Methology

1.) Hera gave birth to Hephaestus without intercourse because she was angry with Zeus for having an affair but according to Homer Hephaestus was one of Hera's sons by Zeus.

2.) a.) There are two different stories of why Hephaestus was lame. In the first, Zeus threw him out of heaven for rescuing his mother, Hera, from her bonds. When he fell from heaven he landed on Lemnos and was lamed of his legs but Thetis saved him. In the second, he was born lame because he was not conceived by normal sex and Hera was disgusted by the sight of him and threw him out of heaven. Only instead of falling on Lemnos he fell into the sea and was rescued by Thetis and his sister, Nereids. They treated him kindly and kept him in their cavern beneath the sea for nine years where he perfected his metal working skills. For Hera's birthday, he made a golden throne that had a mesh so fine as to be invisible. As soon as she sat in it the net trapped her on the throne. Hephaestus was the only one that could release her but he refused to return to heaven. Dionysos was the only one that could gain the trust of Hephaestus and got him drunk and brought him back to Mt. Olympus. b.) The Greeks had ambiguous feelings toward metal workers and other craft workers. They valued the beauty and functional qualities of these crafts, but they found the filthy business of creating these crafts to be repulsive. The Greek aristocrats would not put their hands through that kind of hard work or soiled conditions. Potters and smiths had absolutely no social standing. The