Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans.
The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as histor...
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Vulcan (Hephaistos or Hephaestus), the celestial artist, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He was considered as the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, jewellery and armor for various gods and heroes. He also supplied the thunderbolts of Jupiter. Thunder was the weapon of Jupiter and he also bore a shield called Aegis which made for him by Vulcan. Vulcan was born lame, and his mother Juno was so displeased at the sight of him that she flung him out of heaven. Other accounts say that Jupiter kicked him out for taking part with his mother, in a quarrel which occurred between them. Vulcan's lameness, according to this account, was the consequence of his fall. He was a whole day falling, and at last alighted in the island of Lemnos, which became sacred to him.
Vulcan is the Roman god of fire and forge. He was always making things. Like all Romans, he was a great builder. In Roman mythology, he was one of the top 12 gods in the heavens - the 12 gods that made up the Dei Consentes, the council of Gods.
Facts about Vulcan
Name: Vulcan
A major deity and one of the 12 Olympian Gods
Jurisdiction: Vulcan was described as being the Roman God of Fire and the blacksmith of the gods
Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: He was believed to be the God of Fire. Vulcan was the son of Jupiter and Juno, he was the husband of Venus
Depiction / Description / Symbol: the forge and the anvil
Name of equivalent Greek God: Hephaestus
Vulcanalia - His festival, the Vulcanalia, was celebrated on August 23 when the summer heat put the crops and granaries at risk of burning
Sacrifices to Vulcan - During sacrifices to the Roman gods the sex of the victim had to correspond to the sex of the god to whom it was offered. White animals were given to the gods of the upper world whereas black victims to the gods of the underworld
Roman gods
