founding myth]] tells that the city's patron goddess, [[Athena]], refused a union with Hephaestus. Pseudo-Apollodorus{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=281}} records an archaic legend, which claims that Hephaestus once attempted to rape Athena, but she pushed him away, causing him to ejaculate on her thigh.{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=123}}<ref name="Burkert-143">{{citation |last=Burkert |first=Walter |title=Greek Religion |page=143 |year=1985 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0-674-36281-0 |author-link=Walter Burkert}}</ref> Athena wiped the [[semen]] off using a tuft of [[wool]], which she tossed into the dust, impregnating [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] and causing her to give birth to [[Erichthonius of Athens|Erichthonius]],{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=123}}<ref name="Burkert-143" /> whom Athena adopted as her own child.{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=123}} 

The Roman mythographer Hyginus{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=281}} records a similar story in which Hephaestus demanded Zeus to let him marry Athena since he was the one who had smashed open Zeus's skull, allowing Athena to be born.{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=123}} Zeus agreed to this and Hephaestus and Athena were married,{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=123}} but, when Hephaestus was about to consummate the union, Athena vanished from the bridal bed, causing him to ejaculate on the floor, thus impregnating Gaia with Erichthonius.{{sfn|Kerényi|1951|page=123}}<ref>Hyginus made an imaginative etymology for ''Erichthonius'', of strife (''[[Eris (mythology)|Eris]]'') between Athena and Hephaestus and the Earth-child (''chthonios'').</ref> Nonnus refers to this tale of Erechthonius being born of the Earth after a "makeshift marriage", but says that Athena then nursed Erechthonius on her "manlike breast".<ref name="nonnus 29.317" />

==== Others ====
According to most versions, Hephaestus's consort is Aphrodite. However, some sources say that Hephaestus is married to one of the [[Charites]]. In Book XVIII of [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', the consort of Hephaestus is [[Charis (mythology)|Charis]], with whom he lives in a bronze-wrought home on Olympus.<ref name="auto" /> The same name, Charis, is used later in [[Lucian]]'s ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]''<ref>[[Lucian]], ''[[Dialogues of the Gods]]'', [https://www.theoi.com/Text/LucianDialoguesGods1.html#17 Hermes and Apollo (II)]</ref> and [[Nonnus]]'s ''[[Dionysiaca]]''.<ref name="nonnus 29.317" /> However, [[Hesiod]] names the member of the Charites who is married to Hephaestus as [[Aglaia (Grace)|Aglaea]],<ref name=":hesd">Hesiod, ''[[Theogony]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D938 945]</ref> and the [[Orphic]] Fragments compiled by [[Otto Kern]] say that by Hephaestus, Aglaea became mother of [[Eucleia]], [[Eupheme (deity)|Eupheme]], [[Euthenia]], and [[Philophrosyne]].<ref name="orphic182">[[Orphic]] [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/212/mode/2up fr. 182 Kern, p. 213].</ref> Some scholars conclude that these references refer to the same goddess under different names,<ref>Bell, [https://archive.org/details/womenofclassical00bell/page/14/mode/2up?view=theater s.v. Aglaia (1), p. 15].</ref> although in the ''Dionysiaca'' both Aglaea and Charis appear as separate characters (Aglaea refers to Charis as a separate attendant of Aphrodite when speaking to [[Eros]]).<ref>Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#33.51 33.51 ff.]</ref> [[Károly Kerényi]] notes that "charis" also means "the delightfulness of art" and supposes that Aphrodite is viewed as a work of art, speculating that Aphrodite could also have been called Charis as an alternative name, for in the ''Odyssey'' Homer suddenly makes her his wife.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kerényi |first1=Karl |title=The gods of the Greeks |date=1974 |publisher=London : Thames and Hudson |page=94 |isbn=9780500270486 |url=https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich/page/72/mode/2up?q=charis |access-date=13 June 2021}}</ref>

