Greek smith-god, master craftsman of Olympus; lame from a fall thrown from Olympus (varying etiologies: Hera throws him because of his birth-deformity per Hesiod; Zeus throws him for siding with Hera in marital quarrel per Homer). Forge mythologically located on Lemnos, beneath Mt Etna, or beneath Mt Olympus depending on source. Husband of Aphrodite; cuckolded by her affair with Ares. Forged the Shield of Achilles (Iliad 18) and the Aegis of Zeus.