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Hephaistos

'Ηφαιστος

Hephaestus

Artificer of the Olympians

Hephaistos

Hephaistos Displays His Craft
Hephaistos and Thetis
The Wives of Hephaistos
Hephaistos and Pandora
Hephaistos and Orion
Hephaistos and King Aietes
Hephaistos in The Iliad (reference)
Hephaistos in The Odyssey (reference)
Other Text References

The Son of Hera

Hephaistos is the lame son of Hera. In The Iliad, Hephaistos reveals how he became lame: at the climax of an domestic dispute, Hephaistos stood with his mother in defiance of Zeus. The Olympian Zeus, in his rage, caught Hephaistos by the foot and hurled him from the magic threshold of Mount Olympos (Olympus) to the earth far below. Three days later Hephaistos landed on the island of Lemnos, broken and nearly lifeless. The Nereid, Thetis, and Eurynome, mother of the Graces, found the shattered god and nursed him back to health. They were responsible for saving his life and he never forgot their kindness. Hera was violently shamed at the sight of her lame son and would have done him further harm had not Thetis and Eurynome hidden him. He worked secretly with the two goddesses for nine years in a cave perfecting his craft before emerging to claim his rightful place among the Olympians.

Hera tells a different story of how Hephaistos was ejected from Mount Olympos ... in the Homeric Hymn to Apollon, she says that she, not Zeus, cast Hephaistos into the sea. Hera also curses Thetis for caring for Hephaistos and says that surely there must have been other services she could have performed for the Immortals without encouraging her lame son.

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Hephaistos Displays His Craft

His skill with all things mechanical is phenomenal. He fashioned his own mechanical helpers to assist him in his work. They are golden and in the form of living young women; strong, vocal and intelligent. He built tri-pods that move of their own accord at the feasts on Mount Olympos. Some of his finest robotic creations were not in his workshop or displayed on Mount Olympos. There is an island named Scheria which is inhabited by a race called the Phaiakians (Phaeacians). The Phaiakians were descended from Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and in many ways, favored by the Immortals. The Immortals would visit the Phaiakians without disguise which was very unusual. Hephaistos built several unique robotic devices for King Alkinoos (Alcinous) of the Phaiakians. At the palace entrance on either side of the golden doors stand gold and silver dogs. The dogs are immortal and ever vigilant. The walls inside the palace are lined with golden youths holding torches to provide light. These golden youths were also robotic creations of Hephaistos.

He built the homes of all the Olympians and fitted them with clever locks which the other Immortals cannot undo. With the help of the Cyclops, he hammers out lightning bolts for Zeus and all manner of subtle and gentle devices for the Immortals, heroes as well as for mere mortals. The Homeric Hymn to Hephaistos praises him for giving humankind the skills and crafts which allowed them to emerge from the caves and live in houses and have peaceful lives.

Herakles (Heracles) was carrying a shield crafted by Hephaistos when he confronted and killed the son of Ares, Kyknos (Cycnus). The shield was alive with animated scenes from everyday life and brutally realistic acts of warfare and mayhem. When Odysseus encountered the 'shade' of Herakles at the entrance to the Underworld, he noted the grisly armor that Herakles wore and hoped that the artist who designed those horrid images would never again display his craft.

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Hephaistos and Thetis

When Thetis went to Hephaistos for armor for her son, Achilles, she was greeted by Hephaistos and his wife Charis with open arms. Hephaistos never forgot the nurturing kindness that Thetis had freely given. The armor he made for Achilles was so bright, and obviously god-made, that the Trojans fled at the sight of such a divinely protected warrior. Those who didn't flee were killed without mercy and stripped of their armor and their honor by the, seemingly invincible, Achilles. But even the skill of Hephaistos cannot protect mortals from the web and weave of the Erinys (Fates). Achilles was killed on the battlefield of Troy and the armor that Hephaistos gave him became the object of fierce dispute and hatred.

When Odysseus was at the entrance to the Underworld, he saw the sulking 'shade' of Aias (Ajax) and wanted to speak to the fallen hero but Aias would not even acknowledge Odysseus's presence. After the death of Achilles at Troy, Aias desperately wanted the armor that Hephaistos had made for the, now dead, hero but it was given to Odysseus instead. Aias had never forgiven Odysseus, not even in death, for the injustice of not being awarded the dazzling god-crafted armor.

Also, when Thetis married Peleus, the newlyweds were presented a gift of an ashen spear which Cheiron (Chiron) had cut, Athene had polished and Hephaistos had fashioned the head.

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The Wives of Hephaistos

In The Iliad, we are told that Hephaistos's wife is Charis which might be literally translated as Grace. In The Odyssey, we learn that his wife is Aphrodite (goddess of Love). When Helios (the Sun) saw Aphrodite and Ares (the god of War) in the embrace of love, he told Hephaistos of the deception. The noble smith devised a clever trap to snare the lovers and, once captured, displayed them to the other Immortals and proclaimed his anger and shame. Hephaistos refused to release the ensnared couple until he received an adulterers payment from Ares. Poseidon (lord of the Sea) offered to pay if Ares defaulted and Hephaistos finally loosed the embarrassed lovers from their bonds.

