His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, the god of fire and smithery. His grandfather was a metalsmith who ran a smithery, his father was a self-employed master-painter. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and smithery, was a popular namesake for these foundries. Auraria began to take an early lead with the first saloon, smithery, and carpentry shop. A 12th-century smithery was found at Gornea. After retirement he continued teaching artisan smithery in a local vocational school. Since the 1970s, there is a public funded gold and silver smithery school in Stemnista.