HephaestusHephaestus
God of Fire, Smithing and The Forge
Name: Hephaestus (he-FEE-stus or he-FESS-tus), God of Fire, Smithing and The Forge. He is also know as Vulcan by the Romans, and goes by the name of Kristos Kringus and Reorx sometimes. Hephaistos is another common name for him. Cassie has given him the loving private nicknames of either Hep or Honey (of which the last one causes him to blush)
Appearance: Of all the Olympian gods, Hephaestus is the only one who is considered to be ugly, being born weak and crippled with terrible lameness. However, in greek art, Hephaestus is usually shown as an animated cripple bent over his anvil. He used to wear a beard but since he married Cassandra and she finds it itchy, he doesn't wear it much anymore. Also, he found that it became annoying when his beard kept on catching alight. However, he found that this delights Clio so sometimes, he just does it to make her laugh.
However, he normally wears a pair of lightweight steel frames containing clear polished crystals. Homer described Hephaestus as lame and walking with the aid of a stick, which is true sometimes.
As his wife Cassandra jokes, he has a big stomach that rocks like a bowl fully of jelly and rosy red cheeks..
When he gets really really envious, he can't help changing into a green-eyed purple octopus form with a squeaky voice.
Worship, Temples and Sacred Locations : On the island of Lemnos, he has a palace that he sometimes uses, and considers the island to be sacred. Hephaestus is also associated with Mount Etna, which is on the island of Sicily, where his forge is located under Etna.
Hepheastus was worshiped mainly in Athens as the patron god of both smiths and weavers, where the Temple of Hephaestus and Athena (the Hephaesteum, also known as the Theseum) still stands. It is the most complete example of a "Doric" temple (one of the three orders in Greek architecture). It was built in 449 BCE and stands on a hill close to the Agora at the foot of the Acropolis. Also, he was worshipped in other manufacturing centres around Greece. Hephaestus and Athena Ergane (protectress of craftsman and artisans) were honoured with the festival "Chalceia" on the 30th day of the month Pyanopsion.
The Romans took Hephaestus as one of their own gods attaching the myth and cult to their god of fire and calling him Vulcan.
Recently after his marriage to Cassandra, Hephaestus has been considering expanding his temples to various other locations. Cassie already suggested one on Lesbos and maybe a joint temple somewhere else. Hephaestus hasn't gotten around it it yet.
Personality: Some
legends showed that Hephaestus was a kind friendly and peaceful god who loved
making things for others. However, he also had a very jealous personality and
was bitter about how the other gods treated him.
Despite the great adversities in his life, he has a very good yet sometimes quirky sense of humor. Since many of the Olympian gods did not take the time to notice or show friendship to Hephaestus, they did not know this, and Cassandra is one of the few that do. He is also a very private person and trys to stay in the shadows, the opposite of Cassie.
Now that he has a daughter, he is determined to give her whatever she wants. His wife, Cassie, continually reminds him not to spoil her or she will turn into a brat. His only response is that maybe Cassie should stop being a hypocrite, and just continues. Even though Clio is grown up now, he still makes toys for her, and doesn't mind that her toys have become very sexual. He still thinks her of an innocent little angel though, and spoils her.
Hobbies and Interests: Unbeknownst to any of the other gods, Hephaestus delights in making intricate animated and inanimate toys, which he secretly delivers to children around Greece. So that he does not scare the children, he wears a bright red suit with white trimming, a similiar soft hat and a big white fake beard. Even though he has his own daughter, he still continues helping other children as well.
Underneath, Hephaestus is a tinkerer and when he isn't making items, he is taking apart previously-build devices and modifiying them for new uses. In addition, he tries to find new uses for pre-existing items. At the moment, he is working on finding out whether he can harness the power of Zeus's thunderbolts to provide safe and easy means for providing both heat and light to the mortals in Greece. At the moment, he is toying with the name of Elektros for this invention.
Powers: Being a great craftsman, Hephaestus manufactured wonderful articles from various materials, primarily from metal. He was smith, architect, armorer, chariot builder and artist of all work in Olympus - dwelling place of the gods. He built of brass the houses of the gods, he made for them the golden shoes with which they trod the air or the water, and moved from place to place with the speed of the wind or even of thought. He also shed with brass the celestial steeds, which whirled the chariots of the gods through the air or along the surface of the sea.
With help from the Cyclopes, who were his workmen and assistants, he fashioned the thunderbolts for Zeus and his sceptre. He made weapons and armour for the other gods and heroes. For Athena, he made her shield or aegis and for the god of love, Eros, he made the arrows. The wonderful chariot which the sun god Helios rode across the sky was made by Hephaestus and in some versions it was a golden cup or goblet. He also fashioned the invincible armour of Achilles.
Hephaestus accomplished numerous prodigies of craftsmanship, such as the marvelous palaces that he built for the gods atop Mount Olympus, or the armor that he made for Achilles during the siege of Troy (the description of which occupies a great many lines of Homer's epic of the Trojan War). While Hephaestus did make inanimate objects, he also became curious about bringing life to the inanimate. The culmination of his work in this area was the bronze giant, Talos. Hephaestus helped to create the first woman, with the assistance of other gods, after Zeus had ordered that there be a new kind of human.
