Hephaestokratos, son of Philakratos of the deme Kolonos was born on November 13, 460BC in Athens, Greece. His family was part of the middle class allowing him to have a fulfilling and enjoyable childhood. Hephaestokratos had no siblings and spent much of his early life working around the family blacksmith shop with his father, Philakratos. Hephaestokratos idolized Philakratos because he was not only a loving and caring man, but a fantastic mentor as well. At a young age, Hephaestokratos was taught how to use the forge, sparking an interest in weaponry and combat. This passion for fighting continued throughout his childhood as he spent much of his leisure time wrestling and boxing with his friends. By his late teens, Hephaestokratos was extremely devoted to boxing and decided to pursue the 440BC Olympics. In order to achieve his dream, he began training by going for daily runs and sparring with his friends. This later progressed to training with more elite level boxers from whom he learned a great deal. Through this vigorous training, countless injuries, and the strength he developed in his father’s shop, he was set to attend the illustrious games in Olympia. Unfortunately, a couple months prior to these …show more content…
He complied gratefully in order to aid in the defeat of the powerful army of Sparta. As a result of this, Hephaestokratos became acquainted with an Athenian hoplite who was searching for a well-made shield. After forging the shield, Hephaestokratos was introduced to Almene, the hoplite’s daughter. In 430BC, the two of them were wed at the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens. Hephaestokratos and Almene went on to have two sons, Monomachus, who was born in 428BC, and Hagnon, born in 426BC. Hephaestokratos continued to run his blacksmith shop successfully with the help of his children, Monomachus and Hagnon, for the next sixteen