Major Myths

The son of Zeus (pronounced ZOOS) and Hera (pronounced HAIR-uh; or, in some versions, of Hera alone), Hephaestus was lame and deformed. Some stories say that Zeus threw him from Olympus (pronounced oh-LIM-puhs), the mountain home of the gods, for taking Hera’s side in a quarrel with Zeus and that Hephaestus became lame as a result of the fall. Other myths say that Hephaestus was born lame and that Hera threw him from Olympus because she was ashamed of his deformity. He landed in the ocean and was rescued by sea nymphs—or

Son of Zeus and Hera

Female nature deities—who raised him in a cave under the sea and taught him many skills.

Hephaestus became a master craftsman. One day he gained his revenge on Hera for throwing him off Olympus by creating for her a golden throne that contained a trap. When she sat on the throne, the trap closed and imprisoned her. The other gods begged Hephaestus to release Hera, but he would not listen. Finally, the god of wine, Dionysus (pronounced dye-uh-NYE-suhs), made Hephaestus drunk and obtained the key to the trap.

As craftsman for the gods, Hephaestus built palaces and other beautiful and wondrous things that enabled the Olympians to live in great luxury. He also fashioned thunderbolts for Zeus, armor for the heroes Achilles (pronounced uh-KILL-eez) and Aeneas (pronounced i-NEE-uhs) that made them unable to be harmed, and a scepter for King Agamemnon (pronounced ag-uh-MEM-non) that gave him great power. Some legends say that Hephaestus created Pandora (pronounced pan-DOR-uh) so that Zeus could take revenge on Prometheus (pronounced pruh-MEE-thee-uhs) for giving fire to humans. Hephaestus later made the chains that bound Prometheus to a mountain.

Hephaestus often appeared as a comic figure in myths and had little luck in love. One time he took an ax and split Zeus’s skull to relieve a headache, and the goddess Athena (pronounced uh-THEE-nuh) sprang fully grown from the head. He fell in love with Athena, but she rejected him. He also courted Aphrodite (pronounced af-ro-DYE-tee), who accepted his offer of marriage but then had love affairs with others, including the god Ares (pronounced AIR-eez). Hephaestus fashioned a fine golden net and caught his wife and Ares in it. He then called the other gods so that they could laugh at the couple, but instead they mocked Hephaestus. The gods often made fun of him because of his limp and his soot-covered face, which came from working over the fire at his craft.