Sterling Silver Jewelry: The God Of Jewelry

According to classical Greek mythology, born from Chaos, came the Titan Gods led by Cronus. The Titans held dominion over the Earth and the planets of the Solar system. This was until Cronus was murdered and dethroned by his son Zeus, who also happned to be the leader of the succeeding generation of Olympian gods. Overtime the 12 gods of Mount Olympus deposed of most of the Titan gods, however some of them survived, one was Prometheus.

Of all the Titan gods Prometheus was said to be the wisest, his name meant ‘Forethought’ due to his ability to envision the future. Prometheus, recognizing humanity’s potential, was mankind’s benefactor, and wished to bestow upon us the knowledge of the gods. One day Prometheus, acting against the wishes of Zeus and the Olympian gods, stole the flames of enlightenment and gave them to humankind. In reprisal Zeus, desiring that fire’s powers be reserved for the divine, punished Prometheus for his act of kindness towards humanity with perpetual damnation.

Hephaestus, one of Zeus’ many offspring and the Olympian god of smiths, was ordered to produce manacles that would chain the disgraced Prometheus to the side of Mount Caucasus. Prometheus would then became the daily buffet of a giant eagle, which each and everyday would swoop down from the mountaintop, ripping his liver from his body. After suffering this torture for a thousand years Prometheus was eventually rescued by Hercules.

Zeus was merciless, and even Hephaestus didn’t escape the ruling Olympian God’s wrath. A kind and peace-loving god, Hephaestus was the only god who suffered from any physical deformity, for this he was cast out of Olympia. This is a passage from Homer’s tales of Troy, ‘The Iliad’, recounting Hephaestus’ expulsion from Olympus the incident that led to his becoming a smith and creator of rare gold and silver jewelry beauty:

“...That would have been a dangerous time, had not Thetis and Eurynome taken me in-- Eurynome, daughter of the tidal Ocean. Nine years I stayed, and fashioned works of art, silver jewelry, brooches and spiral bracelets, necklaces, in their smooth cave, round which the stream of Ocean flows with a foaming roar: and no one else knew of it, gods or mortals...”

The Greeks associated Hephaestus with electrum, the naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, and appointed him god of the forge and the subterranean fire. The Greeks believed that Hephaestus discovered ways to work silver, gold, iron, and copper, in the depths of Volcanoes from where he derived his Roman name Vulcan, the Romans believed him to have his forge in the base of Mount Etna.

Hephaestus, creator of great beauty, was a highly skilled blacksmith and artisan, he was reputed for his devotion to his forge, where he crafted gold and silver jewelry, drinking vessels, weapons: including Zeus' thunderbolts, Artemis’ silver arrows, Apollo’s silver bow and Achilles’ armor.

Still standing today at the heart of the ancient site of the Agora in Athens, there stands a temple dedicated to Hephaestus called the Hephaisteion. The temple’s construction was started in 449 B.C. However, the Agora itself was in use as early as the 6th century B.C., at the time of the monetary reforms of Solon and the silver production of the Laurium mines, as the financial, judicial and cultural center of Athens.

The Athenian Agora wasn’t the only architectural marvel to be built around tales of deities, gold, silver and jewelry. At the same time in Asia Minor a wonder was under construction in honor of another deity whose roots lay firmly intertwined with silver…


This article was written by David-John Turner for the Silvershake website, an online retailer of silver jewelry at wholesale prices. Purchase today and get gemstone silver jewelry worth up to $60...Free!
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