Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera. Sometimes it is said that Hera alone produced him and that he has no father. He is the only god to be physically ugly. He is also lame. Accounts as to how he became lame vary. Some say that Hera, upset by having an ugly child, flung him from Mount Olympus into the sea, breaking his legs. He is the god of fire and the forge. He is the smith and armorer of the gods. He uses a volcano as his forge. He is the patron god of both smiths and weavers. He is kind and peace loving. His wife is Aphrodite. Sometimes his wife identified as Aglaia.

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Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts she has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two Accounts of her birth.

One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione
The other goes back to when Cronus castrated Uranus and tossed his severed genitles into the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and walked to shore in Cyprus.
She is the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swann, and the sparrow her birds.

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