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Warm-blooded

Warm-blooded is an informal term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes. Other species have various degrees of thermoregulation.

As there are more than two categories of temperature control utilized by animals, the terms warm-blooded and cold-blooded have been deprecated in the scientific field.

Terminology
In general, warm-bloodedness refers to three separate categories of thermoregulation.
 * Endothermy is the ability of some creatures to control their body temperatures through internal means such as muscle shivering or increasing their metabolism. The opposite of endothermy is ectothermy.
 * Homeothermy maintains a stable internal body temperature regardless of external influence and temperatures. The stable internal temperature is often higher than the immediate environment. The opposite is poikilothermy. The only known living homeotherms are mammals and birds, as well as one lizard, the Argentine black and white tegu. Some extinct reptiles such as ichthyosaurs, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs and some non-avian dinosaurs are believed to have been homeotherms.
 * Tachymetabolism maintains a high "resting" metabolism. In essence, tachymetabolic creatures are "on" all the time. Though their resting metabolism is still many times slower than their active metabolism, the difference is often not as large as that seen in bradymetabolic creatures. Tachymetabolic creatures have greater difficulty dealing with a scarcity of food.

Varieties of thermoregulation
A significant proportion of creatures commonly referred to as "warm-blooded," like birds and mammals, exhibit all three of these categories (i.e., they are endothermic, homeothermic, and tachymetabolic). However, over the past three decades, investigations in the field of animal thermophysiology have unveiled numerous species within these two groups that do not meet all these criteria. For instance, many bats and small birds become poikilothermic and bradymetabolic during sleep (or, in nocturnal species, during the day). For such creatures, the term heterothermy was introduced.

Further examinations of animals traditionally classified as cold-blooded have revealed that most creatures manifest varying combinations of the three aforementioned terms, along with their counterparts (ectothermy, poikilothermy, and bradymetabolism), thus creating a broad spectrum of body temperature types. Some fish have warm-blooded characteristics, such as the opah. Swordfish and some sharks have circulatory mechanisms that keep their brains and eyes above ambient temperatures and thus increase their ability to detect and react to prey. Tunas and some sharks have similar mechanisms in their muscles, improving their stamina when swimming at high speed.

Heat generation
Body heat is generated by metabolism. This relates to the chemical reaction in cells that break down glucose into water and carbon dioxide, thereby producing adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a high-energy compound used to power other cellular processes. Muscle contraction is one such metabolic process generating heat energy, and additional heat results from friction as blood circulates through the vascular system.

All organisms metabolize food and other inputs, but some make better use of the output than others. Like all energy conversions, metabolism is rather inefficient, and around 60% of the available energy is converted to heat rather than to ATP. In most organisms, this heat dissipates into the surroundings. However, endothermic homeotherms (generally referred to as "warm-blooded" animals) not only produce more heat but also possess superior means of retaining and regulating it compared to other animals. They exhibit a higher basal metabolic rate and can further increase their metabolic rate during strenuous activity. They usually have well-developed insulation in order to retain body heat: fur and blubber in the case of mammals and feathers in birds. When this insulation is insufficient to maintain body temperature, they may resort to shivering—rapid muscle contractions that quickly use up ATP, thus stimulating cellular metabolism to replace it and consequently produce more heat. Additionally, almost all eutherian mammals have brown adipose tissue whose mitochondria are capable of non-shivering thermogenesis. This process involves the direct dissipation of the mitochondrial gradient as heat via an uncoupling protein, thereby "uncoupling" the gradient from its usual function of driving ATP production via ATP synthase.

In warm environments, these animals employ evaporative cooling to shed excess heat, either through sweating (some mammals) or by panting (many mammals and all birds)—mechanisms generally absent in poikilotherms.

Defense against fungi
It has been hypothesized that warm-bloodedness evolved in mammals and birds as a defense against fungal infections. Very few fungi can survive the body temperatures of warm-blooded animals. By comparison, insects, reptiles, and amphibians are plagued by fungal infections. Warm-blooded animals have a defense against pathogens contracted from the environment, since environmental pathogens are not adapted to their higher internal temperature.

title: Warm-blooded


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Hephaestus

Hephaestus (, ; eight spellings; Ἥφαιστος) is the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes. Hephaestus's Roman counterpart is Vulcan. In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was either the son of Zeus and Hera or he was Hera's parthenogenous child. He was cast off Mount Olympus by his mother Hera because of his lameness, the result of a congenital impairment; or in another account, by Zeus for protecting Hera from his advances (in which case his lameness would have been the result of his fall rather than the reason for it).

As a smithing god, Hephaestus made all the weapons of the gods in Olympus. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centres of Greece, particularly Athens. The cult of Hephaestus was based in Lemnos. Hephaestus's symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs.

