The volcano of Etna (Aetna) is located in Sicily, Italy, close to Messina. Etna is nowadays the highest active volcano in Europe.

In Greek mythology, Etna took its name from Aetna, an Oceanid and mate of Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the Olympian gods. Hephaestus was spending plenty of time on the mountain to create strong thunderbolts for the King of the Gods Zeus with the help of the Cyclops.

According to the Greek poet Aeschylus, Aetna was the place where Hephaestus once got into a conflict with the Giant Typhon and cursed him to hold his anvil with his head, paralyzing him this way. Hephaestus later on buried Typhon in the depths of the mountain and some say that this was the reason Etna was experiencing frequent eruptions.