Hephaestus was
the Greek god of blacksmiths, sculptors, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes; thus,
he is symbolised with a hammer, an anvil and a pair of tongs.

According
to Homer’s epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, he was the son of Zeus and Hera.
However, Hesiod informs us that Hera bore Hephaestus alone.
According to an account, after Hephaestus was
born, Hera threw
him from Olympus because he was crippled; he fell into the ocean and was raised
by Thetis and Eurynome.
Another myth has it that he once tried to protect his mother from Zeus‘
advances and as a result, the father of the Gods flung him down from Olympus,
which caused his physical disability; he fell on the island of Lemnos where he
became a master craftsman. He was later accepted back to Olympus, and became
the craftsman of the gods, creating majestic armors, shields and weapons.

He was
married to Aphrodite;
after he learned his wife had an affair with her brother, Ares,
he devised a plan with which he humiliated both lovers to the other gods.