One of the main focus of my Hellenic practice is the libation to a different Olympian. The twelve months have one god/goddess attached to it. This month it's Hephaestus, the forge god. So today, before the sun goes down, I will be pouring libation to him. There are two different myths concerning his birth. But I will be focusing on the one where Hera gives birth to him without the help of Zeus. This was her way of getting back for the birth of Athena.
However he was born ugly and she threw him off of Mount Olympus. He got hurt in the fall, or when he landed, and Hera didn't see him for many years. Hera, when she saw a broach that one of the goddess, or ocean spirits, can't remember which, she wanted to know who made it. She told her that Hephaestus made it. Hephaestus, who hated his mother, made a throne and she sat down in it which trapped her. He left and the other gods had to try everything to free her.
Finally he was made drunk by Dionysus and brought back. There she was freed and Zeus made him an Olympian before he left and he made different things for the gods. Of course he never did forgive his mother. I consider him to be an outcast and someone that people that are different can look up to. So I'll pour my libation to Hephaestus and sing his hymn.
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