Background: Although he was born as one of the sons of Zeus and Hera, Zeus had nothing to do with the conception. Hephaestus was parthenogenetic, meaning he was conceived without male fertilisation.
He was quickly dispised by his siblings, who actively teased and taunted him without limit. One of their favourite past-times was running away from him and hiding his posessions. One particular legend says that Hephaestus wished to marry Athena, who was also a patron of smiths, but she refused because she found him ugly. Although Athena spruned him, they are at least sociable and have temples close to each other in Athens, where they share a temple and celebratory day.
Hephaestus created the first woman, Pandora, at the command of Zeus, in retaliation for the various tricks by which the Titan Prometheus had benefited mortal men at the expense of the gods. Pandora was given to the Titan's brother, Epimetheus, as his wife. For her dowry she brought a jar filled with evils from which she removed the lid, thereby afflicting men for the first time with hard work and sickness. Only hope remained inside the jar.
At one point early on in his life, Zeus threw him from Mount Olympus after Hephaestus had sided with his mother in a quarrel. 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.
Because he did not believe that his mother loved him,Hephaestus fashioned a magic throne to gain revenge for his rejection by Hera and Zeus, which was presented to Hera on Mount Olympus. When Hera sat on the throne, it entrapped her, making her a prisoner. The gods on Mount Olympus pleaded with Hephaestus to return to their heavenly domain, as to release Hera, but he refused. Dionysus gave the smith god wine, and when Hephaestus was intoxicated, Dionysus took him back to Mount Olympus slumped over the back of a mule. This scene was a favourite in Greek art. Hephaestus released Hera after being given the beautiful Aphrodite as his bride. Dionysus was rewarded by being made one of the Olympian Pantheon. Hephaestus mainly spent his time at his forge or trying to convince Dite that she should be a better wife. His marriage was not going well and Hephaestus was suspicious that Aphrodite reguarly committed adultery.
When the half-nymph Cassandra became a full goddess, she visited her uncle and took an interest in him, despite his appearance. While Hephaestus was very wary and distant at first, he gradually warmed to her presence and realised that she did not have ulterior motives, seeing him as someone who was just misunderstood. He gave her small trinkets and gifts.
One day shortly after, Cassandra asked him to make her some cold steel rings like Hercules's arm bands so she could put them in piercings of her navel, nipples and earlobes, in exchange for whatever he wanted. In a point of emotional weakness due to his sorrow, Hephaestus put forth a deal of a month of passion, and Cassandra readily accepted to his surprise. He became infactuated with the mischievous goddes quickly, and what started as a simple incident quickly grew and became a regular deal.
However, Hephaestus did not believe that Dite was fulfilling her responsibilities. It should have been very obvious to Hephaestus that Dite was being unfaithful due to the long string of children she was passing off for his when he had only been with her once for a very very brief night, yet he did not want to see it. Finally, Helios the sun informed him exactly what was happening and he became enraged. Heading to his forge, he worked day & night, creating an extraordinary chain-link net trap, so fine and strong no one could escape from it.
Then one day he surprised Aphrodite and the war god Ares as they lay together in bed. He threw his magic net over them and hauled them before the Olympian gods and exhibited them as they were, naked and wrapped in each others arms. Hephaestus asked the assembled gods for just retribution, but they did the total opposite. The gods roared with laughter at the sight of the naked lovers. Stepping forwards, Poseidon offered to pay damages if Ares did not. After this, Hephaestus allowed the couple to go free.
Recently, his marriage to Aphrodite was absolved by Zeus at Dite's request. In exchange, Hephaestus was married to Cassandra and Calina in return - one of the only times when a god had two wives at once. Although not happy at first, Cassandra realised that the situation was pleasurable. Even though Cassandra was considered to be a kinky & tempestous slut with a vile temper, Hephaestus loved both her & Calina and was very happy as well, especially after the sham that his previous marriage was.
The wedding was recently culminated in Cassandra becoming pregant with a daughter, Clio. Although Hephaestus was furious when his wife also became pregnant with Ares's child, he did not punish her. He had planned to make sure that Ares was punished, but after Ares and Hera were involved in the kidnapping of Cassie and Ares's joint child, Poissa, Hephaestus realised that his wife was far better able to punish Ares.
He decided to actively stay out of the numerous and incredibly violent wars between the Olympians, just watching as the combined work of Zeus, Hades, Ares, Hera, Dite, Poissa, Cassandra and Poseidon ravage Greece.
When Zeus needed some work done, Hephaestus arranged with for a holiday inside a temporal bubble. He was surprised a little when both Clio and Poissa seduced him, and became pregnant.
By the time that they left the bubble and the village was returned, a whole string of children from Cassie, Calina, Clio and Poissa came out too.
Already, Hephaestus has started drawing up plans for all sorts of wonderful items that he wants to build for Clio, Poissa and the numerous children from the time in the bubble.
The issues between Hades and Zeus dragged him away from his forge, but now that it is over & Zeus has made a decree, he plans on getting back to his work.. as long as nothing else intervenes.
Send Hermes to Hephaestus