The New Student's Reference Work/Vulcan

Vul'can (Greek, Hephæstus), in Roman mythology the god of fire, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. He was deformed in his feet from his birth, according to some stories, while others assert that his lameness was due to his being hurled down to earth by Jupiter for interfering in a family quarrel. He fell on the Island of Lemnos, where he built a palace, with a workshop and anvil. He also had a beautiful palace in Olympus or, according to others, in the heart of an island, where with the help of the Cyclops he made the scepter for Jupiter, the armor of Achilles and the weapons of Hercules. There were a temple to him at Rome and a raised square outside the city, called the Volcanol, where statues of persons struck by lightning were sometimes placed. There also were several festivals in his honor.