Vulcan (mythology)
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| + | :''[[Venus, Mars and Vulcan]], [[Vulcan and Maia]]'' | ||
| - | '''Vulcan''' may refer to [[Vulcan (mythology)]], the blacksmith god of fire and volcanoes in Roman mythology. The name may also mean: | + | In [[Religion in ancient Rome|ancient Roman religion]] and [[Roman mythology|myth]], '''Vulcan''' ([[Latin]]: ''Vulcanus'') is the god of fire including the fire of [[volcano]]es. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer. His [[interpretatio graeca|Greek counterpart]] is [[Hephaestus]], the god of fire and smithery. |
| - | == Fiction == | + | He was the son of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], and husband of [[Maia (mythology)|Maia]] and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]. |
| - | * [[Vulcan (Star Trek)]], a science-fictional humanoid race in ''Star Trek''. | + | ==Greek myths of Hephaistos== |
| - | ** [[Vulcan (Star Trek planet)]], the home planet of the Vulcans | + | |
| - | ** ''[[Vulcan!]]'', a 1978 Star Trek novel by Kathleen Sky | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan (DC Comics)]], a character from DC Comics | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan (Marvel Comics)]], a character in the Marvel Comics universe | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan (comic)|''Vulcan'' (comic)]], an Ipc Comic produced in England from 1975-1976 | + | |
| - | * Vulcan 2 and 3, artificial intelligences in ''[[Vulcan's Hammer]]'' | + | |
| - | == Places == | + | Through his identification with the [[Hephaestus]] of [[Greek mythology]], Vulcan came to be considered as the manufacturer of art, arms, [[iron]], jewellery and armor for various gods and heroes, including the thunderbolts of Jupiter. He was the son of [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]], and husband of [[Maia (mythology)|Maia]] and [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]. His [[Forge|smithy]] was believed to be situated underneath [[Mount Etna]] in [[Sicily]]. |
| - | * [[Vulcan, Alberta]], Canada | + | |
| - | ** [[Vulcan Airport]] | + | |
| - | ** [[RCAF Station Vulcan]], a Commonwealth and RCAF training station, closed in April 1945 | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan, Romania]], in Hunedoara County in the Jiu Valley | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan, Braşov]], also in Romania in Braşov County | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan, Michigan]], United States | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan, Missouri]], United States | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan (volcano)]], a volcano in Papua New Guinea | + | |
| - | == Companies == | + | As the son of Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Juno, the queen of the gods, Vulcan should have been quite handsome, but, baby Vulcan was small and ugly with a red, bawling face. Juno was so horrified that she hurled the tiny baby off the top of [[Mount Olympus]]. |
| - | * [[Vulcan (motor vehicles)]], a car and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in Southport, England | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan Corporation]], a materials manufacturing company in Clarksville, Tennessee | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan Foundry]], a former British locomotive builder | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan Iron Works]], a former United States locomotive builder | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan Materials Company]], a construction materials company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan Inc.]], an investment company formed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan Software]], a British computer game company | + | |
| - | == Vehicles == | + | Vulcan fell down for a day and a night, landing in the sea. Unfortunately, one of his legs broke as he hit the water, and never developed properly. From the surface, Vulcan sunk like a pebble to the cool blue depths where the sea-nymph, [[Thetis]], found him and took him to her underwater grotto, and raised him as her own son. |
| - | ===Aircraft=== | + | |
| - | * [[Avro Vulcan]], a British delta-winged, subsonic, bomber aeroplane | + | |
| - | * [[Vickers Vulcan]], a single-engined biplane of the 1920s | + | |
| - | ===Land vehicles=== | + | Vulcan had a happy childhood with dolphins as his playmates and pearls as his toys. Late in his childhood, he found the remains of a fisherman's fire on the beach and became fascinated with an unextinguished coal, still red-hot and glowing. |
| - | * [[Ford Vulcan engine]], a 3.0L V6 automobile engine | + | |
| - | * [[Kawasaki Vulcan]], a series of cruiser-type motorcycles | + | |
| - | * [[NZR RM class (Vulcan)]], a former type of railroad car found in preservation in New Zealand | + | |
| - | * Vulcan (1874-1892), one of the ten [[South Devon Railway Buffalo class]] steam locomotives | + | |
| - | * Vulcan (1951-1967), one of the [[List of BR 'Britannia' Class locomotives|BR 'Britannia' Class]] locomotives | + | |
