Hephaestus God of fire and metalworking

Fact file Full name: Hephaestus Aetnaeus. It is pronounced hee-fest-us aye-et-nus. Roman name: Vulcan – The word volcano comes from Hephaestus’ roman name. Sacred animals: Crane – This is because the crane is a migrating bird, like the god himself who was uncomfortable among his people and moved around. Donkey – This animal is related to one of the myths, which is told later.

Fact file Part 2 Sacred items: Hammer and anvil – These tools were used in his forges to make magical items. Parents: He was the son of Hera and Zeus.

Fact file part 3 Strengths and Powers: Hephaestus is immune to fire and made most of the magic weapons the gods used e.g. Hermes' winged sandals, Helios' chariot and Aphrodite’s girdle. Weaknesses: Hephaestus walks with a walker because both his legs were broken when his mum, Hera, tossed him off Mount Olympus. He was addicted to liquor.

The MYTH OF Hephaestus’ revenge When Hephaestus was born, his mother Hera, threw him off Mount Olympus for being ugly. Fortunately. the sea nymph Thetis and her sisters saved him. Once Hephaestus recovered, he had become crippled as both his legs were broken. He was furious and vowed to take revenge but had waited patiently. He rode on a donkey to take his place among the Olympians and had brought thrones for everyone. Each and every one was fabulous and personal to the god. The only god who wasn’t trying out their throne was Hera. Hephaestus asked her to sit down and enjoy her new throne. When she saw everybody else doing it, she decided to try it out. As soon as she sat down, invisible cables wrapped round her. When she struggled they wrapped tighter and tighter. “ Hephaestus let me out” she screamed. “Why should I since you threw me off Mount Olympus” he replied. With that he saddled up his donkey and rode off.

The MYTH OF Hephaestus’ revenge part 2 “How are we going to get her out?” asked Zeus the king of the gods. “Well,” Apollo said “we might just have to find Hephaestus. He’s the only one that knows how.” The gods tried different ways to convince Hephaestus to release Hera but nothing worked. Even Ares, the god of war, threatened Hephaestus into releasing Hera but that didn’t work either. Then Dionysus, God of wine, had an idea. He went to his forge and offered Hephaestus a glass of wine. After the first sip, Hephaestus drank more and more till he became addicted. When Dionysus asked Hephaestus to free Hera, he refused. However, when Dionysus threatened not to give him any more wine, he changed his mind. Once he’d freed Hera, Hera was faithful to Hephaestus and their relationship improved from that day on.

The End Thank you for watching 