We also learn from the poem Theogony that Hephaistos took Aglaia, the youngest of the Graces, as his wife. We are not told of their children or other details.

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Hephaistos and Pandora

When the first woman was crafted by the Immortals she was named Pandora. Her name means All-Endowed because, at the command of Zeus, she was given gifts from various Immortals and was thus Endowed By All.

Zeus created Pandora as a gift for Epimetheus and despite warnings from his brother Prometheus, Epimetheus accepted Pandora because she was irresistible. Pandora was the punishment to the race of men because Prometheus had given them fire stolen from Zeus.

Hephaistos molded Pandora's body from earth into the likeness of a modest young girl. He also fashioned an animated and vocal golden crown for her head. Athene taught Pandora the skills of weaving and gave her dexterity. Aphrodite put a mist upon Pandora's head to engender longings and desire. Hermes gave her the mind of a hussy and a treacherous nature. The Graces and Peitho (Persuasion) gave her necklaces of gold and the Seasons put a halo of flowers around Pandora's head.

When Epimetheus accepted Pandora he unleashed all the evils on the world. The only positive influence that Pandora brought to the world of men was Hope (Ελπς) and although women were designed as a curse to men, the only thing worse than marriage was for a man to live and die without the love of a woman.

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Hephaistos and Orion

While the hunter Orion was on the island of Chios he outraged Merope, the daughter of Oenopion, by his drunkenness. Oenopion blinded Orion and the injured hunter was forced to flee to the island of Lemnos. Hephaistos took pity on Orion and gave him a servant named Kedalion (Cedalion) to act as his guide. Orion carried Kedalion on his shoulders to point out the roads and help him find his way around the world until he encountered Helios (the Sun) and was healed.

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Hephaistos and King Aietes

When the Olympians were at war with the Giants, Hephaistos participated in the fighting. During the fierce warfare, Hephaistos became faint and Helios (the Sun) carried the exhausted Hephaistos away in his chariot. To repay the kindness, Hephaistos gave gifts to Helios's son, King Aietes (Aeetes) of Kolchis (Colchis).

King Aietes was a fierce and proud man who had the distinction of having the Golden Fleece which was from a flying ram created by his father, Helios. The ram was created to help Phrixus and Helle escape their evil stepmother, Ino. Helle fell from the flying ram's back and was drowned in the sea but Phrixus successfully flew to Kolchis where King Aietes welcomed him and allowed him to marry his daughter, Chalkiope (Chalciope). The ram was sacrificed and the Golden Fleece was kept in the Garden of Ares where it was guarded by an ever vigilant dragon. Possession of the Golden Fleece gave King Aietes much renowned but it could not protect him from the inevitable fate of losing the Golden Fleece, two of his children and his reputation.

Hephaistos built an elaborate palace for King Aietes which had features only the Artificer of the Immortals could have conceived and built. The entrance to the palace had wide gates and columns topped by bronze triglyphs. Inside was a garden with vines covered with green foliage in full bloom. In the midst of the garden were four fountains. One fountain gushed with milk, another with wine, the third gushed fragrant oil and the last fountain supplied water which was cold in the summer and warm in the winter.

The inner courtyard had many well-fitted doors and chambers. Along each side of the courtyard were richly-wrought galleries with four lofty buildings. King Aietes lived in the tallest structure with Queen Eidyia. Aietes's son Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) occupied another tower, Aietes's daughters Medeia (Medea) and Chalkiope occupied another and the remaining building was home to the palace handmaidens.

Hephaistos fashioned two bulls for King Aietes. The bulls had feet and mouths of bronze and when the bulls breathed, fierce flames came from their mouths. Hephaistos also made an unbending plough for the bulls to pull. The plough was made of a single piece of bronze and was indestructible.

When Jason and the Argonauts arrived in Kolchis, King Aietes promised that he would give them the Golden Fleece if Jason could harness the bulls, plow a field, plant dragon's teeth and then defeat the Earth-Born warriors who would grow from the dragon's teeth. Jason was only able to accomplish the feat with the help of King Aietes's sorceress daughter, Medeia.

Medeia married Jason and never returned to her father's divinely built palace ... her half-brother Apsyrtos was killed attempting to catch Jason and Medeia after they fled with the Golden Fleece. The final fate of King Aietes's palace is unknown but we might assume that such a divinely conceived structure was never destroyed ... perhaps it is still at the site of ancient Kolchis buried under thousands of years of accumulated debris.

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Hephaistos is often confused with the Roman god, Volcanus.

Hephaistos in The Iliad

(listed by book and line)

The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Wyatt translations of The Iliad. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use.

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Hephaistos in The Odyssey

(listed by book and line)

The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Dimock translations of The Odyssey. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use.

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Other Text References

Theogony

Works and Days

Catalogue of Women

(Loeb Classical Library vol. 503, Hesiod II)

The Astronomy

The Shield of Herakles

Hymn to Pythian Apollon III

Hymn to Hermes IV

Argonautika

Histories by Herodotus

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