Etymology
Hephaestus is probably associated with the Linear B (Mycenaean Greek) inscription, A-pa-i-ti-jo, found at Knossos. The inscription indirectly attests his worship at that time because it is believed that it reads the theophoric name (H)āpʰaistios, or Hāphaistion. The Greek theonym Hēphaistos is most likely of Pre-Greek origin, as the form without -i- (Attic Hēphastos) shows a typical Pre-Greek variation and points to an original sy.

Epithets
Hephaestus is given many epithets. The meaning of each epithet is:
 * Amphigyḗeis often translated as "the lame one"; literally "lame on both sides" vel sim. (Ἀμφιγυήεις)
 * Kyllopodíōn "club-footed" or "of dragging feet" (Κυλλοποδίων)
 * Khalkeús "coppersmith" (Χαλκεύς)
 * Klytotékhnēs "renowned artificer" (Κλυτοτέχνης)
 * Polýmētis "shrewd, crafty" or "of many devices" (Πολύμητις)
 * Aitnaîos "Aetnaean" (Αἰτναῖος), owing to his workshop being supposedly located below Mount Aetna.
 * Polýphrōn "ingenious, inventive" (Πολύφρων)
 * Agaklytós "very famous, glorious" (Ἀγακλυτός)
 * Aithalóeis theós "sooty god" (Αἰθαλόεις θεός)

Craft of Hephaestus

Hephaestus had his own palace on Olympus, containing his workshop with anvil and twenty bellows that worked at his bidding. Hephaestus crafted much of the magnificent equipment of the gods, and almost any finely wrought metalwork imbued with powers that appears in Greek myth is said to have been forged by Hephaestus. He designed Hermes' winged helmet and sandals, the Aegis breastplate, Aphrodite's famed girdle, Agamemnon's staff of office, Achilles' armour, Diomedes' cuirass, Heracles' bronze clappers, Helios' chariot, the shoulder of Pelops, and Eros's bow and arrows. In later accounts, Hephaestus worked with the help of the Cyclopes—among them his assistants in the forge, Brontes, Steropes and Arges.

He gave to the blinded Orion his apprentice Cedalion as a guide. In some versions of the myth, Prometheus stole the fire that he gave to man from Hephaestus's forge. Hephaestus also created the gift that the gods gave to man, the woman Pandora and her pithos. Being a skilled blacksmith, Hephaestus created all the thrones in the Palace of Olympus.

Automatons
According to Homer, Hephaestus built automatons of metal to work for him or others. This included tripods with golden wheels, able to move at his wish in and out the assembly hall of the celestials; and servant "handmaidens wrought of gold in the semblance of living maids", in them was "understanding in their hearts, and speech and strength", gift of the gods. They moved to support Hephaestus while walking. And he put golden and silver lions and dogs at the entrance of the palace of Alkinoos in such a way that they could bite the invaders, guard dogs that didn't age nor perish.

A similar golden dog (Κυων Χρυσεος) was set by Rhea to guard the infant Zeus and his nurse, the goat Amaltheia, on the island of Krete. Later Tantalus was said to have stolen the automaton when it guarded Zeus' temple, or to have persuaded Pandareos to steal it for him. Later texts attempt to replace the automaton with the idea that the golden dog was actually Rhea, transformed in that way by Hephaestus.

Parentage

 * According to Homer (Iliad, I 571–577), Hera is mentioned as the mother of Hephaestus but there is not sufficient evidence to say that Zeus was his father (although he refers to him in such way).
 * According to Homer (Odyssey, VIII 306), there is not sufficient evidence to say that Zeus was the father of Hephaestus (although he refers to him in such way). Hera is not mentioned as the mother.
 * According to Hesiod (Theogony, 927-928), Hera gave birth to Hephaestus on her own as revenge for Zeus giving birth to Athena without her (Zeus lay with Metis).
 * According to Pseudo-Apollodorus (Bibliotheca, 1.3.6), Hera gave birth to Hephaestus alone. Pseudo-Apollodorus also relates that, according to Homer, Hephaestus is one of the children of Zeus and Hera (consciously contradicting Hesiod and Homer).
 * Several later texts follow Hesiod's account, including Hyginus and the preface to Fabulae.

In the account of Attic vase painters, Hephaestus was present at the birth of Athena and wields the axe with which he split Zeus' head to free her. In the latter account, Hephaestus is there represented as older than Athena, so the mythology of Hephaestus is inconsistent in this respect.

Fall from Olympus
In one branch of Greek mythology, Hera ejected Hephaestus from the heavens because of his congenital impairment. He fell into the ocean and was raised by Thetis (mother of Achilles and one of the 50 Nereids) and the Oceanid Eurynome.

In another account, Hephaestus, attempting to rescue his mother from Zeus' advances, was flung down from the heavens by Zeus. He fell for an entire day and landed on the island of Lemnos, where he was cared for and taught to be a master craftsman by the Sintians – an ancient tribe native to that island. Later writers describe his physical disability as the consequence of his second fall, while Homer makes him disabled from his birth.

Return to Olympus
Hephaestus was one of the Olympians to have returned to Olympus after being exiled.

