ng gold, and
made for the other deities those magnificent edifices which they inhabited.
He was assisted in his various and exquisitely skilful works of art, by two
female statues of pure gold, formed by his own hand, which possessed the
power of motion, and always accompanied him wherever he went. With the
assistance of the Cyclops, he forged for Zeus his wonderful thunderbolts,
thus investing his mighty father with a new power of terrible import. Zeus
testified his appreciation of this precious gift, by bestowing upon
Hephaestus the beautiful Aphrodite in marriage,[36] but this was a
questionable boon; for the lovely Aphrodite, who was the personification of
all grace and beauty, felt no affection for her ungainly and unattractive
spouse, and amused herself by ridiculing his awkward movements and
unsightly person. On one occasion especially, when Hephaestus good-naturedly
took upon himself the office of cup-bearer to the gods, his hobbling gait
and extreme awkwardness created the greatest mirth amongst the celestials,
in which his disloyal partner was the first to join, with unconcealed
merriment.

Aphrodite greatly preferred Ares to her husband, and this preference
naturally gave rise to much jealousy on the part of Hephaestus, and caused
them great unhappiness.

Hephaestus appears to have been an indispensable member of the Olympic
Assembly, where he plays the part of smith, armourer, chariot-builder, &c.
As already mentioned, he constructed the palaces where the gods resided,
fashioned the golden shoes with which they trod the air or water, built for
them their wonderful chariots, and shod with brass the horses of celestial
breed, which conveyed these glittering equipages over land and sea. He also
made the tripods which moved of themselves in and out of the celestial
halls, formed for Zeus the {100} far-famed aegis, and erected the
magnificent palace of the sun. He also created the brazen-footed bulls of
Aetes, which breathed flames from their nostrils, sent forth clouds of
smoke, and filled the air with their roaring.

Among his most renowned works of art for the use of mortals were: the
armour of Achilles and AEneas, the beautiful necklace of Harmonia, and the
crown of Ariadne; but his masterpiece was Pandora, of whom a detailed
account has already been given.

[Illustration]

There was a temple on Mount Etna erected in his honour, which none but the
pure and virtuous were permitted to enter. The entrance t