Hephaestus

Greek mythology – Present

God of fire, metalwork, and craft; the lame smith of Olympus who makes armor and wonders for gods and heroes.

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Hephaestus was the Greek god of the forge, fire, and skilled making. Myths say he was thrown from Olympus, in some versions by Hera, in others by Zeus, and that he walked with a limp. Greeks still honored him as the master craftsman who could trap even other gods with clever devices. In the Iliad he makes new armor for Achilles. That scene is the cousin of Athena’s craft and of Odysseus’s own making-and-planning mind. Technology, in Greek myth, is divine and a little dangerous. How we know. Athens held festivals for him as a craftsmen’s god. Pair him with Athena’s olive-tree gift in the contest for Athens and the Odyssey journey.

Hephaestus

Further reading