Hymn to Hephaistos

Translated by Fred Lock. The woodcut is based on Piero di Cosimo's Vulcan and Aeolus (c. 1495-1500) at the National Gallery of Canada (http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/artwork_e.jsp?mkey=9494). This painting has usually been interpreted as a fantasy or as part of a series on the subject of fire or on the life of Vulcan. Yet no myth records Vulcan shoeing horses while a house is being built. This puzzling juxtaposition can be partly explained by the Hymn to Hephaistos, first printed in Florence as one of Homer's works in 1488. This poem lauds Vulcan/Hephaistos as the god responsible for craft skills which enable men to build shelters for themselves, and to live a civilized life. Piero di Cosimo has expanded the list of vital crafts to the making of horseshoes, thereby improving transportation. With this poem in mind, the painting can be appreciated in context as part of the revival of Greek learning in Renaissance Florence.