Hephaestus, the Master Craftsman

Hephaestus, the Greek divinity of fire, is closely revered for his over plight craftsmanship. In works of device he is unremarkably depicted as a middle-aged smith working in his forge, a cracking deal making a thunderbolt for genus genus genus genus genus Zeus. innate(p)(p) of Hera al one and that(a), he was cast subject as a baby from Olympus by his begin for his defective ugliness and dribble for a whole day before he hit the ground. Nine years aft(prenominal)ward he was thrown from the heavens, he returned to Olympus and became one of the xii Olympian Gods. With Zeuss favor, he was able to marry Aphrodite, the idoldess of love, who deplorably neer returned the love he gave to her.Hephaestus was love by the mortals for his kindness and he had an burning(prenominal) role in capital of Greece on board genus Athene. Nearly every weapon, piece of armor, or building of any importance was crafted by Hephaestus. Hephaestus, rejected by his m assorted for his uglines s, helped infinite mortals and deitys, married Aphrodite, and rose to Olympus to compel the master craftsman honored by tout ensemble. Hephaestus is the god of fire but comp permitely in its positive and useful aspect. This likewise includes everything that is carry by by fire. Therefore, any fire that destroys or damages is not attributed to him (Berens 73).He, be a smith, is the protector of smiths, both goldsmiths and forbiddingsmiths and jewelers. Also as a master builder he is the god of builders, masons, and carpenters (Graves 15). He is also considered to be the god of volcanoes because this is where it was believed his forges were located. Inside his forges, he uses genus Cyclopes as his helpers because they have a natural talent for forging (Bolton 178). Not only is Hephaestus a smith, he is also an architect, craftsman, and an artisan (Bulfinch 13). In fact, he is cognize as the master craftsman (Hansen 185).He makes nearly everything that the gods indispensab leness from their weapons and armor, to their homes, palaces and chariots (Hamilton 36). Hephaestus is an ugly god. He is often illustrated with terrific facial features and malformed legs but with bulky upper body strength. Usually he is shown wielding a hammer and working on a weapon or aim of whatsoever kind (Berens 76). In new(prenominal)(a) depictions of art, items often associated with work, much(prenominal) as an axe, a mule, and a pilos, otherwise known as a workmans hat, atomic number 18 employ to repre direct him (Hansen 186). Hesphaestus is also be by the quail.This birds weird dance in the outpouring is seen as similar to how Hephaestus hobbles when he walks (Graves 15). Several stories hold up on how Hephaestus was born. spot all stories twin that he was born to Hera, the goddess of marriage, they differ on when he was born and whether he had a father at all. Some rank that he was born to Hera, alone, because she wanted to control take over to a child by herself after Zeus solely gave stemma to Athena (Martin 88). However, this is contradicted by the story that it was Hephaestus that helped Zeus give cede to Athena by splitting Zeuss ear open to allow Athena to go through out.Therefore, Hera could not have been jealous of Athenas single parent birth since Athena hadnt been born yet (Berens 21). This leads to the rumor where Hera had Hephaestus long before organism married to Zeus (Martin 88). But the easiest story is that Zeus was indeed his father, and he was born before Athena (Bulfinch 15). after(prenominal) Hephaestus was born, Hera cognise that he was ugly and weaken, and to rid herself of such an embarrassment, she threw him false Olympus (Graves 86). He plummeted into the sea, and flyingly he was saved by the sea-goddess Thetis.Thetis took him to an underground core out where she and an oceanide Eurynome took turns caring for and raising the young god (Hansen 183). For nine years he remained undercover in his secret, underground home. By the abate of the nine years he was already an expert craftsman. He make luxuriant items of jewelry, much to the delight of his caretakers (Martin 89). He also made useful objects like clasps, pins, and cups (Hansen 184). While Hephaestus was living with Thetis in the underwater cavern, she told him stories of his birth mother, Hera. After hearing these stories, Hephaestus desperately wanted r sluicege on his mother for throwing him sour Olympus.He began to work non-stop in his forge, leaving only for ambrosia and nectar. Some time subsequently he emerged with a shining black and gold throne, his first-class honours degree masterpiece. Displayed across the wide throne were distinguishable scenes depicting the stories of the gods. He requested that Thetis take the throne to Hera up on rebel Olympus as a gift. When the throne was placed in seem of Hera, she admired it for a long time. After she sat down, she realized that she could not move. occul t bands of force held her in place. She yelled frantically, nerve-wracking to escape but with no success.The other Olympians quickly came to her aid but no(prenominal) of them could release her either. They curtly came to the conclusion that a god had made the throne, but they did not know who could have made it (Martin 89). Thetis, who happened to alleviate be there, explained to the gods who made the throne. Ares immediately volunteered to bugger off Hephaestus, and get dressed off at one time for the underwater cave. When Ares arrived, however, Hephaestus fought him off using fervidness brands. Ares returned to Olympus empty handed and Hera began to fear that she would knock off eternity stuck in a chair. as luck would have it for Hera, Dionysus decided he would give it a try.He gathered an excessive amount of drink and traveled to the cave. He made no sign that he was trying to take Hephaestus to Olympus. Instead he gave Hephaestus the alcohol and soon had him so drun k that Hephaestus couldnt even walk. Dionysus then called upon his satyrs and donkey to escort Hephaestus tolerate to Olympus in a grand march of flute-playing and cymbal-smashing satyrs. Once they arrived at Olympus, Dionysus declared, on behalf of the drunken Hephaestus, that Hera could go only if Hephaestus was allowed to stay on Mount Olympus. Every god favour the agreement so Hephaestus unlocked the throne, specifyting Hera free.From then on, Hephaestus the smith was one of the twelve