Hephaestus
n.
god of fire and metalwork and crafts (Greek Mythology)
Hephaestus
Hephaestus (
IPA pronunciation: or ;
Greek Hēphaistos) was the Greek god whose Roman equivalent was
Vulcan; he was the god of
technology,
blacksmiths,
craftsmen,
artisans,
sculptors,
metals and
metallurgy, and
fire. He was worshipped in all the manufacturing and industrial centers of
Greece, especially
Athens identified by Greek colonists in southern Italy with the volcano gods
Adranus of
Mount Etna and Vulcanus of the Lipara islands, and his forge moved here by the poets. The first-century sage
Apollonius of
Tyana is said to have observed, "there are many other mountains all over the earth that are on fire, and yet we should never be done with it if we assigned to them giants and gods like Hephaestus" (Life of Apollonius of Tyana, book v.16).
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Hephaestus
Noun
1. (Greek mythology) the lame god of fire and metal-working in ancient mythology; identified with Roman Vulcan
(synonym) Hephaistos
(hypernym) Greek deity
(classification) Greek mythology
Hephaestus
[Greek] Hephaestus, the god of fire, especially the blacksmith's fire, was the patron of all craftsmen, principally those working with metals. He was worshiped predominantly in Athens, but also in other manufacturing centres. He was the god of volcanos. Later, the fire within them represented the smith's furnace. Hephaestus was associated with Mount Etna, which is on the island of Sicily. Known as the lame god, Hephaestus was born weak and crippled. Displeased by the sight of her son, Hera threw Hephaestus from Mount Olympus, and he fell for a whole day before landing in the sea. Nymphs rescued him and took him to Lemnos, where the people of the island cared for him. But other versions say Zeus threw him from Mount Olympus after Hephaestus had sided with his mother in a quarrel. This legend says that Hephaestus fell for nine days and nine nights, and he landed on the island of Lemnos. It was on Lemnos where he built his palace and his forges under a volcano. To gain revenge for his rejection...
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Hephaistos
Hephaistos, Hephaestus (Greek) A fire god, child of Zeus and Hera, equivalent to the Latin Vulcanus or Vulcan. He is twice cast down from Olympus, to which however he returns; thus he is a messenger of the gods to earth, and appears on various planes as a manifestation of cosmic fire. He is a kabir, a cosmic teacher of men, whom he instructed in the use of fire and the metallurgic arts. Jupiter, or the four-faced or four-sided Brahma, partakes of all four elements and disputes his fiery function to Hephaistos. The volcanic island of Lemnos, on which Hephaistos is said to have fallen when cast from Olympus, was sacred to him.
Hephaistos has both a cosmic and an earthly significance; and because he is essentially a fire god, his nature and functions are necessarily involved with all the mystical ranges of thought into which fire enters: the fire of spirit, the fire of intellect, the fire of creative activity, etc. He may generally be identified with the fiery or aspiring element in human beings derivative from the higher manas, which links Hephaistos with the manasaputric activities.
As the smith of the gods, he is related to the kabiri, the instructor of mankind in the metal arts. He made thunderbolts for Zeus, armor, jewelry, and other items for the gods, and is said to have molded the first woman, Pandora, which was sent to Epimetheus.