Hephaestus was the Greek god of Fire and Metal work, and as a result had important places of worship spread across ancient Greece. His name may not be one that you immediately think of when asked to name a Greek god, but he was to play an important role in many important Greek myths.
As with many tales of Greek gods and goddesses it is often difficult to get one storyline that allows for all of the tales told about Hephaestus. There is though an essence of similarity in many stories. Hephaestus is generally considered to be the son of Zeus and Hera, although there is a possibility that he was conceived without the intervention of Zeus. Hera may well have been seeking revenge for the Zeus bringing forth Athena without her.
It was immediately obvious that Hephaestus was unlike the other gods of Mount Olympus though, as where as they were all renowned for their beauty, Hephaestus was most definitely ugly. Hephaestus though did not stay long in Olympus as he was thrown either by Hera or by Zeus. Some sources claim that the ugliness of her child so offended Hera that she was the one to cast him aside. Other sources claim that Zeus threw him out in retribution for Hephaestus rescuing his mother from the golden chain that bound her between heaven and earth. It was a trap that Zeus had laid after one of a series of arguments the couple had had.
On being thrown from Olympus, Hephaestus fell to earth, a fall that was to take nine whole days. Hephaestus landed in the ocean near to Lemnos, where he was rescued by the nymphs, Eurynome and Thetis. This fall is often named as the cause of the lameness that afflicted Hephaestus. Hephaestus was raised on the island, and soon turned his hand to becoming a master craftsman. Early work included beautiful settings for jewels, gifts that he gave to the nymphs that had saved him. These works though caught the eye of Hera in Mount Olympus who wanted the master craftsman to create jewellery for her. Hephaestus though was planning revenge on the parents that had abandoned him, and had devised a trap for Hera. It was throne crafted in Hephaestus' workshop, and once Hera sat in it she was completely trapped with no possibility of escape. At other times this action may well have found favour with the other gods of Olympus, but at the time they needed Hera to be free. They begged Hephaestus to return to Mount Olympus, something that he refused to do.
To get Hephaestus to return required the work of Dionysus in getting Hephaestus drunk in order that he could be carried back to Olympus, a journey that is often depicted with Hephaestus on the back of a mule. It is not clear whether Hephaestus was bribed to free Hera, or whether he was rewarded for releasing her, whichever the reason Hephaestus was provided with a new wife, Aphrodite. It was the perfect solution for Zeus, as Aphrodite was the goddess of love, and a likely source of conflict between other gods fighting for her attention.
Once again established with the other Olympian gods, Hephaestus set about building a new workshop under Mount Etna. There he continued to master metalwork, and his work was in high demand. Many of the gods had their weapons created by their fellow god. Hephaestus is credited with the creation of Zeus' breastplate and sceptre; Hermes' sandals and winged helmet; Helios' chariot to pull the sun along; Athena's shield, Eros' bow and arrows; and Aphrodite's girdle. Hephaestus also made armour and weapons for the Greek heroes, creating the armour for Achilles, bronze clappers for Heracles, shoulder guards for Pelops, and Agamemnon's staff.
Hephaestus was not alone in his workshop; he had the first generation Cyclops, sons of Cronus, to assist him. Additionally he also made his own automated assistants out of metal to help with the work. The creation of assistants came in useful when Prometheus stole the secret of fire from the forge of Hephaestus, as in revenge Zeus had Hephaestus create Pandora, the first woman.
The love life of Hephaestus was complicated, and Aphrodite was upset at being married off to the ugly god. She therefore started an affair with the god of war, Ares. Hephaestus though was soon made aware of this tryst, and came up with a plan to catch them in the act of adultery. Hephaestus manufactured an unbreakable chain net, and with the couple caught in it dragged the naked couple back to Mount Olympus for the other Olympians to observe the unfaithfulness of his wife. Hephaestus was after some sort of retribution but all that the other gods did was life at the naked god and goddess caught in the net.
Although married to Aphrodite, Hephaestus was also linked to Cabeiro, a sea-nymph, with whom he is said to have had two sons who became the Cabeiri metalworking gods. A further two sons were the Palici, fathered with Thalia. Hephaestus was said to have fathered a number of children with immortals and mortals, but he was also rejected because of his ugliness. One of these rejections was from the goddess Athena, and as she left his bed, his semen fell to earth to give birth to Erechtheus, a king of Athens.
Hephaestus is well known for his ugliness, and is normally depicted with the tools of his trade, the anvil, tongs and smith's hammer. He is always shown bent over as well, an affliction associated with smiths of ages gone by. Smiths would often work with arsenic, and the fumes would cause deformity and lameness. This deformity though did not stop him being worshipped, with particular worship coming from Athens and other areas where manufacturing was important. The popularity was due to the fact that he was considered to be a generous god, as shown when he gave his own apprentice, Cedalion, to act as a guide for the blind huntsman, Orion.
The story of Hephaestus shows that skill can overcome appearance, and although there is perhaps nothing unique about the god, he was the only god that ever returned to Mount Olympus after being thrown out.