In an archaic story,  Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical golden throne, which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to stand up again. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he refused, saying "I have no mother".

It was Ares who undertook the task of fetching Hephaestus at first, but he was threatened by the fire god with torches. At last, Dionysus, the god of wine, fetched him, intoxicated him with wine, and took the subdued smith back to Olympus on the back of a mule accompanied by revelers – a scene that sometimes appears on painted pottery of Attica and of Corinth. In the painted scenes, the padded dancers and phallic figures of the Dionysan throng leading the mule show that the procession was a part of the dithyrambic celebrations that were the forerunners of the satyr plays of fifth century Athens.

According to Hyginus, Zeus promised anything to Hephaestus in order to free Hera, and he asked for the hand of Athena in marriage (urged by Poseidon who was hostile toward her), leading to his attempted rape of her. In another version, he demanded to be married to Aphrodite in order to release Hera, and his mother fulfilled the request.

The theme of the return of Hephaestus, popular among the Attic vase-painters whose wares were favored among the Etruscans, may have introduced this theme to Etruria. In the vase-painters' portrayal of the procession, Hephaestus was mounted on a mule or a horse, with Dionysus holding the bridle and carrying Hephaestus' tools (including a double-headed axe).

The traveller Pausanias reported seeing a painting in the temple of Dionysus in Athens, which had been built in the 5th century but may have been decorated at any time before the 2nd century CE. When Pausanias saw it, he said:

Hephaestus and Aphrodite
Though married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, the god of war. Eventually, Hephaestus discovered Aphrodite's affair through Helios, the all-seeing Sun, and planned a trap during one of their trysts. While Aphrodite and Ares lay together in bed, Hephaestus ensnared them in an unbreakable chain-link net so small as to be invisible and dragged them to Mount Olympus to shame them in front of the other gods for retribution.

The gods laughed at the sight of these naked lovers, and Poseidon persuaded Hephaestus to free them in return for a guarantee that Ares would pay the adulterer's fine or that he would pay it himself. Hephaestus states in The Odyssey that he would return Aphrodite to her father and demand back his bride price. The Emily Wilson translation depicts Hephaestus demanding/imploring Zeus before Poseidon offers, however, leading the reader to assume Zeus did not give back the "price" Hephaestus paid for his daughter and was thus why Poseidon intervened. Some versions of the myth state that Zeus did not return the dowry, and in fact Aphrodite "simply charmed her way back again into her husband’s good graces." In the Iliad, Hephaestus is described as married Grace Charis during the events depicted in the Trojan War, while in the Theogony, he is married to the Grace Aglaea. The later Dionysiaca by Nonnus explicitly states that, though Hephaestus and Aphrodite were once married (she is referred to as his "ancient wife"), that they have since separated and Hephaestus is now married to Charis.

In a much later interpolated detail, Ares put the young soldier Alectryon, by their door to warn them of Helios's arrival as he suspected that Helios would tell Hephaestus of Aphrodite's infidelity if the two were discovered, but Alectryon fell asleep on guard duty. Helios discovered the two and alerted Hephaestus, as Ares in rage turned Alectryon into a rooster, which always crows at dawn when the sun is about to rise announcing its arrival.

The Thebans told that the union of Ares and Aphrodite produced Harmonia, but that of the union of Hephaestus with Aphrodite, there was no issue. However, Virgil said that Eros was their child, and Nonnus supported this. Later authors explain this statement by saying that Eros was sired by Ares but passed off to Hephaestus as his own son. Because Harmonia was conceived during Aphrodite's marriage to Hephaestus, for revenge, on Harmonia's wedding day to Cadmus Hephaestus gifted her with a finely worked but cursed necklace that brought immense suffering to her descendants, culminating with the story of Oedipus.

Hephaestus was somehow connected with the archaic, pre-Greek Phrygian and Thracian mystery cult of the Kabeiroi, who were also called the Hephaistoi, "the Hephaestus-men", in Lemnos. One of the three Lemnian tribes also called themselves Hephaestion and claimed direct descent from the god.

Hephaestus and Athena
Hephaestus is to the male gods as Athena is to the female, for he gives skill to mortal artists and was believed to have taught men the arts alongside Athena. At Athens, they had temples and festivals in common. Both were believed to have great healing powers, and Lemnian earth (terra Lemnia) from the spot on which Hephaestus had fallen was believed to cure madness, the bites of snakes, and haemorrhage; and priests of Hephaestus knew how to cure wounds inflicted by snakes.

He was represented in the temple of Athena Chalcioecus (Athena of the Bronze House ) at Sparta, in the act of delivering his mother; on the chest of Cypselus, giving Achilles's armor to Thetis; and at Athens there was the famous statue of Hephaestus by Alcamenes, in which his physical disability was only subtly portrayed. He had almost "no cults except in Athens" and was possibly seen as a more approachable god to the city which shared her namesake. The Greeks frequently placed miniature statues of Hephaestus near their hearths, and these figures are the oldest of all his representations. During the best period of Grecian art he was represented as a vigorous man with a beard, and is characterized by his hammer or some other crafting tool, his oval cap, and the chiton.

