He was the lame god of fire and crafts or the two together, hence of blacksmiths. Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera or, in some accounts, of Hera alone. He limped because he was born lame, which caused his mother to throw him off Mount Olympus. Or in other accounts he interceded in a fight between Zeus and Hera, and Zeus took him by the foot and threw him from Olympus to the earth far below. He was probably the only God thrown from Mt. Olympus by Zeus, which crippled him.

After falling for three days, he landed in a place called Eurynome. Thetis cared for him and protected him from his unmerciful mother Hera. Hephaestus perfected the art of the blacksmith and rejoined his fellow gods as the god of fire, craft, and blacksmiths.

He so was intelligent that Hephaestus created golden helpers and even created a woman in his workshop, the infamous Pandora. Hephaestus' job was also to construct the homes for the Gods, create unbreakable locks, hammer out lightening bolts for Zeus, and make armour. Occasionally he even made armour for mortals (examples: Herakles and Achilles). These tasks were all performed in a volcano used as his forge .

Hephaestus had three supposed wives, Aphrodite, Charis, And Aglaia, one of the Graces.

Hephaestus also created the first woman, Pandora, at the command of Zeus, in retaliation for the various tricks by which the Titan Prometheus had benefited mortal men at the expense of the gods. Pandora was given to the Titan's brother, Epimetheus, as his wife. For her dowry she brought a jar filled with evils from which she removed the lid, thereby afflicting men for the first time with hard work and sickness. Only hope remained inside the jar