On the island of Lemnos, however, Hephaestus' consort was the sea [[nymph]] [[Cabeiro]], by whom he was the father of two metalworking gods named the [[Cabeiri]]. In Sicily, he had another consort, the nymph [[Aetna (nymph)|Aetna]], and their sons were two gods of Sicilian [[geysers]] called [[Palici]], who are elsewhere called the sons of [[Zeus]] by Aetna, or of Zeus by [[Thalia (nymph)|Thalia]] (another daughter of Hephaestus), or of [[Adranos]].<ref>Witczak and Zawiasa, pp. 55–57.</ref>

Like many male Greek gods, Hephaestus fathered several children with mortals and immortals alike. The following is a list of Hephaestus's offspring, by various mothers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! scope="col" style="width: 100pt;" | Offspring
! scope="col" style="width: 95pt;" | Mother
! scope="col" style="width: 55pt;" | Source
! scope="col" style="width: 70pt;" | Date
! class="unsortable" scope="col" style="width: 10pt;" |
|-
| [[Eucleia]], [[Euthenia]], [[Eupheme (deity)|Eupheme]], [[Philophrosyne]]
| [[Aglaia (Grace)|Aglaea]]
| [[Orphic]] fr.
| data-sort-value=50 |
| <ref>West, p. 221; Orphic fr. 272 II Bernabé (pp. 230&ndash;231) [= [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/212/mode/2up fr. 182 Kern, p. 213]].</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Erichthonius of Athens|Erichthonius]]
| [[Gaia]]
| Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
| data-sort-value=17 | 1st cent. AD
| <ref>Kerenyi, p. 123; Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#166 166]; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.6 1.2.6]; ''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Erichthonios_2 Erichthonius (2)].</ref>
|-
| [[Atthis (mythology)|Atthis]]
| [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
| data-sort-value=18 | 1st/2nd cent. AD
| <ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Erichthonius (1); [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.14.6 3.14.6].</ref>
|-
| The [[Palici]]
| [[Aetna (nymph)|Aetna]]
| [[Silenus Calatinus|Silenos]]
| data-sort-value=13 | 2nd cent. BC
| <ref>Witczak and Zawiasa, pp. 57; [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. Παλίκη [= ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 175 F3].</ref>
|-
| The [[Cabeiri]], the Cabeirides (nymphs)
| rowspan="2" | [[Cabeiro]]
| [[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]]
| data-sort-value=7 | 5th cent. BC
| <ref>Hard, p. 220; ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 3 F48; [= [[Strabo]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-eng1:10.3.21 10.3.21]].</ref>
|-
| Camillus
| [[Acusilaus]]
| data-sort-value=6 | 6th/5th cent. BC
| <ref>Hard, p. 220; ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 2 F20; [= [[Strabo]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-eng1:10.3.21 10.3.21]].</ref>
|-
| [[Periphetes]]
| Anticlea
| [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]]
| data-sort-value=18 | 1st/2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.16.1 3.16.1].</ref>
|-
| Ardalus
| rowspan="6" | ''No mother mentioned''
|
|
| <ref>Grimal, s.v. Hephaestus, p. 192.</ref>
|-
| [[Cercyon]]
| Hyg. ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
| data-sort-value=17 | 1st cent. AD
| <ref>Gantz, p. 253; Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#38 38].</ref>
|-
| [[Olenus]]
| Hyg. ''[[De astronomia|De astr.]]''
| data-sort-value=16 | 1st cent. BC/AD
| <ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=olenus-bio-1&highlight=olenus s.v. Olenus]; Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.13.5 2.13.5].</ref>
|-
| [[Palaemon (Greek myth)|Palaemon]]
| [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
| data-sort-value=18 | 1st/2nd cent. AD
| <ref>Grimal, s.v. Hephaestus, p. 192; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.16 1.9.16].</ref>
|-
| Pylius
| [[Photios I of Constantinople|Photios]]
| data-sort-value=33 | 9th cent. AD
| <ref>[[Photius]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Bibliotheca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/237#190.48 190.48].</ref>
|-
| [[Thalia (nymph)|Thalia]]
| [[Aeschylus]]
| data-sort-value=7 | 5th cent. BC
| <ref>Witczak and Zawiasa, pp. 56.</ref>
|}

== Iconography and descriptions ==
[[File:Wall painting - Hephaistos producing the new arms for Achilles - Pompeii (IX 1 7) - Napoli MAN 9529.jpg|thumb|Hephaestus and 2 assistants work on the arms for [[Achilles]], the shield held up by Hephaestus and one of his assistants shows the mirror image of [[Thetis]], sitting and watching the scene. Fresco from [[Pompeii]].]]
Hephaestus was sometimes portrayed as a vigorous man with a beard and was characterized by his hammer or some other crafting tool, his oval cap, and the [[Chiton (costume)|chiton]].

