Vulcan or Volcanus was the Roman god of fire and forge, the equivalent of Hephaestus from Greek mythology. The son of Jupiter and Juno, he was the special patron of blacksmiths and artisans. As the god of the forge and the devastating fire of both the environment and nature (volcanoes), Vulcan was probably among the most dreaded of all the gods.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original definition at https://www.worldhistory.org/Vulcan/.
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- Why do you think Vulcan is shown as both powerful and sad?
- Do you think the other gods treated Vulcan fairly?
- Why do you think Romans used Vulcan in stories about their history?
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