Greek God Hephaestus

The Greek god Hephaestus was a god that had many roles in Greek society as a deity of artisans, jewelers, metal smiths, technology and fire. Due to his role as a god of these many aspects of technology in Greek society, he was mainly worshiped in the areas of Greece that centered on manufacturing and most particularly in the city of Athens.

Hephaestus, it was told was the son of Hera who she bore without the benefit of a father as her revenge on Zeus for him bearing his daughter Athena without the benefit of her being the mother. However; in some versions of Greek mythology Athena is born out of Zeus by his head being split open by Hephaestus, which of course would place the birth of Hephaestus after that of Athena.

One of Hephaestus jobs amongst the gods was to craft their weapons which were said to hold special powers and many a Greek warrior who demonstrated unusual prowess in battle was alleged to wield a sword that was crafted by Hephaestus himself. However; Hephaestus was responsible for crafting more then just weapons for the gods of the Olympiad as his was the task of producing any technologically advanced specialty item or device that they needed, including such items as Hermes winged helmet and sandals, Aphrodite's girdle, Achilles armor and numerous other mechanical tools of divinity.

Much as in other societies of the time period, blacksmiths and metal workers occupied the lower rungs of of a cast system, were perpetually dirty, covered with soot and many times were crippled and misshapen as a result of their difficult and hazardous occupation. Hephaestus reflected this in the representations of him that appear in in artwork of the times and hence, as with mortal metal workers and manufacturing workers of the day had difficulty in securing an attractive consort.

In fact, much of the mythology surrounding Hephaestus is based on his unrequited love for Athena and his futile attempts to consummate his relationship with the beautiful Greek goddess. However; in other provinces and cities of Greece Hephaestus was credited with having other consorts and with fathering children with them. For instance, in Sicily the consort of Hephaestus was seen as being the nymph Aetna with whom he fathered two sons and on the island of Lemnos his consort was seen as being the sea nymph Cabiero with whom he fathered two sons who were metal working gods as he was.