| - | ===Water vehicles=== | + | Vulcan carefully shut this precious coal in a clamshell and took it back to his underwater grotto and made a fire with it. On the first day after, Vulcan stared at this fire for hours on end. On the second day, he discovered that when he made the fire hotter with bellows, certain stones sweated iron, silver or gold. On the third day he beat the cooled metal into shapes: bracelets, chains, swords and shields. Vulcan made pearl-handled knives and spoons for his foster mother, he made a silver chariot for himself, and bridles so that seahorses could transport him quickly. He even made slave-girls of gold to wait on him and do his bidding. |
| - | * [[Vulcan (barge)|''Vulcan'' (barge)]], an iron-hulled boat | + | |
| - | * {{HMS|Vulcan}}, one of several Royal Navy ships or boats | + | |
| - | * {{USS|Vulcan}}, one of several United States Navy ships or boats | + | |
| - | ==Weapons== | + | Later, Thetis left her underwater grotto to attend a dinner party on Mount Olympus wearing a beautiful necklace of silver and sapphires, which Vulcan had made for her. Juno admired the necklace and asked as to where she could get one. Thetis became flustered causing Juno to become suspicious and, at last, the queen god discovered the truth: the baby she had once rejected had grown into a talented [[blacksmith]]. |
| - | * [[M167 Vulcan]], a towed, short-range. air-defense Gatling gun | + | |
| - | * [[M61 Vulcan]], a 20mm six-barreled Gatling gun | + | |
| - | * [[M163 VADS]] (Vulcan Air Defense System), a self-propelled, air-defense, Gatling gun | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan M-11-9]], a semi-automatic, closed-bolt pistol manufactured by Vulcan Armament | + | |
| - | == Other uses == | + | Juno was furious and demanded that Vulcan return home, a demand that he refused. However he did send Juno a beautifully constructed chair made of silver and gold, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Juno was delighted with this gift but, as soon as she sat in it her weight triggered hidden springs and metal bands sprung forth to hold her fast. The more she shrieked and struggled the more firmly the mechanical throne gripped her; the chair was a cleverly designed trap. |
| - | * [[Vulcan (hypothetical planet)]], a hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan (programming language)]], a programming language, now known as dBase | + | For three days Juno sat fuming, still trapped in Vulcan's chair, she could not sleep, she could not stretch, she could not eat. It was [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] who finally saved the day, he promised that if Vulcan released Juno he would give him a wife, [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] the goddess of love and beauty. Vulcan agreed and married Venus. He later built a smithy under [[Mount Etna]] on the island of [[Sicily]]. It was said that whenever Venus is unfaithful, Vulcan grows angry and beats the red-hot metal with such a force that sparks and smoke rise up from the top of the mountain, to create a volcanic eruption. |
| - | * [[Vulcan (EP)|''Vulcan'' (EP)]], an EP by Snake River Conspiracy | + | |
| - | * [[The Vulcans]], George W. Bush's foreign policy advisory team for the 2000 U.S. election | + | According to [[Virgil]], Vulcan was the father of [[Caeculus]]. |
| - | * ''[[The Vulcan]]'', a magazine from various organizations within the Young Fine Gael | + | |
| - | * [[Vulcan laser]], a laser at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Chilton, Oxfordshire | + | To punish mankind for stealing the secrets of fire, Jupiter ordered the other gods to make a poisoned gift for man. Vulcan's contribution to the beautiful and foolish [[Pandora]] was to mould her from clay and to give her form. He also made the thrones for the other gods on [[Mount Olympus]]. |
| - | * [[Vulcan of the alchemists]], the patron deity associated with Paracelsian alchemy | + | |
| - | * [[Operation Vulcan]], Allied action in Tunisia during World War II | + | ==See also== |
| - | * [[Birmingham Vulcans]], a 1975 World Football League team | + | *[[Vulcan (disambiguation)]] |
| - | * [[California Vulcans]], the sports teams of California University of Pennsylvania | + | *[[Vulcan of the alchemists]] |
| - | * The Vulcans, the [[University of Hawaii at Hilo]]'s athletic teams | + | *[[Vulcan Iron Works]] |
| - | * [[Vulcan statue]], the world's largest cast-iron statue (of the god) and the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama | + | |
| - | == See also == | ||
| - | * [[Volcano]] | ||
| - | * [[Vulcana]], a Welsh female bodybuilder | ||
| - | * [[Vulcano]], a small volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea | ||
| - | * [[Vulcanair]], an Italian based manufacturer of light twin-engined aircraft that took over Partenavia | ||
| - | * [[Stettiner Vulcan AG]], a former shipyard in Hamburg, Germany | ||
| - | * [[Vulcanoid asteroid]] | ||
| - | * [[Vulcanization]], a chemical process to improve the strength and durability of rubber | ||
| - | * [[Black Vulcan]], a fictional African American superhero on the animated series ''Super Friends'' | ||
| - | * Vulcan Raven, a [[List of Metal Gear Solid characters#Vulcan Raven|character in ''Metal Gear Solid'']] | ||
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In ancient Roman religion and myth, Vulcan (Latin: Vulcanus) is the god of fire including the fire of volcanoes. Vulcan is often depicted with a blacksmith's hammer. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery.
