Also called Volcanus, Mulciber.
Their story
Vulcan was an old Roman god of fire, worshipped at the Volcanal, an open shrine above the Forum. At the Volcanalia on 23 August, when harvests lay in dry granaries, households threw small fish into fires as substitutes for human lives, asking him to spare the city from burning. Ovid tells how a spark from Vulcan's hearth fathered King Servius Tullius, and Virgil makes him father of Caeculus, founder of Praeneste. Later he absorbed the Greek smith Hephaestus.
Best times to give to them
- Volcanalia, 23 August
- Tubilustrium, 23 May
- Kalends of May, with Maia
What they like being given
- A candle lit with care
- Small dried fish or a token of them burned safely
- Incense
- Wine or grape juice
How to honour them
- Check smoke alarms and hearth safety in his name each August.
- Light a candle before starting a craft or repair.
- Ask him to keep wild fire away in hot, dry weeks.
How they can help you
- Protection of the home from fire
- Craft and making
- Transforming raw material
Symbols
- hammer
- tongs
- anvil
- flame
The fish offering is attested but the reason given for it varies between sources.
Sources
- Varro, De Lingua Latina 6.20
- Ovid, Fasti 6
- Virgil, Aeneid 7
- Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.12
More Roman gods
- Jupiter Best and greatest, guardian of Rome
- Mars Father of Rome and guardian of fields
- Mercury Patron of merchants, messages and journeys
- Janus Two-faced god of doors and beginnings
- Saturn King of the golden age and lord of the harvest
- Sol Invictus The unconquered sun, reborn at midwinter
- Neptune Lord of fresh water and the sea
- Apollo (in Rome) Healer and prophet adopted by Rome