Perhaps one of the most forgotten Olympians by general society today, Hephaistos is an extremely beautiful and important Deity. He's the Divine Blacksmith, the God of Fire and Forge, and the Creator of things beautiful, both in heaven and on Earth. Perhaps one of the best ways that I, a mortal, can describe His incredible beauty and worth is in a prayer I wrote to Him some time ago.
Blessed Hephaistos,
Engineer of the Universe,
making things beautiful and eternal,
magnificent Creator!
Slam your divine hammer upon the anvil,
and send to us the creations of heaven,
those that house in their wonder the love of the Gods,
and the good things for my life.
Hephaistos is far more than just a maker of simple armor and weapons. There's a lot more to it than that. He is a Creator of existence itself, even of celestial bodies, and the great structures of Earth. In the Orphic Hymn to Hephaistos, He is attributed to the moon, sun, stars and cities - even countries, as the Creator Force behind them. Even though the sun and moon are ruled by Apollon and Artemis, for example, it still makes sense because Hephaistos was believed to craft things for the other Gods at times. When you look at it in those terms, you cannot deny His extreme relevance, and how our modern world has failed to understand His wide role in the Olympian Pantheon. To receive a gift or blessing from this God, forged out of His own flames, would be in value and power beyond anything a mortal could ever even wish to create or obtain on their own. In fact, proof of His wonderful perfection can be seen in the fact that His ancient temple is the best-preserved one in Athens, Greece still today. What else could we expect from the Divine Workman other than expert craftsmanship?
When we look to Hephaistos, we can learn the value of hard work and that we can create many wonderful things in our lives and world if we are but willing to put forth the effort necessary in all ways that are required. In short, we can make hard work pay off, and if we work intensely and dedicate ourselves to its perfection, then success is our inevitable course.
In the Goodness of The Dodekatheon,
Chris.