Mount Olympus 14 Part eleven: Hephaestus and Hermes

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.

See Also: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Thetis, Eurynome

Hephaestus Is also called Vulcan.



Hermes was the Greek god of commerce, son of Zeus and Maia. Quick acting and cunning, he was able to move swiftly between the world of man and the world of gods, acting as a messenger of the gods and the link between mortals and the Olympians.

He was the protector of travelers, thieves and athletes. He occassionally tricked the other gods for his own amusement or in an effort to protect humans. With the ability to move freely between worlds, he also served as the guide of the souls of the dead to the underworld and the afterlife.

When Hermes was born, he jumped out of his crib, stole Apollo's cattle and then went back to his crib playing innocent. However, Apollo figured it out, grabbed Hermes and went to Zeus to complain. The father of gods simply laughed and didn't punish Hermes. To apologise, Hermes gave Apollo the lyre which he had just invented. Hermes appeared in many other myths; in the Odyssey, Odysseus was instructed by the god to chew a magic herb with which he would be able to avoid Circe's powers and not be transformed to animals like his companions; in the myth of Pandora, when the gods provided a trait to her, Hermes gave her the ability to lie and seduce with her words.

See Also: Zeus, Mount Olympus, Apollo, Pandora

Hermes Is also called Mercury, Ermis.

Chapter end