Hephaestus

**Hephaestus** is the Greek God of Fire.

## **Background**

In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera. As a child, he was cast off Mount Olympus, by his mother because of his deformity or, in another account, by Zeus for protecting Hera from his advances.

Hephaestus had his own palace on Olympus, containing his workshop with anvil and twenty bellows that worked at his bidding. Hephaestus crafted much of the magnificent equipment of the gods, and almost any finely wrought metalwork imbued with powers that appears in Greek myth is said to have been forged by Hephaestus. He designed Hermes' winged helmet and sandals, the Aegis breastplate, Aphrodite's famed girdle, Agamemnon's staff of office, Achilles' armor, Diomedes' cuirass, Heracles' bronze clappers, Helios' chariot, the shoulder of Pelops, and Eros's bow and arrows. In later accounts, Hephaestus worked with the help of the Cyclopes—among them his assistants in the forge, Brontes, Steropes and Pyracmon.

Hephaestus built automatons of metal to work for him. This included tripods that walked to and from Mount Olympus. He gave to the blinded Orion his apprentice Cedalion as a guide. In some versions of the myth, Prometheus stole the fire that he gave to man from Hephaestus's forge. Hephaestus also created the gift that the gods gave to man, the woman Pandora and her pithos. Being a skilled blacksmith, Hephaestus created all the thrones in the Palace of Olympus.

The Greek myths and the Homeric poems sanctified in stories that Hephaestus had a special power to produce motion. He made the golden and silver lions and dogs at the entrance of the palace of Alkinoos in such a way that they could bite the invaders.

## **Personality**

Out of the major Olympians, Hephaestus was one of the most benevolent. Hephaestus loved the things he forged and created, with his most cherished creation being Pandora, whom he came to love as his own daughter. However, Hephaestus had very low self-esteem due to the fact that his mother Hera hated him despite bragging of his talent, and also because his wife Aphrodite cheated on him with Ares and with other gods.

## **Appearance**

Hephaestus was sometimes portrayed as a vigorous man with a beard and was characterized by his hammer or some other crafting tool, his oval cap, and the chiton. He was depicted with crippled feet and as misshapen, either from birth or as a result of his fall from Olympus.

## **Known Powers and Abilities**

As the son of Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus is very powerful even with his injuries from his fall from the heavens.

* **Super Strength**- Hephaestus possesses tremendous amounts of physical strength, being a son of Zeus and Hera, he is much more powerful than younger gods.
* **Super Stamina**- Hephaestus cannot tire under any circumstance, he is able to keep on creating weapons eternally, though he consumes nectar and ambrosia to maintain himself.
* **Immortality**- As a god, Hephaestus is immortal and is thousands of years old and will continue to live forever.
* **Nigh Invulnerability** - Hephaestus is immune to all forms of death and trauma, and cannot be killed.
* **Nigh Indestructibility** - Nothing is able to harm him, though being exiled caused him to sustain an injury.
* **Regeneration**- Hephaestus is able to regenerate any injury in a short amount of time, though his fall from Mount Olympus caused him permeant disfigurement.
* **Pyrokinesis**- Being a god of fire, Hephaestus has total control over all forms of fire, he can create and generate fire by negating it, conjuring it, augmenting it, and manipulating it.
* **Thermokinesis**- At will, Hephaestus can cause extremely hot temperatures to form on objects or being.
* **Conjuration**- Hephaestus acts as the blacksmith for the gods, he is able to create anything and imbue it with divine energy, some of his creations include, Pandora, a golden net, a gold throne, Hermes' sandals, and Aphrodite's girdle.
* **Shapeshifting** **-** Like all of his siblings, Hephaestus could shapeshift into mortal form to blend in among humans.
* **Terrakinesis**- Hephaestus' power is not limited to regular fire, he is also able to control volcanic fire and magma by causing earth tremors and erupting volcanoes.
* **Telekinesis**- Hephaestus is able to move anything with his mind effortlessly with his mental influence.
* **Power Granting**- He granted his creations various divine powers, these powers were strong enough to incapacitate even older gods.

## **Weaknesses**

* **Other Deities** - Older, more powerful gods are able to overpower him, on a few occasions, Hera and Zeus both overpowered him and threw him off Mount Olympus.
* **Divine Weaponry** - Weapons that he had created are able to harm him.