Historiae Romanorum
Hephaestus
One
of the two sons of Zeus and Hera.
Hephaestus is the brother of Ares and
Hebe. Hephaestus is the god of the forge and fire. Often, he is
referred to as Ambidexter. He was always portrayed as crippled, although
there are several different versions of how this happened.
Hesiod has Hephaestus taking Aglaia, one of
the three Graces, as his wife. Ovid and other
later authors write that Hephaestus was married to the unfaithful
Aphrodite, who spent far more time with his brother
Ares, who fathered several gods with her.
Hephaestus does not live on Olympus with the other
gods, but instead dwells inside the volcano Mt. Aetna, created when
Typhaon collapsed to the earth. It was
Hephaestus, who created the first woman, Pandora.
The Romans identified Hephaestus with Vulcan, their god of fire and the forge.
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