Vulcan was one of a kind, the only Olympian whose powers were not innate. He actually acquired his mastery over fire and blacksmithing by teaching himself. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno and is nicknamed “the lame one” as, according to legend, his father threw him from the top of Mount Olympus in a fit of rage. Though known for being ugly and having a deformed face, he married his great-aunt Venus, the most beautiful of all the goddesses. Enraged on discovering her affair with Mars, he threw a net he created himself over them both exposing their adultery to all the other gods. Legend has it that Vulcan’s forge is located beneath Mount Etna, the volcano Vulcano (in the Aeolian Isles), or below Vesuvius itself.
