The Story Of Hephaestus With Moral Lesson And Summary

Hephaestus was the god of fire and the divine blacksmith. He was also called the ‘celestial artificer’ and patron of craftsmen,’ for he was also associated with other crafts like sculpting, carpentry, and metal works.

In art, he is depicted as a middle-aged bearded man who wears a short sleeveless tunic and a round close-fitting cap on his messy hair.

The god of fire, Hephaestus, was the son of the gods Zeus and Hera. Others say that he was born lame and ugly, but some say that in a fit of temper after a family quarrel, Zeus threw him off Mount Olympus when he was a baby.
He fell for one whole day and broke his legs when he landed on earth. Luckily, Thesis, the sea goddess, and Eurynome saved him and raised him under the ocean for the nine following years.

He became a great blacksmith when he grew up. Hephaestus was often misjudged in comparison to his other divine relatives.

His appearance may be worse, but his skills were prolific. He slowly planned revenge against his parents.

He made a golden throne, so mesmerizing that Hera couldn’t contain herself but accepted it immediately. However, by the time she sat on the throne, it came to life and captured her in its golden arms.

Many gods convinced him to be free in return for a place on Olympus. However, no one was good enough to persuade him until Dionysus got him drunk and made him free Hera.

From it, he was hailed as the god of fire and forge. He married and was deeply loved by none other than Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.

On the other hand, she is not faithful to Hephaestus, for she sleeps with Ares without knowing it. The time came that he caught the lovers and confined them in a woven net.

He called up the other gods to laugh at their indignity. Poseidon convinced him to free the cheaters, but he wasn’t done yet.

In the wedding of Harmonia, Aphrodite and Ares’s daughter, to Cadmus, he bestowed her a magical necklace that whoever wears will encounter bad luck.

There is also a time that Hephaestus forced himself on the goddess Athena. In time, Athena managed to escape from him, so his seed fell on earth and was conceived by Gaea. She later gave birth to Erichthonius, the early ruler of Athens.

Despite his misfortune in love, he is still most looked upon by the gods, for he made many things, including the home of the gods on Mount Olympus. He used a volcano to heat the metal, and it erupted every time he struck his hammer.

Finally, Hephaestus was the creator of some of the most valuable military equipment, even seen as the shield of Achilles.

He also made the scepter of Agamemnon, the breastplate of Diomedes, and the sword of Peleus. And, at the request of the god Zeus, he sculpted Pandora, the first mortal woman.