Hephaistos

God of the Smith.

Blessings

Hephaistos values hard work, honesty, dependability, and above all, loyalty. He is not concerned with getting the glory, but with getting the job done, and doing it well. He encourages his followers to tackle their problems with vigor and persistence, and shows them how to take rough and unpleasant things and turn them into works of beauty. He is a peacemaker, capable of seeing the many different sides of an argument. He doesn’t jump into a fray until he has carefully weighed all sides of the dilemma. But when he does, his actions are swift, decisive, and effecient. He is the patron of all civilized arts, though smiths and metalworkers are his special charges.

God Of

  • The Smith

Primary Cult Centers

  • Athens
  • Ephesos
  • Lemnos

Epithets

  • Ambidexter – Skillful

Symbols

Forge, anvil, tongs

Animals

Quail

Sacrifices

Frankincense, fire opal, aloe, red poppy, hibiscus, nettle, galbanum, olibanum

Festivals

  • Apaturia (3 days in Puanepsion (October-November)) .
  • Hephaestia (celebrated on different dates) .
  • Khalkeia (30 Puanepsion (October-November)) .

Ways to honor

Work with your hands, particularly in making jewelry, smithing, or home repair projects. Support artisans and craftspeople. Support those with disabilities. Read about volcanoes and earthquakes. Visit the site of one, if you’re able. Be a peacemaker..

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Articles

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Ancient Hymns and Texts

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Modern Hymns and Devotions

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Primary Sources

  • Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound 1-81, 365-369
  • Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica 1.202-205, 1.850-860, 3.16.1
  • Apollodorus’ Library 1.3.5-6, 1.4.1-4, 1.6.2, 1.9.23, 2.4.11, 2.5.6, 2.5.10, 3.14.6, 3.16.1
  • Hesiod’s Shield of Heracles 120, 240, 297
  • Hesiod’s Theogony 570-572, 865, 927-929, 945-946
  • Hesiod’s Works and Days 60
  • Homer’s Iliad 1.571-608, 2.100, 5.10, 15.310, 18.368-617, 20.73-74, 21.328-382
  • Homer’s Odyssey 8.266-366
  • Homeric Hymn to Apollo 3b.305
  • Homeric Hymn to Hephaistos 20
  • Hyginus’ Fabulae 166
  • Hyginus’ Poetica Astronomica 2.12-13, 2.15, 2.34
  • Pausanias’ Descriptions of Greece 1.20.3, 2.31.3, 9.35.4
  • Pindar’s Olympian Odes 7.32
  • Plato’s Critias 109c
  • Plato’s Laws 920d
  • Plato’s Symposium 197b

Links

Modern Books

Hephaistos