The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-23
M E N, w o M E N
 A ND T H | N G s

I'm going to tell all know about him
 without stopping during the tale to
 state whether I got my tip from the
 Greeks. or stole my thunder from the
 Romans. In Greek mythology he goes i by the name of Hephaestus, in Latin he l classed under the head of Vulcanus.
 but for me and yop he is Vulcan.
 |
 1 I never took any special Interest in him until it fell to my lot to give to I the visiting aeronauts his replica on I behalf of the Chamber of Commerce at ! a banquet at the Tutwiler in talk of I five minutes, which I have been asked ! to reproduce-an impossibility as made
 no notes, but spoke extempore as is
 my custom.
 Try ss hard as you may it is impos- 1 sible to keep up with the gods or Greece and Rome, for poets, authors, historians and other authorities are at
 variance in the account of their do- ings; and believe me they were always doing something. There was no such thing as "dull time" on Olympus, for whenever the gods became the least bit ennuied, they went down to earth in search "of hot time" in some old town.
 Bear in mind that I'm setting down here things which can be controverted if you are shark in mythology, but I'll strive to give not what the specialists harp on, but the things which the man in the street" knows about in a hay way. So why confuse the average man with lot of imported doubts as. to. who's who?" in the Pagan Pantheon. For example. one encyclopedia says. Vulcan in Roman mythology is the god who presided over fire:' while classical dictionary doubts it.
 But what care I? I'm going to make a fireman out of him, and what's more do as the Roman poets did, transfer all the stories which are related of the Greek Hepha estus to their own Vulcan, for the two divinities in time became completely identified. Now what the Greeks and the Romans joined togeth- CT. why should an American bother about parting them asunder. It's an i'm possible and hopeless and thankless. job and I refuse to make the effort even to save my face with the classical scholars.
 l. Vulcan was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and the husband of Venus and the father of Cupid. This is enough to set him apart as no"piker' among. the gods. He has every: right to be proud of both of his parents, although to be plain father and mother played him some scurvy tricks. And he had some spouse even though "Vulcan's badge" has come down to us through the cen turies as the insignia of cuclkoldom as 1 the amour of Venus with Mars is too well authenticated to try and clear her name at this late hour.
 I'm not going. to have my illusions destroyed or interfered with by any twentieth century scholars reflecting on the authenticity of vulcan's being the divine blacksmith, whose workshop | was on Mount Etna, where the Cyclops 1 assisted him in forging thunderbolts l for love U'fl admit he was called Null | ciber, but that is less known to this l generation than the Greek name of Hephaestus). To me he, will continue I to be the god of fire and the patron of metal workers, for it fits in with his
 having been adopted as the tutelary divinity of Birmingham.
 One of the. legends about Vulcan is l that being Reformed and ugly, Juno his mother, was ashamed of him and rather than own him as her child dropped him from heaven, when the in fant god, falling into the sea, was rescued and adopted by Thetis and con- l cealed in a subterranean cavern for ! nine years. where he busted himself at his craft fashioning number of ex- nj q rf fn,. ha 1rvp he was no ordinary blacksmith, but wrought many masterpieces.
 70 In Homer Vulcan lives and works on Olympus, where he makes palaces of l brass for himself and the other deities; but he has forge also on Mount Mos. chylus in Lemnos. All the rare metal handicraft which appears in the stories 1, of gods and heroes, the aegiss of love, l the arms of Achilles, the sceptre of 1 Aggamemnon, the fatal necklace of Harmonic, the fire breathing bulls of Aeetes, the golden torchbearers in the 1 palace of Alcinous, and othors were at | tributed to him. I forgot to state, that | that during hts captivity in the cavern l he fashioned a golden throne with in-
 visible chains. which -he. .sent to Juno, his mother. She sat down in it. but was held tight and he was recalled to Olym-
 
 es =
 1 l said that the old pagan gods were 1 Very human. I'll now prove if by say- ing that upor Vulcan's reutrn to OIyn- l pus, Jupiter and Juno, like many hus- bands and wives, had q quarrel, and Vulcan like good son. inSspite of his mothers, scurvy trick in throwing him out of Olympus into the sea because of his deformity. sided with her This made his royal father mad Jupiter | seizeds him by the leg and east him off the mount and he fell upon fhe island of Lemnos. where the inhabitants. the Sintians. took care of him and finally revived him. No, wonder, tha t from this time Lempos was his favorite abode Some say that the fall was the reason Vulcan was lame.
 A strange friendship arose between Vulcan and Dionysius The story is that when Vulcan was sent for to come back to unloose his mother from the golden throne with the chains which he had fasuioned, that Ares wished to force back to Thetis, but was fright ened off with firebrands by. his brother He fell under the sway Of the joyfal god of drink and was carried back. to Mount Olympus drunk. Iemnos was a volcanic island, and some attribute the Intimacy which grew up between Dionysius and Vulcan to the fact that the best and finest wines are grown ! in the volcanic regions of the south Vulcan was much worshioped in Lemnos. where there was an annual festival in his honor on the 2sd day