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Definition: Hephaestus from Philip's Encyclopedia

Ancient Greek god of fire and crafts. Son of Zeus and Hera, he is equivalent to the Roman Vulcan. Blacksmith and armourer to the Olympian gods, with a forge under Etna, he is depicted as crippled and uncouth.

Hephaestus

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Greek mythology, the god of fire and metalcraft (Roman Vulcan ); the lame son of Zeus and Hera; and in Homer's Odyssey , husband of Aphrodite, goddess of love. He created armour for the Greek hero Achilles , Harmonia 's magic necklace, and other objects famed in legend. Myth According to Homer, Hephaestus was born lame and thrown down from Olympus by Hera immediately after birth. Rescued by the sea goddesses Eurynome and Thetis, he dwelt in their undersea grotto for nine years before returning to Olympus. He was then hurled earthwards a second time by Zeus, for taking his mother's part in a quarrel. He fell for a whole day, landed in the evening on the island of Lemnos, but returned to Olympus once more. Later writers attributed his lameness to this fall. His workshop contained an anvil and 20 pairs of bellows which worked spontaneously at his bidding. It was originally sited in his palace in Olympus, where he was said to have made all the palaces of the gods, but later accounts…
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From Dictionary of Classical Mythology
Hephaestus, one of the twelve great Olympian gods, was the Greek god of fire and metalworking, identified by the Romans with Vulcan. Either the son of ZEUS and HERA , or born of Hera alone after a quarrel with Zeus, he was crippled from birth. Hera was so ashamed of her son's deformity that she…
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
Greek god of fire, of blacksmiths, and of artisans ( see artisans and craftsmen ). The name, of uncertain etymology, has no certain attestation in Linear B, though there is the possibility of reading a theophoric name in Minoan Cnossus. See minoan civilization . In *Homer , Hephaestus is so closely…
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(hĕfĕs'tӘs), in Greek religion and mythology, Olympian god. According to Homer he was the son of Hera and Zeus, but Hesiod states that he was conceived and borne by Hera alone. Originally an Asian fire god, in Greece he became the divine smith and god of craftsmen. He was worshiped primarily in…
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Greek mythology, the god of fire and metalcraft (Roman Vulcan ); the lame son of Zeus and Hera; and in Homer's Odyssey , husband of Aphrodite, goddess of love. He created armour for the Greek hero Achilles , Harmonia 's magic necklace, and other objects famed in legend. Myth According to Homer, …
| 286 words
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
Also known as: Hephaistos The lame smith god, patron of craftsmen, was worshipped mainly at Athens and other manufacturing centers. Hephaistos was also the god of fire and volcanoes, and this more primitive aspect was probably his original identity. He had an important cult on the volcanic Greek…
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
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Full text Article Hephaestus

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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Full text Article Hephaistos Hephaestus (Greek)

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities
Also known as: Mulciber, Ptah (Egypt), Vulcan (Roman). Divine artisan. Patron of crafts. Lord of artificers. Hephaistos is the son of Zeus and Hera, or by Hera by autogenesis. His siblings are the god of war, Ares, the nymph, Arge, the goddess of strife, Discordia, Eleithyia, and Hebe, the goddess…
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Attic red-figure cup depicting Dionysos bringing Hephaestus back to Mount Olympus, c.480 BC (pottery) (b/w photo)
Artist: Douris, (c.500-460 BC) Location: Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France Credit: Attic red-figure cup depicting Dionysos bringing Hephaestus back to Mount Olympus, c.480 BC (pottery) (b/w photo), Douris, (c.500-460 BC) / Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art…
| 165 words , 1 image
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Full text Article Statuette representing Hephaestus, bronze

From Bridgeman Images: DeAgostini Library
Statuette representing Hephaestus, bronze
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