Hephaestus is the God of fire, metal working, stone masonry and forges.  He is known as the God of art and sculpture too. He is the son of Zeus and Hera and was married to Aphrodite by Zeus to prevent a war of the gods fighting for her hand. Aphrodite was not happy with this proposal though.

Usually, Hephaestus is depicted wearing a short tunic, that is typically worn by craftsmen and is seen holding an axe or the blacksmith’s pincers. Symbols associated with Hephaestus include the quail, tongs, anvil, and hammer.  Hephaestus made the archery sets for Apollo and Artemis and also made Athena’s spear. Hephaestus was the one who made the Achilles’ shield and armour to use in the Trojan War. Hephaestus was believed to do most of his metal work under a volcano.  

In some legends, it is mentioned that Hephaestus was deformed at birth. His deformed and crooked feet made it impossible for him to walk normally and gracefully. Because of this, he is often depicted hunched over or even with a cane. In some stories, it is said that Hephaestus was thrown off a mountain by Hera because he was lame. Hephaestus learnt about this when he grew up, and that is when he decided to take revenge on Hera by making a beautiful golden throne for her and sent it to Mount Olympus. Hera saw the throne and immediately sat on it. An outstanding craftsman that he was, Hephaestus had made invisible and unbreakable chains to the throne, which appeared the moment Hera sat on the throne and these chains tied her up. Hera cried for help and all the Olympian gods ran to help her, but none of them could break the chains. They devised a plan and asked Dionysius, the God of wine to offer sweet wine to Hephaestus to intoxicate him. The plan worked and Hephaestus freed Hera from the chains.