Athena is sometimes thought to be the "soulmate" of Hephaestus. Nonetheless, he "seeks impetuously and passionately to make love to Athena: at the moment of climax she pushes him aside, and his semen falls to the earth where it impregnates Gaia."

In Athens, there is a Temple of Hephaestus, the Hephaesteum (miscalled the "Theseum") near the agora. An Athenian founding myth tells that the city's patron goddess, Athena, refused a union with Hephaestus. Pseudo-Apollodorus records an archaic legend, which claims that Hephaestus once attempted to rape Athena, but she pushed him away, causing him to ejaculate on her thigh. Athena wiped the semen off using a tuft of wool, which she tossed into the dust, impregnating Gaia and causing her to give birth to Erichthonius, whom Athena adopted as her own child. The Roman mythographer Hyginus records a similar story in which Hephaestus demanded Zeus to let him marry Athena since he was the one who had smashed open Zeus's skull, allowing Athena to be born. Zeus agreed to this and Hephaestus and Athena were married, but, when Hephaestus was about to consummate the union, Athena vanished from the bridal bed, causing him to ejaculate on the floor, thus impregnating Gaia with Erichthonius. Nonnus refers to this tale of Erechthonius being born of the Earth after a "makeshift marriage", but says that Athena then nursed Erechthonius on her "manlike breast".

Volcano god
Some state that his origin myth was that of a "daemon of fire coming up from the earth"—that he was also associated with gas "which takes fire and burns [and] is considered by many people to be divine" and that only later was a volcano considered Hephaestus's smithy.

Hephaestus was associated by Greek colonists in southern Italy with the volcano gods Adranus (of Mount Etna) and Vulcanus of the Lipari islands. The first-century sage Apollonius of Tyana is said to have observed, "there are many other mountains all over the earth that are on fire, and yet we should never be done with it if we assigned to them giants and gods like Hephaestus".

Nevertheless, Hephaestus’ domain over fire goes back to Homer’s Iliad, where he uses flames to dry the waters of Scamandrus River and force its eponymous deity, who was attacking Achilles, to retreat.

Other mythology
In the Trojan war, Hephaestus sided with the Greeks, but was also worshipped by the Trojans and saved one of their men from being killed by Diomedes. Hephaestus' favourite place in the mortal world was the island of Lemnos, where he liked to dwell among the Sintians,  but he also frequented other volcanic islands such as Lipari, Hiera, Imbros and Sicily, which were called his abodes or workshops.

Hephaestus fought against the Giants and killed Mimas by throwing molten iron at him. He also fought another Giant, Aristaeus, but he fled. During the battle Hephaestus fell down exhausted, and was picked up by Helios in his chariot. As a gift of gratitude, Hephaestus forged four ever-flowing fountains and fire-breathing bulls for Helios' son Aeëtes.

The epithets and surnames by which Hephaestus is known by the poets generally allude to his skill in the plastic arts or to his figure or disability. The Greeks frequently placed miniature statues of Hephaestus near their hearths, and these figures are the oldest of all his representations.

At the marriage of Peleus and Thetis he gave a knife as a wedding present.

Other lovers and children
According to most versions, Hephaestus's consort is Aphrodite, who is unfaithful to Hephaestus with a number of gods and mortals, including Ares (see Hephaestus and Aphrodite, above). However, some sources say that Hephaestus is married to one of the Charites. In Book XVIII of Homer's Iliad, the consort of Hephaestus is Charis ("the grace"), with whom he lives in a bronze-wrought home on Olympus, a name used later in Nonnus's Dionysiaca. However, Hesiod names the member of the Charites who is married to Hephaestus as Aglaea, and the Orphic Fragments compiled by Otto Kern say that by Hephaestus, Aglaea became mother of Eucleia ("Good Repute"), Eupheme ("Acclaim"), Euthenia ("Prosperity"), and Philophrosyne ("Welcome"). Some scholars conclude that these references refer to the same goddess under different names, although in the Dionysiaca both Aglaea and Charis appear as separate characters (Aglaea refers to Charis as a separate attendant of Aphrodite when speaking to Eros).

Károly Kerényi notes that "charis" also means "the delightfulness of art" and supposes that Aphrodite is viewed as a work of art, speculating that Aphrodite could also have been called Charis as an alternative name, for in the Odyssey Homer suddenly makes her his wife.

On the island of Lemnos, Hephaestus' consort was the sea nymph Cabeiro, by whom he was the father of two metalworking gods named the Cabeiri. In Sicily, his consort was the nymph Aetna, and his sons were two gods of Sicilian geysers called Palici, who are elsewhere called the sons of Zeus by Aetna, or of Zeus by Thalia (another daughter of Hephaestus), or of Adranos.

Hephaestus fathered several children with mortals and immortals alike. One of those children was the robber Periphetes.