Hephaestus is described in mythological sources as "lame" ({{Transliteration|grc|chōlos}}) and "halting" ({{Transliteration|grc|ēpedanos}}).<ref>''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Od.+8.308 8.308]; ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Il.+18.397 18.397], etc.</ref> He was depicted with curved feet, an impairment he had either from birth or as a result of his fall from Olympus. In vase paintings, Hephaestus is sometimes shown bent over his anvil, hard at work on a metal creation, and sometimes his feet are curved back-to-front: ''Hephaistos amphigyēeis''. He walked with the aid of a stick. The [[Argonauts|Argonaut]] Palaimonius,<!--please don't redlink this name unless you can write 1500 words on him--> "son of Hephaestus" (i.e. a bronze-smith), also had a mobility impairment.<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' i.204.</ref> Other "sons of Hephaestus" were the [[Cabeiri]] on the island of [[Samothrace]], who were identified with the [[crab]] (''karkinos'') by the lexicographer [[Hesychius of Alexandria|Hesychius]]. The adjective ''karkinopous'' ("crab-footed") signified "lame", according to Detienne and Vernant.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Marcel|last1=Detienne|first2=Jean-Pierre|last2=Vernant|title=Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society|others=Janet Lloyd, translator|location=Atlantic Highlands, NJ|publisher=Humanities Press|year=1978|pages=269–272|isbn=978-0-391-00740-6}} Cited by {{cite book|first=Morris|last=Silver|title=Taking Ancient Mythology Economically|year=1992|location=New York|publisher=Brill|page=35 note 5|isbn=978-90-04-09706-3}}</ref> The Cabeiri were also physically disabled.

In some myths, Hephaestus built himself a "[[Wheelchair|wheeled chair]]" or chariot with which to move around, thus helping support his mobility while demonstrating his skill to the other gods.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Jay|last=Dolmage|title='Breathe Upon Us an Even Flame': Hephaestus, History, and the Body of Rhetoric|journal=Rhetoric Review|volume=25|issue=2|year=2006|pages=119–140 [p. 120]|doi=10.1207/s15327981rr2502_1|s2cid=17273927}}</ref> In the ''Iliad'' 18.371, it is stated that Hephaestus built twenty bronze-wheeled tripods to assist him in moving around.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Murray|first1=A.T.|title=The Iliad 18.371|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D18%3Acard%3D360|website=Perseus|publisher=Tufts University|access-date=21 March 2017}}</ref>

Hephaestus's appearance and physical disability are taken by some to represent [[peripheral neuropathy]] and [[skin cancer]] resulting from [[Arsenic poisoning|arsenicosis]], caused by [[arsenic]] exposure from metalworking.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harper|first=M|date=October 1987|title=Possible toxic metal exposure of prehistoric bronze workers.|journal=British Journal of Industrial Medicine|volume=44|issue=10|pages=652–656|issn=0007-1072|pmc=1007896|pmid=3314977|doi=10.1136/oem.44.10.652}}</ref> Bronze Age smiths added arsenic to [[copper]] to produce harder [[arsenical bronze]], especially during periods of [[tin]] [[Tin sources and trade in ancient times|scarcity]]. Many [[Bronze Age]] smiths would have suffered from chronic arsenic poisoning as a result of their livelihood. Consequently, the mythic image of the disabled smith is widespread. As Hephaestus was an iron-age smith, not a bronze-age smith, the connection is one from ancient folk memory.<ref>{{cite book|first=H. W. F.|last=Saggs|title=Civilization Before Greece and Rome|location=New Haven|publisher=Yale University Press|year=1989|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300050318/page/200 200–201]|isbn=978-0-300-04440-9|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780300050318/page/200}}</ref>

