Hephaestus
Lame smith of the gods, "skilled in crafts more than all the sons of Heaven"; born of Hera alone in Hesiod, of Zeus and Hera in Homer. The Iliad has him thrown from Olympus twice — by Zeus in book 1, by his mother in book 18 — and shows his workshop with self-moving tripods and golden handmaids, where he forges the shield of Achilles. In the Odyssey he nets Ares and Aphrodite.
Why this wins its question: Most pages give one fall from Olympus; this object gives both Homeric falls with their speakers and line numbers, and the parentage split between Hesiod and Homer that Apollodorus already flagged.
Key takeaways
- Hesiod's Hephaestus has a mother only; Homer's has "two parents" — Apollodorus notices the split.
- The Iliad itself gives two falls with two throwers (Zeus in book 1, Hera in book 18) and two accounts of the lameness.
- His workshop in Il. 18 is the fullest ancient description of divine craft, automata included.
- Athens paired him with Athena in temple and in the Hymn; Apollodorus makes him her possible midwife with an axe.
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
In Hesiod he has no father: "Hera without union with Zeus — for she was very angry and quarrelled with her mate — bare famous Hephaestus, who is skilled in crafts more than all the sons of Heaven" (Theog. 927–929).
In Homer he has two parents: netting Aphrodite he blames "my two parents — would they had never begotten me" for his misshapen birth (Od. 8.310–312). Apollodorus states the disagreement outright: Hera bore him "without intercourse with the other sex, but according to Homer he was one of her children by Zeus" (Apollod. 1.3.5).
First fall, told by Hephaestus to Hera: when he tried to help her, Zeus "caught me by the foot and hurled me from the heavenly threshold; the whole day long I was carried headlong, and at sunset I fell in Lemnos", where the Sintians tended him (Il. 1.586–594). Apollodorus adds the occasion — Hera hung from Olympus for storming Heracles's ships — and that the fall on Lemnos lamed him (Apollod. 1.3.5).
Second fall, told by Hephaestus to Charis: he "had fallen afar through the will of my shameless mother, that was fain to hide me away by reason of my lameness", and Eurynome and Thetis kept him nine years in their cave by Ocean, where he forged brooches and necklaces unknown to any god (Il. 18.394–405). Here he is lame before the fall and it is Hera who throws him — the Iliad carries both versions.
His workshop and the shield (Il. 18.368–617): a bronze house he built himself; twenty tripods on golden wheels "that of themselves they might enter the gathering of the gods"; handmaidens "wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids" with understanding and speech; then, with twenty bellows, a five-layered shield bearing earth, heaven, sea, sun, moon, the constellations, two cities, and Ocean round the rim, plus corselet, helmet and greaves for Achilles.
The net: told by Helios of Ares's adultery, he forged bonds "which might not be broken or loosed", hung them "fine as spiders' webs" about the bed, feigned a journey to Lemnos and trapped the lovers, calling the gods to laugh and demanding back his bride-gifts (Od. 8.266–332).
Civiliser and instrument of Zeus: the Hymn says that "with bright-eyed Athena he taught men glorious crafts throughout the world", men who before "used to dwell in caves" (HH20 1–7). In Apollodorus he is one candidate for the axe that opened Zeus's head for Athena (Apollod. 1.3.6) and the smith ordered "to nail [Prometheus's] body to Mount Caucasus" (Apollod. 1.7.1).
Cult at Athens: "Above the Cerameicus and the portico called the King's Portico is a temple of Hephaestus", with a statue of Athena beside his (Paus. 1.14.6), and in the Erechtheum the third altar is his (Paus. 1.26.5).
Questions answered
- Who are the parents of Hephaestus?
- In Hesiod he has no father: "Hera without union with Zeus — for she was very angry and quarrelled with her mate — bare famous Hephaestus, who is skilled in crafts more than all the sons of Heaven" (Theog. 927–929). source
- Who threw Hephaestus from Olympus?
- First fall, told by Hephaestus to Hera: when he tried to help her, Zeus "caught me by the foot and hurled me from the heavenly threshold; the whole day long I was carried headlong, and at sunset I fell in Lemnos", where the Sintians tended him (Il. 1.586–594). Apollodorus adds the occasion — Hera hung from Olympus for storming Heracles's ships — and that the fall on Lemnos lamed him (Apollod. 1.3.5). source
- Why is Hephaestus lame?
- Second fall, told by Hephaestus to Charis: he "had fallen afar through the will of my shameless mother, that was fain to hide me away by reason of my lameness", and Eurynome and Thetis kept him nine years in their cave by Ocean, where he forged brooches and necklaces unknown to any god (Il. 18.394–405). Here he is lame before the fall and it is Hera who throws him — the Iliad carries both versions. source
- Did Hephaestus forge the shield of Achilles?
- His workshop and the shield (Il. 18.368–617): a bronze house he built himself; twenty tripods on golden wheels "that of themselves they might enter the gathering of the gods"; handmaidens "wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids" with understanding and speech; then, with twenty bellows, a five-layered shield bearing earth, heaven, sea, sun, moon, the constellations, two cities, and Ocean round the rim, plus corselet, helmet and greaves for Achilles. source
- Who is the wife of Hephaestus?
- The net: told by Helios of Ares's adultery, he forged bonds "which might not be broken or loosed", hung them "fine as spiders' webs" about the bed, feigned a journey to Lemnos and trapped the lovers, calling the gods to laugh and demanding back his bride-gifts (Od. 8.266–332). source