Hera, just after giving birth to Hephaestus on Mount Olympus, asked to see her baby. Nevertheless, once they presented to her the lame and blackish infant, she was furious. She grabbed the baby and threw it from Mount Olympus. He fell into the ocean and was raised by Thetis (mother of Achilles) and the Oceanid Eurynome.

He gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to stand up. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he refused. At last, Dionysus, who Hephaestus trusted as a friend, fetched him, intoxicated him with wine, and took the subdued smith back to Olympus on the back of a mule accompanied by revelers. He released his mother in exchange of his return to Olympus with the other gods.

Hephaestus had his own palace in Lemnos Island, inside the island's volcano, containing his workshop with anvil and twenty bellows that worked at his bidding. Hephaestus crafted much of the magnificent equipment of the gods, and almost any finely wrought metalwork imbued with powers that appears in Greek myth is said to have been forged by Hephaestus. He built automatons of metal to work for him; he had a special power to produce motion. He also created Pandora, the first human woman, with the help of Athena on the instructions of Zeus.

He was married to Aphrodite by Zeus to prevent a war of the gods fighting for her hand, Although she was married, she was frequently unfaithful to her husband. Aphrodite had many lovers, both gods, such as Ares, and men, such as Anchises.

demi-god powers: Heph still has his special power to produce motion, however it can give life only to small automatons and only for a week. What he builds in his mortal form does contain some magic, but it’s limited in time (usually not more than two hours) and strength. Thought his skills and ingenuity are still pretty much the same. There is always something working in that little head of his.