== Comparative mythology ==
Parallels in other mythological systems for Hephaestus's symbolism include:
* The [[Ugarit]] craftsman-god [[Kothar-wa-Khasis]], who is identified from afar by his distinctive walk &ndash; possibly suggesting that he limps.<ref>Baruch Margalit, ''Aqhat Epic'' 1989:289.</ref>
* As [[Herodotus]] was given to understand, the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] craftsman-god [[Ptah]] was a dwarf god and is often depicted naked.<ref>Herodotus, iii.36.</ref>
* In Norse mythology, [[Wayland Smith|Weyland the Smith]] was a physically disabled bronzeworker.
* In Hinduism the artificer god [[Tvastr]] fills a similar role, albeit more positively portrayed.<ref name="West, Martin Litchfield 2007">West, Martin Litchfield (2007), Indo-European Poetry and Myth, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-928075-9}}</ref>
* The Ossetian god [[Kurdalagon]] may share a similar origin.<ref name="West, Martin Litchfield 2007"/>

== Worship ==
[[Gaius Julius Solinus|Solinus]] wrote that the [[Lycians]] dedicated a city to Hephaestus and called it Hephaestia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/747#39.1|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org}}</ref>

The [[Hephaestia]] in [[Lemnos]] was named after the god. In addition, the whole island of Lemnos was sacred to Hephaestus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/201#520|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org}}</ref>

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] wrote that the Lycians in [[Patara (Lycia)|Patara]] had a bronze bowl in their temple of [[Apollo]], saying that [[Telephus]] dedicated it and Hephaestus made it.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://topostext.org/work/213#9.41.1| title = Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.41.1}}</ref>

Pausanias also wrote that the village of Olympia in Elis contained an altar to the river [[Alfeios|Alpheios]], next to which was an altar to Hephaestus sometimes referred to as the altar of "Warlike Zeus."<ref>{{Cite web|title=ToposText|url=https://topostext.org/work/213#5.14.6|access-date=2021-10-27|website=topostext.org}}</ref>

The island [[Vulcano|Thermessa]], between [[Lipari]] and [[Sicily]], was also called Hiera of Hephaestus (ἱερὰ Ἡφαίστου), meaning "sacred place of Hephaestus" in Greek.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-grc1:6.2.10|title=Strabo, Geography, Book 6, chapter 2, section 10|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

== Namesakes ==
[[Pliny the Elder]] wrote that at [[Corycus]], there was a stone which was called Hephaestitis or "Hephaestus stone". According to Pliny, the stone was red and reflected images like a mirror, and when boiling water was poured over it, it cooled immediately. Alternatively, when placed in the sun, it immediately set fire to a parched substance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Natural_History_(Rackham,_Jones,_&_Eichholz)/Book_37|title=Natural History|first=Pliny the|last=Elder|via=Wikisource}}</ref>

The [[minor planet]] [[2212 Hephaistos]], discovered in 1978 by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] astronomer [[Lyudmila Chernykh]], was named in Hephaestus' honour.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schmadel|first=Lutz D.|title=Dictionary of Minor Planet Names|pages=180|edition=5th|year=2003|publisher=Springer Verlag|location=New York|isbn=3-540-00238-3}}</ref>

