| “ | It isn’t easy being a brilliant inventor, always alone. Always misunderstood. Easy to turn bitter, make horrible mistakes. People are more difficult to work with than machines. And when you break a person, he can’t be fixed. | „ |
| ~ Hephaestus speaking about Daedalus. |
Hephaestus is the god of fire and the forge, and a supporting character in Rick Riordan's series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus.
He is the blacksmith of the gods, and lord of craftsmens and smiths. He is son of Hera, stepson of Zeus, and husband of Aphrodite. He is also brother of Athena and Ares. In the book he is the father of Charles Beckendorf, Leo Valdez, and everyone else in Cabin Nine. In the forth book of the Percy Jackson series he asks Percy Jackson to see who is using his forge at Mount Saint Helens. After Percy is marooned on Calypso's island, he brings him home and gives him a hint on how to navigate the Labyrinth. He also helped with the titan war, and abided by the rule of claiming all his demigod kids by the time they're thirteen years old.
In the 2010 film adaptation of The Lighting Thief, he was portrayed by Conrad Coates.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Hephaestus is the son of Hera, who impregnated herself with her own power as the goddess of childbirth, which presumably caused the child's deformity. Disgusted with her son's appearance, Hera threw him out of Mount Olympus, and falsely spread the rumor that her husband Zeus committed the act. Hephaestus survived the fall by landing in the sea below Olympus, and was raised by the Nereid Thetis. Though raised by Thetis for nine years, Hephaestus wanted revenge on Hera for crippling him, as he was still haunted by the incident.
Becoming an Olympian[]
He would travel to Mount Olympus, where the the Olympians where shocked by his hideous appearance, but were impressed by his craft of creating their thrones. When Hera set upon hers, she became entrapped by by invisible chains to the point that she couldn't move or barely breath. Hephaestus refused to release Hera until he befriended his stepbrother Dionysus, the Greek god of whine, who convinced him to forgive her. Hephaestus released and forgive his mother, who in return made peace with her son. The deity became the Olympian and was named the Greek god of fire, forgery, metalworking, and volcanoes. Hephaestus became known for his craft and metalworking, as he created the impenetrable armor of Achilles, the metal giant Talos, and other automatons.
He would later help Zeus when he had a terrible headache by cracking his skull, which released Zeus' daughter, Athena. Hephaestus became romantically interested in Athena, due to the two having similar interest in tools, crafts, and mathematics. He would find his love unrequited, however, as Athena was a virgin goddess, and rejected his interest. When Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena, some of his divine sweat rubbed off of Athena's leg, and the goddess removed his sweat from leg with a cloth. The cloth held both the essence of Hephaestus and Athena, which created the mortal child Erikthonius. The child would later usurp Kekrops off of his throne in Athens, as Athena assisted Erikthonius after Kekrops' daughters disobeyed the goddess.
When the goddess Aphrodite caused much disarray on Mount Olympus due to her beauty, Hephaestus was chosen by Hera to become Aphrodite's husband, since the other gods couldn't become jealous due to his appearance. He remained a loving husband to Aphrodite, but she refused to be around him and began an affair with his half-brother Ares. The blacksmith was oblivious to the affair, but became suspicious when Aphrodite started having children that were handsome, and was later informed by the sun titan Helios. Angered, Hephaestus decided to create an unbreakable net, and caught Aphrodite and Ares in the act. He then had the two humiliated by having the other Olympians laugh at them, but later reluctantly let them go after making a bargain with Poseidon. Though Hephaestus remained married to Aphrodite, he would still embarrass her and Ares on several occasions, and came to resent their children.
Hephaestus would go on to have children with other women despite staying married to Aphrodite, and would have numerous sons such as Archimedes. During the Trojan War, Hephaestus would create new weapons for Achilles after Thetis begged the blacksmith so since his armor was spoiled by Hector.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians[]
The Lighting Thief[]
Though Hephaestus doesn't make a physical appearance in The Lighting Thief, one of his traps in Waterland meant for Aphrodite and Ares is set off by Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. The demigods were there to retrieve Ares' shield, and manage to do so while also obtaining the scar of Aphrodite.
The Titan's Curse[]
Hephaestus makes a brief appearance at the end of The Titan's Curse, where he votes to allow Percy to live. He is mentioned by his wife Aphrodite early on, and his automatons appear as antagonist in the middle of the book.
The Battle of the Labyrinth[]
Hephaestus asks Percy and his friends to discover who is using his forge at Mount Saint Helens, and later rescues Percy from Calypso's island. Before leaving, Hephaestus gives Percy a hint on how to navigate the labyrinth, informing the demigod that a mortal can see through the mist.
The Last Olympian[]
Hephaestus participated in the battle of Manhattan, where he fought the titan Typhon. After the battle, Hephaestus agreed with Percy's wishes that all Olympians claim their children.
Heroes of Olympus[]
The Lost Hero[]
Hephaestus claims his demigod son Leo Valdez, and later speaks to his son in a dream via a radio on the Giants being the sons of Gaea and Tartarus. He later helps his son by transporting Festus back to the camp, as Leo had caused the creature to crash previously.
The Blood of Olympus[]
Hephaestus participates in fighting against the giants, and creates weapons on the Argo II while helping Leo.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- His Roman counterpart is Vulcan, and his Egyptian equivalent is Ptah.
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 Heroes
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