Ancient civilizations believed that the universe had four basic elements - water, air, earth and fire.  In Greek mythology fire is a recurring theme and is used in their legends in several ways - as a purification agent, in a creative way, as a punishment and as a destructive force.

Hephaestus, was the son of Hera and Zeus, and was the Greek God of Volcanoes and Fire, especially the blacksmith’s fire, and so is the patron of all craftsmen, especially blacksmith and anyone working with metals. He was worshiped predominantly in Athens, but also in other manufacturing centres. Hephaestus was born crippled – and is sometimes known as the ‘Lame God’. Known as the lame god, Hephaestus was born weak and crippled. There are several versions of legends regarding Hephaestus; one legend says that when he was born his mother, Hera, was so distraught at the site of his crippled body that she threw him from the top of Mount Olympus, and it took him 24 hours to land in the sea. From the sea he was rescued by nymphs and taken to the island of Lemnos, where he was cared for by the local people. It was on the island of Lemnos that Hephaestus built his palace and forges in the shadow of a volcano.

In an other version of the legend, during a family quarrel Hephaestus took his mother’s side and so his father, Zeus, threw him from the top of Mount Olympus and he fell for nine days and nine nights before landing on the island of Lemnos.

One of the most famous Greek legends regarding fire, and one of the most interesting, is that of the god Prometheus. It is Prometheus who is clamed in Greek Mythology to be the god who gave the gift of fire to mankind. Prometheus was a Titan, the son of Lapetus and Clymene and brother of Atlas; he is famous for tricking the other gods into eating simply the bones instead of the fleshy meat, this resulted in Zeus denying the secret of fire to mankind. Prometheus felt so sorry for the humans as they were cold and hungry that he stole the sacred fire from the hearth of the gods and in his staff that was made from a hollow fennel wand; he took the fire to the humans, teaching them how to cook with it and to keep warm. As a punishment for this Zeus ordered that Prometheus was to be chained for eternity in the Caucasus Mountains. There, an eagle would eat his liver but then the liver would be renewed every day; meaning that this was a continual and endless punishment. This ordeal carried on until the eagle was killed by Heracles, and Prometheus and Zeus were reconciled. Although Prometheus is claimed to be the god who gave fire to humanity it was Hermes (the messenger of the gods) was also reputed to have invented fire.

There is also a goddess in the Greek legends who is connected with fire and this is Hestia, the” Goddess of the Sacred Fire” also known as the “Goddess of the Hearth and Home”, “Chief of the Goddesses” and “Hestia, First and Last”. Hestia, whose symbols are the sacred flame and the circle, was the first child of Cronus and Rhea. Cronus had been told that one of his children would grow up to take over his throne, and so when Hestia was born he swallowed her; he did this with every other child his wife bore until she gave birth to Zeus, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock rather than the baby. This made him vomit up all the past babies – Hestia, the first swallowed, was the last to be ejected – hence one of her titles - “Hestia, First and Last”.

However probably the most well-known legend about fire is that of the Phoenix; although many cultures have legends regarding the Phoenix, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus described the Phoenix in the 5th century BC. The Greek legend about the Phoenix is that this fantastically coloured bird (now thought of world-wide as a symbol of immortality and reincarnation) lived near a well in Arabia.  Every morning at daybreak as the Greek Sun God – Apollo – rode his chariot across the sky, the Phoenix would dip himself in the well and then sing such a beautiful song that Apollo would stop his chariot (the sun) to listen to the song.  This bird would live for over 500 years, and when its death was approaching he would make a nest of wood, set it alight and then let the flames engulf him. From the ashes of this fire a new Phoenix would arise and wrap up the ashes in a parcel of myrrh and leave this parcel in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (which is Greek for ‘Sun City).