Hephaestus is the most hardworking among the gods. He rarely visited Zeus, and everyone was accustomed to consider him a loner. But in fact, he is not a loner. In his unusual forge on the island of Lemnos or in the middle of Etna, among the faithful cyclops of the divine, the mechanic works day and night, not resting, as if he finds satisfaction only in hard work. He forges lightning for Zeus, repairs the chariot of the Sun. Everyone who needs a sword, shield, beautiful golden shell, goes to Hephaestus, confident that the lame blacksmith will not refuse him. When Hephaestus has more free time, he can forge a rod for some king or fool over the female jewelry, which the Olympic goddesses always lack.
Everything that comes out of his hands is very beautiful and expertly made, and at times simply amusing, such as, for example, slaves of gold that move as if alive; armchairs, which themselves run through the hall, where the gods advise; a chair ... Oh, that was something terrible. Two cyclops appeared before the gates of Olympus and said that they had brought the Queen of Heaven a gift from their master. It was a chair. Great chair. All of the gold and precious stones. Very comfortable. Hera ordered to put him in his chambers and immediately sat on him. But suddenly do not understand where some ticks and put came out and grabbed the goddess so tightly that she could not move. Who knows what would have happened if they had not asked the crafty mechanic to come at last and rescue Hera from that ridiculous captivity.
And again Hephaestus returned to his forge. In a huge furnace, an eternal flame burns, which is thought, breathing hoarse, mighty furs. In ugly, smoky boilers, various metals melt: gold, iron, copper, silver flows in a brilliant stream. Huge nippers gnaw at the black headquarters, on which the hammers so gnaw that the earth is already trembling. The forges are filled with roar and din, and Hephaestus, limping and wiping sweat from his forehead, paces along the workers and gives orders.
From time to time, he stops and through a hole looks at the sky lit by golden sunlight. From high Olympus, you can hear singing and music. Apollo picks the strings of his cipher, and the muses play a new hymn. The blacksmith thinks about his youth. His parents were Zeus and Hera — the royal son. He was brought up on Olympus, and who had no doubt that someday a very wise god would grow out of him. He loved his mother and stood up for her when Zeus hung Hera to the top of Olympus. Father was so angry that he threw Hephaestus to the ground. He flew all day and even at night, like a meteor, fell to the island of Lemnos, breaking his legs. The goddess Thetis took him under guardianship and brought her into her coral house. Here light penetrates through the prism of water, where large aquatic plants curl along the walls of the grotto, and the spirits of the sea play on shells and sing.
Hephaestus was getting better. In gratitude for his care, he made beautiful silver-footed nymphs beautiful jewelry: such a sophisticated necklace, as if it were from the fluff of seafoam, bracelets, rings, tiaras. And all this shone in the azure water as drowned stars twinkled. He lived for nine years until his father and mother and the whole Olympus forgot about him. Everyone was sure that Hephaestus died somewhere in the ocean. And he did not want to return to the world from where he was so cruelly expelled.
But once Dionysus, the god of wine, got drunk of Hephaestus, put him on a donkey and drove to Olympus. The joy was unimaginable. Because everyone knew that Hephaestus was a good friend, witty, smart, and above all, incredibly useful: he would do everything and fix everything. Zeus, wanting to show respect to Hephaestus and reward him for his long-standing insults, gave him the most beautiful Aphrodite among the goddesses.
It couple was not happy. The goddess of beauty did not like the life of her husband. She loved the world, gods, and people, and he - only her forge; she wanted to be where fun and dancing were, and he, besides work, did not know any other pleasure. He made beautiful jewelry, and he walked like the last slave, always dirty and grimy. But everyone forgot that Hephaestus was once young, handsome and cheerful, like other gods, and only then he launched himself, became gloomy. And the fact that Zeus married him the most beautiful goddess, he considered for a new mockery of his ugliness.
Hephaestus was the god of fire, this engine of progress. He loved people and taught them how to craft metal and make art. He was especially revered on the island of Lemnos. There was, it seems, the oldest center of the Hephaestus cult associated with a volcano that has been active on that island since ancient times and went out only under Alexander the Great.