PRESENTATION OUTLINE
SYMBOLS AND ITEMS
- Vulcan presided over fire, volcanos, and forgery
- His symbol is a blacksmith's hammer
- The Romans did not have an animal symbol for him
- Greek counterpart's animal is the donkey
When Vulcan was born, he was quite small and ugly, with a red, bawling face. Juno, his mother, hurled him off the top of Mount Olympus because of his ugliness. As Vulcan hit the sea, one of his legs broke and never developed properly. Thetis, a sea nymph, found him, took him in, and raised him. Late in his childhood, he found the remains of a fisherman's fire on a beach. He took the fire back to his grotto and was fascinated with it.
He forged tools and jewelry for he and Thetis over the fire. Juno saw Thetis with necklace Vulcan had made her and asked her where she could get one. This made Thetis become flustered, and Juno eventually found out about her son. Juno demanded her son back, to which he refused. Instead, he fashioned a chair to be sent to her. Delighted at the exquisite chair, Juno sat down, to find out that the chair was a cleverly designed trap.
Vulcan was partly feared and partly worshipped. Fire, which Vulcan reigned over, could cause damage and wreak havoc.
It was also beneficial, though, for cooking food, providing heat, and forging tools and weapons.
Festivals with bonfires were created in his honor, where fish and other small animals were sacrificed in the place of humans.
The story of Vulcan's childhood and adolescence is the main reason for the importance of black smithing and fire to him.
VULCAN WAS THE GOD OF SASS
VULCAN IS THE GOD OF SASS
