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Hephaestus, the Greek god smiths, technology and craftsmen, was an ugly, misshapen creature whose repulsive exterior was only rivaled by the ugliness within. When one reads the tales and myths surrounding Hephaestus it is hard to manage any other emotions other than contempt and pity for such a vile and truly despicable creature. Certainly the most unbalanced of all the gods, it seems that Hephaestus spent most of prodigious crafting abilities as well as time to the creation of new methods for settling old scores and petty grudges he had. His parents were Zeus and Hera, and it seems that Hephaestus had managed to inherit the worst attributes of both them, philandering and indiscriminate womanizing from Zeus, and a petty, vengeful streak from Hera. One of the most drastic displays of his lust and misogyny was when he attempted to rape Athena.

Hephaestus was always depicted lame, although the extent of his disability varied from artisan to artisan with some depicting him as merely lame, others, as a man whose feet were so damaged that they made him walk like a crab, forcing him (to his ultimate chargin) to rely on a stick. Equally uncertain and subject to debate is the precise origins of his lameness, some accounts hold that, Hera upon looking upon his face as a child and chilled by his ugliness, casually tossed him out of Mount Olympus where he fell for ten days before landing on Earth, severely harmed.

Other accounts claim that Hephaestus was lame from birth, although the version involving Hera is a far more popular one. It may appear rather alien or at the very least, extremly suprising (if not extremly odd as well) that a divine being such as Hephaestus should be depicted in such a undignified, repulsive way. Given that smiths during Ancient Greece tended to suffer from extremly long bouts of exposure to dangerous and toxic chemicals such as arsenic and mercury, this means that they often suffered muscle cramps and atrophy of the muslces as a result which would invariably result in lameness and paralysis of the lower limbs. The usage of the Hephaestus myth then, served as a reflection of the society in which he presided in.

Hephaestus was an exceptionally gifted God, and it was he who was responsible for the creation of many of the various divine items scattered throughout the myths of Mount Olympus. Prometheus stole fire from Hephaestus, and Hephaestus created Talos, the giant metallic colossus which protected the sea.

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