== Genealogy ==
{{Family tree of the Olympians|title=Hephaestus's family tree|collapsed=yes|cap_heph=y}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Myths|Religion}}
* [[Family tree of the Greek gods]]
* [[Hephaestus in popular culture]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
=== Ancient ===
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=C431BA809CA4DEA22A15DA9C666F3400?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0022%3atext%3dLibrary Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Apollonius of Rhodes]],  ''[[Argonautica]]''; with an English translation by R. C. Seaton. William Heinemann, 1912.
* Bernabé, Alberto (2004), ''Poetae epici Graeci: Testimonia et fragmenta, Pars II: Orphicorum et Orphicis similium testimonia, Fasc 1'', [[Bibliotheca Teubneriana]], Munich and Leipzig, K. G. Saur Verlag, 2004. {{ISBN|978-3-598-71707-9}}. [https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110943702 Online version at De Gruyter].
* Evelyn-White, Hugh, ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White''. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard 
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Homer]], ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PhD in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Homer]]; ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. [https://topostext.org/work/207 Online version at ToposText].
* Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at ToposText].
* [[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]''; translated by [[W. H. D. Rouse|Rouse, W H D]], I Books I-XV. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 344, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940. [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/n7/mode/2up Internet Archive]
* [[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]''; translated by [[W. H. D. Rouse|Rouse, W H D]], II Books XVI-XXXV. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 345, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940. [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca02nonnuoft#page/n7/mode/2up Internet Archive]
* [[Otto Kern|Kern, Otto]], ''Orphicorum Fragmenta'', Berlin, 1922. [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* [[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Ovid's Fasti]]: With an English translation by Sir James George Frazer'', London: W. Heinemann LTD; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959. [https://archive.org/stream/ovidsfasti00oviduoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Octavia (play)|Octavia]]'', with an English translation by W. Bradshaw, London. 1902. [https://www.attalus.org/poetry/octavia.html Online version at Attalus.org.]
* [[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]

=== Modern ===
*{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lw7KxwEACAAJ|title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek|last=Beekes|first=Robert S. P.|year=2009|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-32186-1|author-link=Robert S. P. Beekes}}
* [[Timothy Gantz|Gantz, Timothy]], ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* [[Pierre Grimal|Grimal, Pierre]], ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. {{ISBN|978-0-631-20102-1}}. [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofclas0000grim/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-415-18636-0}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&printsec=frontcover Google Books].
* {{cite book|last=Kerényi|first=Karl|author-link=Károly Kerényi|year=1951|title=The Gods of the Greeks|publisher=Thames and Hudson|location=London|isbn=0-500-27048-1|url=https://archive.org/details/godsofgreeks00kerrich}}
* [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]], ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0104 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Slater, Philip Elliot (1968), ''The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek Family'', Princeton, New Jersey: [[Princeton University Press]], {{ISBN|0-691-00222-3}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=CEEABAAAQBAJ Google books].
* Stein, Murray, ''Soul: Treatment and Recovery: The selected works of Murray Stein'', Routledge, 2015. {{ISBN|9781317649847}}.
* [[Strabo]], [[Geographica|''Geography'']], translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924). [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/home.html LacusCurtis], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library, Books 6&ndash;14].
* [[Edward Tripp|Tripp, Edward]], ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', New York, Thomas Y. Crowell, 1970. {{ISBN|069022608X}}. [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* [[Martin Litchfield West|West, M. L.]] (1983), ''The Orphic Poems'', [[Clarendon Press]] Oxford, 1983. {{ISBN|978-0-19-814854-8}}.
* Witczak K. T., Zawiasa D. (2004). "[https://antiquitasvivahome.files.wordpress.com/2021/06/54.1-2.05.-witczak-k.-t.-zawiasa-d.-palici-e28093-the-sicilian-twin-brothers-and-the-indo-european-myth-about-divine-twins.pdf Palici – the Sicilian Twin Brothers and the Indo- European Myth about Divine Twins]". In: ''Živa Antika'' ''[Antiquité Vivante]'' 54(1–2), 2004.

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://www.maicar.com/GML/Hephaestus.html Greek Mythology Link, Hephaestus] summary of the myths of Hephaestus
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000202 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Hephaestus)]
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Hephaestus| ]]
[[Category:Fire gods]]
[[Category:Smithing gods]]
[[Category:Volcano gods]]
[[Category:Mythological rapists]]
[[Category:Children of Hera]]
[[Category:Consorts of Aphrodite]]
[[Category:Deities in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Deeds of Athena]]
[[Category:Deeds of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Children of Zeus]]
[[Category:Characters in the Odyssey]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Metalsmiths]]
[[Category:Consorts of Gaia]]
[[Category:Helios in mythology]]
[[Category:Deeds of Aphrodite]]
[[Category:Twelve Olympians]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Deeds of Ares]]
[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]