human craftsman: although he makes things that no mortal could, such as
robots to serve in the house, they are all such things as could be used in the
human world. It is not he but the Cyclopes who make Zeus’ thunderbolt.
The Homeric Hephaestus has much in common with the Ugaritic crafts-
man god Kothar, and the descriptions of his activity may show the influence
of Canaanite poetic traditions.^116 But craftsman gods appear in several other
Indo-European mythologies, and we should consider whether they reflect a
common prototype.
In Hittite and Palaic texts there are references to a divine smith Hasammili,
often in the context of underworld gods. He is either taken over from the
non-Indo-European Hattic pantheon, or the Hattic name was adopted for a
divine smith figure that the Indo-European Anatolians had.^117
The Vedic figures who come into consideration are Tvas
̇
t
̇r
̇and the three
R
̇
bhus.^118 Tvas
̇t
̇r
̇’s name is the agent noun from the obsolescent verb tvaks
̇,
‘exercise strength’. He wields a metal axe; he fashioned Indra’s thunder-
weapon, and the gods’ drinking vessel. He is also the shaper of all human and
animal forms, and he develops the embryo in the womb. The R
̇
bhus were
originally mortals, but they attained divine status on account of their
marvellous skills. The verb taks
̇
(~ Greek τκτων, etc.) is generally used of
their work. They are associated with Indra, whose steeds they fashioned. They
also made a self-propelled flying car for the As ́vins, and a cow that yields the
divine drink sabar. Their most famous accomplishment was to improve on
Tvas
̇
t
̇r
̇’s work by dividing the gods’ drinking vessel into four.
In the Ossetic tales there figures repeatedly a divine artificer Kurdalagon
who makes things in the heavenly smithy. Like Hephaestus, he makes things
on request to meet the special needs of human heroes: a cradle for the new-
born Soslan, armour, weapons, a plough, a flute that plays melodies by itself.
There are references to his anvil and to the fierce fire of his forge, maintained
by twelve bellows.^119
The Roman Volcanus is best left out of the picture, as he was essentially the
god of volcanic and other fire, not a smith. His literary appearances in this
role are the consequence of his identification with Hephaestus.
The Irish gods were served by three craftsman deities, the brothers Credne,
a metal-worker, Luchta, a carpenter, and the smith Goibniu. These made
the weapons with which the Dé Danann defeated the Fomoire. The most
prominent was Goibniu, who made Lug’s great spear and who was also
thought of as a healer. His forge was located in various parts of Ireland. He
(^116) See West (1997), 57, 384, 388 f.
(^117) On Hasammili see E. von Weiher in the Reallexikon der Assyriologie, iv. 127 f.
(^118) On these see Macdonell (1898), 116–18 and 131–4, where all source-references are given.
(^119) Sikojev (1985), 10, 70 f., 76, 132, 145, 169 f., 209, 296.
- Gods and Goddesses 155