He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Maia and Venus.
Greek myths of Hephaistos
Through his identification with the Hephaestus of Greek mythology, Vulcan came to be considered as the manufacturer of art, arms, iron, jewellery and armor for various gods and heroes, including the thunderbolts of Jupiter. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and husband of Maia and Venus. His smithy was believed to be situated underneath Mount Etna in Sicily.
As the son of Jupiter, the king of the gods, and Juno, the queen of the gods, Vulcan should have been quite handsome, but, baby Vulcan was small and ugly with a red, bawling face. Juno was so horrified that she hurled the tiny baby off the top of Mount Olympus.
Vulcan fell down for a day and a night, landing in the sea. Unfortunately, one of his legs broke as he hit the water, and never developed properly. From the surface, Vulcan sunk like a pebble to the cool blue depths where the sea-nymph, Thetis, found him and took him to her underwater grotto, and raised him as her own son.
Vulcan had a happy childhood with dolphins as his playmates and pearls as his toys. Late in his childhood, he found the remains of a fisherman's fire on the beach and became fascinated with an unextinguished coal, still red-hot and glowing.
Vulcan carefully shut this precious coal in a clamshell and took it back to his underwater grotto and made a fire with it. On the first day after, Vulcan stared at this fire for hours on end. On the second day, he discovered that when he made the fire hotter with bellows, certain stones sweated iron, silver or gold. On the third day he beat the cooled metal into shapes: bracelets, chains, swords and shields. Vulcan made pearl-handled knives and spoons for his foster mother, he made a silver chariot for himself, and bridles so that seahorses could transport him quickly. He even made slave-girls of gold to wait on him and do his bidding.
Later, Thetis left her underwater grotto to attend a dinner party on Mount Olympus wearing a beautiful necklace of silver and sapphires, which Vulcan had made for her. Juno admired the necklace and asked as to where she could get one. Thetis became flustered causing Juno to become suspicious and, at last, the queen god discovered the truth: the baby she had once rejected had grown into a talented blacksmith.
Juno was furious and demanded that Vulcan return home, a demand that he refused. However he did send Juno a beautifully constructed chair made of silver and gold, inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Juno was delighted with this gift but, as soon as she sat in it her weight triggered hidden springs and metal bands sprung forth to hold her fast. The more she shrieked and struggled the more firmly the mechanical throne gripped her; the chair was a cleverly designed trap.
For three days Juno sat fuming, still trapped in Vulcan's chair, she could not sleep, she could not stretch, she could not eat. It was Jupiter who finally saved the day, he promised that if Vulcan released Juno he would give him a wife, Venus the goddess of love and beauty. Vulcan agreed and married Venus. He later built a smithy under Mount Etna on the island of Sicily. It was said that whenever Venus is unfaithful, Vulcan grows angry and beats the red-hot metal with such a force that sparks and smoke rise up from the top of the mountain, to create a volcanic eruption.
According to Virgil, Vulcan was the father of Caeculus.
To punish mankind for stealing the secrets of fire, Jupiter ordered the other gods to make a poisoned gift for man. Vulcan's contribution to the beautiful and foolish Pandora was to mould her from clay and to give her form. He also made the thrones for the other gods on Mount Olympus.
See also
