Entity

Hephaestus

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God of metalworking in Greek traditions; the Iliad portrays him as Hera’s son and mediator in her dispute with Zeus.

Hephaestus returning to Olympus on a donkey, on an ancient Greek cup in the British Museum, 1836,0224.48. The image depicts the return story, rather than the Iliad’s assembly scene
Hephaestus returning to Olympus on a donkey, on an ancient Greek cup in the British Museum, 1836,0224.48. The image depicts the return story, rather than the Iliad’s assembly sceneDorieo, 2009 / Wikimedia Commons · photograph released into the public domain · Public domainImage source

Text

God of metalworking in Greek traditions; the IliadIliadGreek epic attributed to Homer, narrating a phase of the Trojan War.Glossary · Click to read the explanation portrays him as HeraHeraGreek goddess and Zeus’s wife, appearing in council and family-disagreement scenes in the Iliad.Glossary · Click to read the explanation’s son and mediator in her dispute with ZeusZeusZeus is the sky god and leading deity in many Greek traditions. In the Iliad he presides over divine gatherings while others can still speak and object.Glossary · Click to read the explanation. [1][2]

At book 1’s close he serves drink and recalls being thrown from heaven when assisting his mother. His intervention helps restore the feast, illustrating a member’s role in the heavenly company. [1]

References and notes

  1. Iliad, Book 1 closing nine paragraphs, from Zeus nod through the banquet and night; Butler public-domain prose translation The specified scene, as detailed in the assembly study’s notes. Return to the text ↑
  2. Colette and Seán Hemingway — Greek Gods and Religious Practices (Met,2003) Passage identifying gods and their functions. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 13 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Hephaestus», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/hephaestus-greek-god