In addition, the Romans claim their equivalent god, Vulcan, to have produced the following children:
 * 1) Cacus (Cacus was mentioned also as a child of Hephaestus)
 * 2) Caeculus

Symbolism
Hephaestus was sometimes portrayed as a vigorous man with a beard and was characterized by his hammer or some other crafting tool, his oval cap, and the chiton.

Hephaestus is described in mythological sources as "lame" (chōlos) and "halting" (ēpedanos). He was depicted with curved feet, an impairment he had either from birth or as a result of his fall from Olympus. In vase paintings, Hephaestus is sometimes shown bent over his anvil, hard at work on a metal creation, and sometimes his feet are curved back-to-front: Hephaistos amphigyēeis. He walked with the aid of a stick. The Argonaut Palaimonius, "son of Hephaestus" (i.e. a bronze-smith), also had a mobility impairment.

Other "sons of Hephaestus" were the Cabeiri on the island of Samothrace, who were identified with the crab (karkinos) by the lexicographer Hesychius. The adjective karkinopous ("crab-footed") signified "lame", according to Detienne and Vernant. The Cabeiri were also physically disabled.

In some myths, Hephaestus built himself a "wheeled chair" or chariot with which to move around, thus helping support his mobility while demonstrating his skill to the other gods. In the Iliad 18.371, it is stated that Hephaestus built twenty bronze wheeled tripods to assist him in moving around.

Hephaestus's appearance and physical disability are taken by some to represent peripheral neuropathy and skin cancer resulting from arsenicosis caused by arsenic exposure from metalworking. Bronze Age smiths added arsenic to copper to produce harder arsenical bronze, especially during periods of tin scarcity. Many Bronze Age smiths would have suffered from chronic arsenic poisoning as a result of their livelihood. Consequently, the mythic image of the disabled smith is widespread. As Hephaestus was an iron-age smith, not a bronze-age smith, the connection is one from ancient folk memory.

Comparative mythology
Parallels in other mythological systems for Hephaestus's symbolism include:
 * The Ugarit craftsman-god Kothar-wa-Khasis, who is identified from afar by his distinctive walk – possibly suggesting that he limps.
 * As Herodotus was given to understand, the Egyptian craftsman-god Ptah was a dwarf god and is often depicted naked.
 * In Norse mythology, Weyland the Smith was a physically disabled bronzeworker.
 * In Hinduism the artificer god Tvastr fills a similar role, albeit more positively portrayed.
 * The Ossetian god Kurdalagon may share a similar origin.

Worship
Solinus wrote that the Lycians dedicated a city to Hephaestus and called it Hephaestia.

The Hephaestia in Lemnos was named after the god. In addition, the whole island of Lemnos was sacred to Hephaestus.

Pausanias wrote that the Lycians in Patara had a bronze bowl in their temple of Apollo, saying that Telephus dedicated it and Hephaestus made it.

Pausanias also wrote that the village of Olympia in Elis contained an altar to the river Alpheios, next to which was an altar to Hephaestus sometimes referred to as the altar of "Warlike Zeus."

The island Thermessa, between Lipari and Sicily, was also called Hiera of Hephaestus (ἱερὰ Ἡφαίστου), meaning sacred place of Hephaestus in Greek.

Namesakes
Pliny the Elder wrote that at Corycus there was a stone which was called Hephaestitis or Hephaestus stone. According to Pliny, the stone was red and was reflecting images like a mirror, and when boiling water poured over it cooled immediately or alternatively when it placed in the sun it immediately set fire to a parched substance.

The minor planet 2212 Hephaistos, discovered in 1978 by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh, was named in Hephaestus' honour.

Ancient

 * Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PhD in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
 * Homer; The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
 * Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
 * Evelyn-White, Hugh, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard
 * Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica; with an English translation by R. C. Seaton. William Heinemann, 1912.
 * Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
 * Pausanias, Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
 * Strabo, The Geography of Strabo. Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
 * Ovid, Ovid's Fasti: With an English translation by Sir James George Frazer, London: W. Heinemann LTD; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959. Internet Archive.
 * Hyginus, Gaius Julius, The Myths of Hyginus. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.

Modern

 * Slater, Philip Elliot (1968), The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek Family, Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, ISBN 0-691-00222-3. Google books.
 * Stein, Murray, Soul: Treatment and Recovery: The selected works of Murray Stein, Routledge, 2015. ISBN 9781317649847.
 * Strabo, Geography, translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924). LacusCurtis, Online version at the Perseus Digital Library, Books 6–14.
 * Stein, Murray, Soul: Treatment and Recovery: The selected works of Murray Stein, Routledge, 2015. ISBN 9781317649847.
 * Strabo, Geography, translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924). LacusCurtis, Online version at the Perseus Digital Library, Books 6–14.

