Vulcanus - a god with a troubled childhood
Vulcanus - in Greek mythology he was called Hephaistos, was a god with a difficult childhood.
As with less divine creatures, this led to problems in later life.
His exciting story
Vulcanus is said to have been so ugly at birth that his appearance caused loud laughter among the other deities. His mother Hera ( Roman Juno ) took this as an opportunity to push the unfortunate divine child down Mount Olympus. Whether his walking defect was congenital or caused by the fall has not been handed down. However, the fact was that Hephaistos ( Vulcanus ) limped throughout his life and never became more beautiful.
But he was lucky in misfortune. The two nymphs, Thetis and Eurynome, guardians of the sea, caught him and raised him. His fondness for metals became apparent early on. When he found iron, gold and precious stones in a nearby volcano, he used them to make jewelry for his two foster mothers.
Hera should not get away unpunished, because the desire for revenge for suffered is not alien to gods. Vulkanus (Hephaistos), forged a magnificent throne with invisible fetters, brought it to Olympus, where the unsuspecting Hera sat down on it. She could not free herself by her own strength. Finally, Dionysus managed to get Hephaestus drunk, steal the keys to the shackles, and free Hera.
Privately, things did not get better in his life, he married the beautiful Aphrodite, who cheated on him through and through.
Professionally, things looked more positive. He was a good blacksmith, highly qualified in the manufacture of weapons of all kinds and supplied various deities with the products from his workshop, in the underground of the volcano Aetna ( other sources call the island Vulcano ). Thus Hera received a bed chamber from him, Helios his magnificent sun chariot, Dionysus the Thyros - the staff with the pine cone, Diana her arrows and Zeus his scepter.
- Height approx. 50cm
- width ca. 20cm
- can also stand on the ground
- Reverse suspension
Hephaistos became Vulcanus in the 2.century B.C.
The figure of Hephaistos from Greek mythology was adopted in the 2nd century BC in the Roman gods faith to the point - copy - paste, that was already there at that time. Hephaistos became Vulcanus, his story was the same and also in Rome he was the god of smiths and protector against conflagrations, his epithet was Mulciber - appeaser.
Vulcanus temple was located in Rome at the Field of Mars, on August 23 they worshipped him. It was the time of drought, Romans were afraid of fire outbreaks and paid homage to him by throwing fish and other offerings into the fire to appease him.
Vulcanus - replica from private collection
The Vulcanus-Hephaistos-relief, which is a copy of an original from private ownership in Butzbach/ Hesse, dates back to the 1st century AD. Vulkanus holds a hammer and tongs in his hands.
It is about 50 cm high and 20 cm wide and can stand on the floor, as well as be hung on the back.
The relief is made of high quality natural material, a finely ground alabaster plaster, which is used for art objects, such as sculptures and consoles.
The delicate hue and fine, smooth surface make it a very special work of art with strong expression.
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