Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera. According to a Greek myth, Hera bore him before she was even made the lawful wife of Zeus, from the love affair that she had with him. Other myths are telling us that Hera gave birth to Hephaestus without an intervening male element, just as Gaia had given birth to her firstborn children. The goddess gave birth to Lemnos Island and then entrusted him to Kidalionas, a blacksmith from Naxos Island. The new god learned from him how to forge and work on metals.