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title: Hephaestus


text:
Herman Charles Bosman

Herman Charles Bosman (3 February 1905 – 14 October 1951) is widely regarded as South Africa's greatest short-story writer. He studied the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain and developed a style emphasizing the use of satire. His English-language works utilize primarily Afrikaner characters and highlight the many contradictions in Afrikaner society during the first half of the twentieth century.

Early life
Bosman was born at Kuils River, near Cape Town, in the Cape Colony, to an Afrikaner family. He was raised with English as well as Afrikaans. While Bosman was still young, his family travelled frequently, he spent a short time at Potchefstroom College which would later become Potchefstroom High School for Boys, he later moved to Johannesburg where he went to school at Jeppe High School for Boys in Kensington. While there he contributed to the school magazine. When Bosman was sixteen, he started writing short stories for the national Sunday newspaper (the Sunday Times). He attended the Johannesburg College of Education (which in 2002 was incorporated into the University of the Witwatersrand) and submitted various pieces to student literary competitions.

Career and adult life
After graduation, Bosman accepted a teaching position in the Groot Marico district in an Afrikaans-language school. The area provided the backdrop for his best-known short stories, the Oom Schalk Lourens series (featuring an older character named Oom Schalk Lourens) and the Voorkamer sketches.

Over the June school holidays in 1926, Bosman visited his family in Johannesburg. During an argument, he shot and killed his stepbrother. Bosman was sentenced to death for this crime and was sent to death row at the Pretoria Central Prison. His sentence was later reduced to ten years with hard labour. In 1930, Bosman was released on parole after serving half his sentence. His prison experiences formed the basis for his semi-autobiographical book, Cold Stone Jug.

Bosman then started his own printing-press company and was part of a literary set in Johannesburg, associating with poets, journalists and writers, including Aegidius Jean Blignaut. He toured overseas for nine years, spending most of his time in London. The short stories that he wrote during this period formed the basis for another of his best-known books, Mafeking Road. At the start of the Second World War, he returned to South Africa and worked as a journalist. During this time he translated the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam into Afrikaans.

Bosman lamented the fact that Johannesburg neglected its heritage. In The Standard Theatre he complained that the city's residents:

"will pull down the Standard Theatre like they have pulled down all the old buildings, theatres, gin-palaces, dosshouses, temples, shops, arcades, cafes and joints that were intimately associated with the mining-camp days of Johannesburg. Because I know Johannesburg. And I am satisfied that there is no other city in the world that is so anxious to shake off the memories of its early origins."

Bosman's second wife was Ella Manson. The couple were renowned for their bohemian lifestyle and parties, which featured witty conversation and usually ended well after midnight.

From 1948 to his death in 1951, Bosman was employed as proof editor at The Sunday Express. In addition, he was contracted to write a weekly Voorkamer story for The Forum magazine.

His last wife was Helena Lake (née Stegmann). After a housewarming party in October 1951, Bosman experienced severe chest pains and was taken to Edenvale Hospital. On admission, he was asked for his birthplace. He replied, "Born Kuilsrivier – Died Edenvale Hospital." He was discharged and collapsed at home a few hours later. Bosman died as he was being rushed to hospital. He is buried in Westpark Cemetery in Westdene under a triangular headstone that reads "Die Skrywer, The Writer, Herman Charles Bosman, b 3.2.1905, d 14.10.1951."

Legacy
After his death, the rights to his works were auctioned. They were purchased by his last wife, Helena, and upon her death, the rights were passed to her son, who retains them. In 1960, however, Helena sold some of his documents and 123 of his water colours and pencil sketches to the Harry Ransom Center in Texas.

Only three of his books were published during his lifetime: Mafeking Road published by Dassie, and Jacaranda in the Night and Cold Stone Jug published by APB. Mafeking Road has never been out of print since its publication in 1947.

His biography was written several times by Valerie Rosenberg. Her first effort was called Sunflower to the Sun, followed by Herman Charles Bosman, a Pictorial Biography, and most recently by Herman Charles Bosman: Between the Lines. The last of these contains much new research and deals in detail with aspects of Bosman's life and parentage that were previously considered taboo.

Because many of his stories were originally published in long-forgotten magazines and journals, there are a number of anthologies by different collators each containing a different selection. His original books have also been published many times by different publishers.

The Herman Charles Bosman Literary Society meets annually for readings, performances and discussions of his works.

Books

 * Some of the ISBNs and publishers below may not be for the original edition.

