Family Tree of Hephaestus
Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera , although it was considered by some that he had been conceived prenuptially. Hephaestus was married to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of Beauty, but unfortunately Aphrodite never devoted herself entirely to Hephaestus.
Hephaestus' Disability
Hephaestus was a very kind and loveable god, but was the only deity who was physically ugly and lame. When his mother Hera saw him for the first time, she was so frustrated that she took her son and threw him from Mount Olympus to the depths of the seas, causing a deformation to his leg. Hephaestus was finally rescued by two Nereids, Thetis and Eurynome, who raised him for nine years inside a cave, far away and hidden from his cruel mother.
The Workshop of Hephaestus
Hephaestus had his working lay beneath the crater of the volcano of Aetna in Italy. There, he was working together closely with the one-eyed Cyclops to create strong thunderbolts for his master Zeus. Hephaestus was also famous for having created the first woman of the ancient world, Pandora.
Symbols of Hephaestus
Fire, the axe, the pincers and the hammer
The Roman name of Hephaestus is "Vulcan"