Vulcan (mythology)
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Vulcanus (original Latin main form of the name Volcanus, also Volchanus, Volganus, Volkanus; German "Vulkan") is in the Roman religion god of fire, also of the blacksmiths as well as of all metal craftsmen who depend on the power of fire, e.g. the bronze caster or the coin beater.
His calling is to protect against the destructive dangers of fire. As Interpretatio Romana of the Greek god Hephaistos, his tasks include forging jewels or bronze gates as well as the miracle weapons for the gods and demigods, e.g. the chariot for Sol and weapons for Aeneas. In this connection Vulcanus is regarded as a clever inventor. His characteristics are accordingly: gifted in craftsmanship, rugged, and peace-loving. His attributes are hammer, tongs, blacksmith's apron and anvil - symbols for the creation of metal goods.
With the alignment with Hephaistos, the Roman myth itself adopted the closer circumstances of his birth. Thus his mother Juno is said to have pushed him out of heaven because of his deformity, as the Greek deity Hera did accordingly with her son Hephaistos.
That the Romans took the name of the god from the Etruscans and their deity (Velkʰans) and Latinized it is pure hypothesis. Velkʰans is associated with the Etruscan monthly name vel(c)itna (= March) and a springtime deity. Because of his later identification with Hephaistos, the ancient Roman god Vulcanus is hard to reconstruct. His consort is the Italic goddess Maia. He is the father of Caeculus and Cacus.
Vulcanus, bronze bust, 2nd century
Vulcanus, statue by Bertel Thorvaldsen
Ancient representation
In the visual arts, Vulcanus is depicted as a blacksmith with a hammer making Jupiter's thunderbolts or with a sky-blue, cone-shaped felt hood. The motif of the lame leg is also found in other forge deities (e.g. Hephaistos) or legendary blacksmiths such as Wieland or Daidalus. His forge was located under the volcano Etna in Sicily or under the island of Vulcano, which was named after him. Sacred to him were the cock, the lion, which was said to have a hot breath, the spruce and the iron.
On Roman coins he was depicted like the other deities in head profile with felt cap. Later, he was often depicted in a short working garment together with his attributes hammer, tongs, anvil, forge fire and framed by a building or laurel wreath.
Head of Vulcanus with felt cap and tongs. Reverse: Jupiter on chariot (biga); early Roman coin from Aesernia 263/240 BC.
Cult
He was worshipped together with some other deities as protector against conflagrations and therefore had the old epithet Mulciber ("appeaser" of conflagration), whom the pre-Roman Italians already worshipped as fire god. The name Vulcanus was also used metonymically for "fire".
With the Romans he had his own priests (flamen). His main festival, the Vulcanalia, was celebrated on August 23 (drought - danger of fires), when the heads of Roman families threw small fish and other animals into the fire to appease Vulcanus and thus alleviate the danger from fire.
Vulcanus was a deity of a destructive element, the untamed fire. Therefore, his temples were always located outside the cities. In Rome, the temple of Vulcanus was located at the Field of Mars. His counterpart was Vesta, the guardian of the hearth fire, with whom he held the lectisternium.
