Myths of Volcanoes

Myths and legends are everywhere. There are legends of people from long ago, myths of ancient Greeks. There are myths and legends of almost everything, including volcanoes. Myths of their creation, of why they erupt. Myths and legends of various gods controlling their own volcanoes. There is a story for almost every volcano. The amount of legends and myths concerning volcanoes is quite extensive, ranging from Hephaestus to Vulcan and everything in between. It's very interesting to know what people thought of volcanoes when the myths were made; myths about volcano are as captivating as other myths. Take Pele, one of the gods associated to volcanoes I'll be talking about, for example.

Pele (also called Ka wahine `ai honua, the woman who devours the land) is the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. She is very popular in Hawaiian mythology and is believed to live in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, a fire pit at the summit of Kīlauea (an active volcano). There are a few variations of how Pele actually came to the Hawaiia islands. One was through expulsion, and the other by canoe. In the canoe/flood version, Pele received a canoe from her oldest brother, Kamohoali'i, the king of sharks and travelled far away with her brothers and came across Hawaii. Upon arrival, she is attacked by her older sister, Na-maka-o-Kaha’i. Pele survived, recovered, and fled to Oahu. There, she dug a numerous amount of “fire pits,” which include the DIamond Head crater in Honolulu. After, she travelled farther southeast to Maui, and created the Haleakala volcano. In the meantime, Na-maka-o-Kaha’i discovered her location, and went to Maui to battle. The battle ended somewhat neat Hana, Maui with Pele being torn apart by her older sister. It’s said that her bon...

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...ted blacksmith. Juno instantly demanded that Vulcan return home, an offer of which he refused. He sent Juno a beautiful chair of silver and gold, which she was delighted with. The chair was actually a cleverly designed trap, restraining her more the more she struggled. Juno remained bound to the chair for three days, unable to eat, sleep or stretch. Jupiter (Vulcan’s old dad) promised Vulcan Venus (the goddess of love) as a wife if he released Juno. He consented, and married Venus. They had a son named Caeculus. Whenever Venus was unfaithful, Vulcan would strike the fiery, hot metal so hard that sparks and smoke would come up from the top of the mountain of which his smithy was located, creating a volcanic eruption.

Stories about volcanoes are captivating. Myths come in different versions, but all of them are capable of capturing yours, and everybody’s imagination.