Penny -- Yes, actually, I plan on writing about Hephaestus, himself, for B.A.D.D. (mentioned in the first post to this thread), and I've read that same suggestion about the side effects of being a smith in the olden days -- most notably, using mercury as a substitute in making bronze when copper wasn't available.

However, one of the Homeric poets (I think of "Homer" as a collective noun) actually gave Heph. the line of dialog: "I was born lame in both legs."

It's my own private notion (not evolved enough to be a theory) that living with a physical disability actually leads you into thinking up new technology, to help you get around your physical limitations. And so the gods of clever technology tend to reflect that reality.

Jim --

Re: reshaping stories. What you say is true. However, the Grimm brothers did collect "their" tales, and continually refined and edited their collection (between 1812 and 1858) in order to advance the political cause they believed in. They were not the nineteenth century German version of Alan Lomax and they didn't pretend to be. It's our own romantic revisionism that sticks them in the role of "authentic folklorists."

When I retell a story, I do my best to: a) note my source, and b) point out what changes I have made, and why (usually, it's because my experience causes me to notice details that the author/translator skims over, or seems to miss entirely -- the: "hm. If I were this character, here, I would've felt X instead of Y" reaction. Because, frankly, I believe my lived experience today is just as "valid" as that of a ploughman who lived 200 years ago.

Re: the "experts" missing the point entirely. Psychological interpreters are the worst of the bunch. Just last night, a friend of mine send me a link to this essay about women's heroic journeys: The Armless Maiden and the Hero's Journey. It's all very pretty and intellectual, but, as my friend pointed out, the author assumes that living without hands can only be a metaphor -- there's no way it could ever have been a lived experience of actual people.

*sigh*
*grumble*