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Hephaestus, the Greek God of Fire, was either the son of Zeus and Hera or by Hera alone. One story was that Hera had Hephaestus to get even with Zeus for bringing forth Athena. Most of the Greek gods were beautiful but he alone was ugly and lame. In one place in Homer's Iliad it is told that his mother threw him out of heaven when she saw that he was deformed. Another time it is said that Zeus became angry with Hephaestus when he tried to defend his mother and Zeus threw him out of heaven. In either case he was supposed to have landed in the sea and rescued by the Nymphs who took him to the island of Lemnos where he was cared for.

In Olympus he was respected and honored because he was the workman of the Gods. He made their armors, shoed their horses, made their weapons and made their houses and furnishings. The thunderbolts and the scepter that Zeus carried were made by Hephaestus. He made handmaidens out of gold who could move around and help him with his work. Some poets wrote that the forge of Hephaestus was under a volcano and would cause eruptions.

Different poets gave different names to the wife of Haphaestus. In the Iliad she is one of the Graces and the writer Hesiod called her Aglaia. One of the myths said that Hephaestus wanted to marry Athena but she found him ugly and refused. In the Odyssey his wife was Aphrodite. One story said he thought Aphrodite was being unfaithful. To catch her he made a chain-link net and one day caught her and Ares together. He threw the magic net over them and exhibited them before the other gods where he asked for retribution. Instead the gods laughed at the sight of the naked lovers and allowed the couple to go free.

Hephaestus was popular both on heaven and on earth because he was a kindly, peace-loving god. Along with Athena they were the patrons of handicrafts and were important in the life of the city. He was the protector of the smiths and Athena was the patron of the weavers. Hephaestus was the god of the ceremony when children were admitted to the city organization.

At the command of Zeus, Hephaestus created the first woman, Pandora, who was given to Epimetheus as his wife. Her dowry was a jar filled with evils and when the lid was removed they were released into the world only leaving Hope inside.

In the story of Europa and her companions who went out to the meadows near the sea to pick flowers, she carried a basket made of gold. This exquisite basket made by Hephaestus showed the story of Io, her journeys in the shape of a cow, the death of Argus and how Zeus had touched her and changed her back into a woman.

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