Vulcan, Roman god of Fire
The Romans called their god of fire Vulcan and the Greeks called him Hephaestus. Vulcan was the fire-god and also a blacksmith who was noted for his skills at the forge and the things that he made in the many stories told about him through the ages. He was the son of the chief of the gods Jupiter and his wife Juno.
One of the stories told about Vulcan was that he was born lame and his mother was so annoyed at his deformity that she cast him out of heaven. He became a blacksmith because he was unable to be a hunter or soldier. He was a god with various skills including metalworking, chariot building and armour making for the gods. One of the great things he made was a powerful thunderbolt which he gave to Jupiter. This pleased the great god so much that he gave Vulcan the goddess Venus for a wife. For Apollo, Vulcan made a chariot and for the goddess of hunting, Diana, he made arrows and other hunting equipment.
Revenge for being thrown out of heaven by his mother was always in his mind. He decided to build a golden throne which he gave to her. Juno was very pleased with the throne but as soon as she sat on it she could not move. She was trapped. None of the other gods could help her and it seemed she would be stuck for ever until the god of wine made Vulcan drunk so he was easily persuaded to let his mother go. The legend continues with Vulcan's forge being under the volcano Mount Etna in Sicily.
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