 * Mafeking Road & Other Stories (1947), ISBN 0-7981-3902-1 Human & Rousseau, ISBN 978-0-9793330-6-4 Archipelago Books (2008)
 * Rubaijat van Omar Khajjam (1948), Colin Reed-McDonald
 * Cold Stone Jug (1949), ISBN 0-7981-3981-1 Human & Rousseau
 * Veld-trails and Pavements (1949), with Carel Bredell, Afrikaanse Pers-Boekhandel
 * Cask of Jerepigo (1957), Central News Agency
 * Unto Dust (1963), edited by Lionel Abrahams, ISBN 0-7981-1501-7 Anthony Blond
 * Bosman at his Best: a choice of stories and sketches (1965) edited by Lionel Abrahams ISBN 0-7981-0249-7 Human & Rousseau
 * Bosman's Johannesburg (1986) edited by Stephen Gray ISBN 0-7981-2001-0 Human & Rousseau
 * Ramoutsa Road (1987) ISBN 0-86852-130-2 Ad. Donker
 * A Bekkersdal Marathon (1971), ISBN 0-7981-0030-3 Human & Rousseau
 * The Earth is Waiting (1974)
 * Willemsdorp (1977), ISBN 0-7981-3901-3 Human & Rousseau
 * Almost Forgotten Stories (1979) ISBN 0-86978-167-7 H. Timmins
 * My Friend Herman Charles Bosman [1980] Perskor. author: Aegidius Jean Blignaut
 * Dead End Road [1980] AD.Donker. author: Aegidius Jean Blignaut
 * Selected Stories (1980), edited by Stephen Gray, ISBN 0-7981-1031-7 Human & Rousseau
 * The Collected Works of Herman Charles Bosman (1981), edited by Lionel Abrahams, ISBN 0-86850-029-1 Jonathan Ball
 * The Bosman I like (1981), edited by Patrick Mynhardt, ISBN 0-7981-1179-8 Human & Rousseau
 * Death Hath Eloquence (1981), edited by Aegidius Jean Blignaut, ISBN 0-86984-189-0 Christelike Uitgewersmaatskappy
 * Uncollected Essays (1981), ISBN 0-86978-167-7 Timmins
 * The Illustrated Bosman (1985), ISBN 0-86850-112-3 Jonathan Ball
 * Makapan's Cave and other stories (1987), edited by Stephen Gray, ISBN 0-14-009262-5 Penguin Books.
 * A Bosman Treasury (1991), edited by Ian Lusted, ISBN 0-7981-2830-5 Human & Rousseau
 * Jurie Steyn's Post Office (1991), ISBN 0-7981-2903-4 Human & Rousseau
 * Herman Charles Bosman : the prose juvenilia (1998), collected and introduced by M. C. Andersen, ISBN 1-86888-049-4 University of South Africa
 * Idle Talk : voorkamer stories (1999), edited by Craig MacKenzie, ISBN 0-7981-3982-X Human & Rousseau
 * Old Transvaal Stories (2000), edited by Craig MacKenzie, ISBN 0-7981-4085-2 Human & Rousseau
 * The Rooinek and Other Boer War Stories (2000), edited by Craig MacKenzie, ISBN 0-7981-4031-3 Human & Rousseau
 * Jacaranda in the Night (2000), ISBN 0-7981-4084-4 Human & Rousseau
 * Best of Bosman (2001), edited by Stephen Gray and Craig MacKenzie, ISBN 0-7981-4203-0 Human & Rousseau
 * Seed-Time and Harvest, and Other Stories (2001), edited by Craig MacKenzie, ISBN 0-7981-4186-7 Human & Rousseau
 * Verborge Skatte: Herman Charles Bosman in/on Afrikaans (2001), collected by Leon de Kock, ISBN 0-7981-4185-9 Human & Rousseau

Plays

 * Cold Stone Jug (1982) adapted by Barney Simon from the play by Stephen Gray ISBN 0-7981-1309-X Human & Rousseau

title: Herman Charles Bosman


text:
Hungarian

Hungarian may refer to:

 * Hungary, a country in Central Europe
 * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946
 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary
 * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignment problem
 * Hungarian language, a Finno-Ugric language spoken in Hungary and all neighbouring countries
 * Hungarian notation, a naming convention in computer programming
 * Hungarian cuisine, the cuisine of Hungary and the Hungarians

title: Hungarian


text:
Howitzer

The howitzer is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is generally aimed lower than a mortar but higher than a cannon. With their long-range capabilities, howitzers can be used to great effect in a battery formation with other artillery pieces, such as long-barreled guns, mortars, and rocket artillery.

The term "howitzer" originated from the Czech word houfnice, meaning "crowd", which was later adapted into various European languages. Developed in the late 16th century as a medium-trajectory weapon for siege warfare, howitzers were valued for their ability to fire explosive shells and incendiary materials into fortifications. Unlike mortars, which had fixed firing angles, howitzers could be fired at various angles, providing greater flexibility in combat.

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, howitzers evolved to become more mobile and versatile. The introduction of rifling in the mid-19th century led to significant changes in howitzer design and usage. By the early 20th century, howitzers were classified into different categories based on their size and role, including field howitzers, siege howitzers, and super-heavy siege howitzers.

During World War I and World War II, howitzers played significant roles in combat, particularly in trench warfare and artillery-heavy strategies such as the Soviet deep battle doctrine. In modern times, the distinctions between guns and howitzers have become less pronounced, with many artillery pieces combining characteristics of both. Contemporary howitzers are often self-propelled, mounted on tracked or wheeled vehicles, and capable of firing at high angles with adjustable propellant charges for increased range and accuracy.

