In August we
visited the "Dumbarton Oaks Museum." This is one in a series of blogs
to highlight some artifacts we found interesting at the museum. In this
blog we'll introduce you to Haphaestus and show you an ancient statue of him.DISCLAIMER - Okay, we love Greek and Roman Gods. What gay man wouldn't? They're all handsome, well-muscled and wearing very little (if anything - as in the case of Haphaestus here).
WHO WAS HEPHAESTUS? (also spelled: HEPHAISTOS) was the Olympian god of fire, smiths, craftsmen, metalworking, stonemasonry and sculpture.
ABOUT THE STATUE - The arms of the statue are raised, and it's apparent he was holding something - which was a hammer, according to the placard
HOW OLD IS IT? The statue was created in bronze in 460 B.C. in Greece.
STORY OF HEPHAESTUS - As it turns out, there are about 5 slightly different versions of the story of this Greek God. Here's the one that I found was easiest to understand:
"Zeus threw him [Hephaistos] from the sky for helping Hera when she was in chains. Zeus had hung her from Olympos as punishment for setting a storm on Herakles as he was sailing back from his conquest of Troy. Hephaistos landed on Lemnos, crippled in both legs, but saved by Thetis.
There are actually many other stories involving Haphaestus the include Pandora, Zues, Athena and Prometheus. You can find them all here: http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hephaistos.html
NEXT: WHAT DO OWLS, WINE AND CHINA HAVE IN COMMON?
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| Side A: Thetis receives a set of armour for her son Achilles from the divine smith Hephaestus. The god stands polishing the new shield which is decorated with a small Gorgoneion (Gorgon's head). A pair of greaves, helm and the smith's tools hang from the wall. This painting illustrates a scene from Homer's Iliad. Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