Olympians (Martin 90). Many people wonder how Olympuss ugliest god became the save to the well-nigh well-favoured goddess. There are several different explanations on how this happened. One story says that when Hephaestus first saw Aphrodite, he immediately fell in love with her and went straight to Zeus and Hera for permission to marry her. Since they both agreed, they became husband and wife (Bolton 178). Another story states that Zeus gave Aphrodite to Hephaestus in thanks for him forg ing his lightning bolts (Bulfinch 4).A different story explains that Zeus married them to accompaniment Aphrodite out of trouble. He popular opinion she compulsory a hardworking and disciplined husband, so he chose Hephaestus (Graves 16). Lastly, one theory says that Zeus set it up as penalise for when Aphrodite refuse him as a lover (Bolton 178). No matter how they got married, one thing is unendingly agreed upon. Hephaestus love Aphrodite, but Aphrodite never returned that love (Hansen 184). Aphrodite never loved Hephaestus because she thought it was shameful to have a feeble and hideous husband (Graves 17).So instead of creation a loyal and faithful wife, Aphrodite had umteen affairs with gods as well as mortals. The most prominent affair was with Hephaestuss brother, Ares, the god of war. When Hephaestus found out active her affair with Ares, he became especially groundless (Hansen 184). Helios came to Hephaestus and told him of the affair between Aphrodite and Ares. H ephaestuss immediate reaction was of rage and revenge (Hansen 184). He went to his smithy and crafted a coupling of unperceivable and indestructible chains. He took the chains and located them over top of his seat, checking to see if it was c at one timealed.Hephaestus told Aphrodite that he would be leaving on pass to Lemnos and pretended to depart. As soon as Aphrodite thought he was gone, she summoned Ares to come. They laid down in Hephaestuss own bed and instantly became trapped (Hansen 185). Hephaestus then returned to his signaling and summoned all of the gods to come with him. There, he let them view the humiliated and trapped lovers in bed (Bolton 180). Hephaestus explained to the gods how Aphrodite hated him for existence crippled and loved Ares for being attractive. All the phallic gods commented on the scene and viewed it without disgust.Several of the goddesses, however, did not whoop it up themselves as much as the masculine gods did (Hansen 185). Everyone la ughed though, and made fun of Ares and Aphrodite, but some mocked Hephaestus as well (Bolton 180). Finally, with some plead from Poseidon, Hephaestus let the embarrassed lovers go (Hansen 185). Hephaestus may have had some problems with his wife, but he was very popular among the mortals. He taught them smithing and the art of metalworking (Berens 74). Aside from that, he was known for being very helpful. Orion once came to Hephaestuss forge on Lemnos after being blinded.Hephaestus took pity on him and sent a guide to take him to Apollo. Because of his helpfulness, all the mortals honored him, and many a(prenominal) of them worshiped him (Berens 73). He has temples on the volcanic Island of Lemnos and Mt. Maschylus (Graves 88). He also has a temple on Mount etna and in Athens. To enter the temple on Mt. Etna, the mortals must pass fearsome hounds, who dish as guards. These hounds have the ability to smack if people are good or evil. With these special guards, only the clean an d spotless souls can enter (Berens 76). His temple in Athens stands alongside the temple of Athena.In Athens he serves alongside Athena as the patron of handicrafts, specifically the guardian of the smiths (Hamilton 37). Hephaestus, being the master craftsman, made a great deal of objects for the good of mankind. Many measure he helped mavenes on their quests, such as Hercules, Aeneas, and Achilles. For Hercules, Hephaestus crafted several gifts. First, he constructed an enormous pair of clappers that were somewhat like cymbals. Hercules used these to scare the Stymphalide birds (Berens 286). He made a golden breastplate on Hercules behalf (Hansen 185).Lastly, he sent Hercules a golden quake as a gift for when he became famous among the gods (Berens 282). For Aeneas, he crafted an impressive set of armor at the request of his goddess-mother (Bulfinch 155). Aeneas used the armor to defeat Turnus in battle. Finally, to the hero Achilles, he gave a set of cloggy armor after Thetis , Achilles mother, asked him to help her son. Achilles had garbled his previous armor and needed a replacement to protect him in his front for Hector. When Hephaestus was visited by Thetis and heard her request, he set all other work off to complete it (Bulfinch 121).Besides helping mortals, Hephaestus had other responsibilities. As the master craftsman, he solely knowing and built the legion(predicate) palaces on Mount Olympus. These include the wondrous palace of Zeus and Hera at the peak of Olympus to the palaces of every other Olympian god to even the rarified thrones that sat in each (Berens 20). Again, being the master craftsman, he built many other things. For mighty Zeus, he made the shield, Aegis and constantly replenishes his supply of thunderbolts (Bulfinch 2). To Artemis he gave armor and arrows to help her on her hunts (Bolton 178).Some of his sterling(prenominal) works were built for Apollo, the god of the sun. These included the magnificent palace of the sun in the east, as well as Apollos own Sun chariot (Bulfinch 23). Hephaestus lived through his harsh and misfortunate creation to become a well respected god, loved for his kindness and honored by the piece and gods that he assisted in numerous ways. Ordinary man chose the common quail, whose springtime dance is like his limping walk, to arrange him. When he was born, his ugliness caused Hera to cast him off Olympus to rid herself of the embarrassment.Thetis took him in, raised him, and he ulterior returned to Olympus in revenge to Hera. Aphrodite became his wife although her verity was to Ares, Hephaestuss brother, and not to her husband. Hephaestus was honored by having temples in Athens and on Mt. Etna. The most marvelous works known to gods or mortals were created by Hephaestus. Even though Hephaestus is the ugliest god on Olympus, he became one of the most popular in heaven as well as on cosmos by happily aiding humans and philanthropic assisting his fellow gods alike.