Etymology
The English word howitzer comes from the Czech word houfnice,  from houf, 'crowd',   and houf is in turn a borrowing from the Middle High German word Hūfe or Houfe (modern German Haufen), meaning 'crowd, throng', plus the Czech nominal suffix -nice. Haufen, sometimes in the compound Gewalthaufen, also designated a pike square formation in German.

In the Hussite Wars of the 1420s and 1430s, the Hussites used short-barreled houfnice cannons to fire at short distances into crowds of infantry, or into charging heavy cavalry, to make horses shy away. The word was rendered into German as aufeniz in the earliest attested use in a document dating from 1440; later German renderings include haussnitz and, eventually haubitze, from which derive the Scandinavian haubits, Polish and Croatian haubica, Estonian haubits, Finnish haupitsi, Russian gaubitsa (гаубица), Serbian haubica (xаубицa), Ukrainian haubytsіa (гаубиця), Italian obice, Spanish obús, Portuguese obus, French obusier, Romanian obuzier and the Dutch word houwitser, which led to the English word howitzer.

Since World War I, the word howitzer has been changing to describe artillery pieces that previously would have belonged to the category of gun-howitzers – relatively long barrels and high muzzle velocities combined with multiple propelling charges and high maximum elevations. This is particularly true in the armed forces of the United States, where gun-howitzers have been officially described as howitzers since World War II. Because of this practice, the word howitzer is used in some armies as a generic term for any kind of artillery piece that is designed to attack targets using indirect fire. Thus, artillery pieces that bear little resemblance to howitzers of earlier eras are now described as howitzers, although the British call them guns.

The British had a further method of nomenclature. In the 18th century, they adopted projectile weight for guns replacing an older naming system (such as culverin, saker, etc.) that had developed in the late 15th century. Mortars had been categorized by calibre in inches in the 17th century, and this was duplicated with howitzers.

U.S. military doctrine defines howitzers as any cannon artillery capable of both high-angle fire (45° to 90° elevation) and low-angle fire (0° to 45° elevation); guns are defined as being only capable of low-angle fire (0° to 45° elevation); and mortars are defined as being only capable of high-angle fire (45° to 90° elevation).

Early modern period
The first artillery identified as howitzers developed in the late 16th century as a medium-trajectory weapon between that of the flat trajectory (direct fire) of cannon and the high trajectory (indirect fire) of mortars. Originally intended for use in siege warfare, they were particularly useful for delivering cast iron shells filled with gunpowder or incendiary materials into the interior of fortifications. In contrast to contemporaneous mortars, which were fired at a fixed angle and were entirely dependent on adjustments to the size of propellant charges to vary range, howitzers could be fired at a wide variety of angles. Thus, while howitzer gunnery was more complicated than the technique of employing mortars, the howitzer was an inherently more flexible weapon that could fire its projectiles along a wide range of trajectories.

In the middle of the 18th century, a number of European armies began to introduce howitzers that were mobile enough to accompany armies in the field. Though usually fired at the relatively high angles of fire used by contemporary siege howitzers, these field howitzers were rarely defined by this capability. Rather, as the field guns of the day were usually restricted to inert projectiles (which relied entirely on momentum for their destructive effects), the field howitzers of the 18th century were chiefly valued for their ability to fire explosive shells. Many, for the sake of simplicity and rapidity of fire, dispensed with adjustable propellant charges.

The Abus gun was an early form of howitzer in the Ottoman Empire. In 1758, the Russian Empire introduced a specific type of howitzer (or rather gun-howitzer), with a conical chamber, called a licorne, which remained in service for the next 100 years. In the mid-19th century, some armies attempted to simplify their artillery parks by introducing smoothbore artillery pieces that were designed to fire both explosive projectiles and cannonballs, thereby replacing both field howitzers and field guns. The most famous of these "gun-howitzers" was the Napoleon 12-pounder, a weapon of French design that was extensively used in the American Civil War.

In 1859, the armies of Europe (including those that had recently adopted gun-howitzers) began to rearm field batteries with rifled field guns. These field pieces used cylindrical projectiles that, while smaller in caliber than the spherical shells of smoothbore field howitzers, could carry a comparable charge of gunpowder. Moreover, their greater range let them create many of the same effects (such as firing over low walls) that previously required the sharply curved trajectories of smoothbore field howitzers. Because of this, military authorities saw no point in obtaining rifled field howitzers to replace their smoothbore counterparts but instead used rifled field guns to replace both guns and howitzers.

In siege warfare, the introduction of rifling had the opposite effect. In the 1860s, artillery officers discovered that rifled siege howitzers (substantially larger than field howitzers) were a more efficient means of destroying walls (particularly walls protected by certain kinds of intervening obstacles) than smoothbore siege guns or siege mortars. Thus, at the same time armies were taking howitzers of one sort out of their field batteries, they were introducing howitzers of another sort into their siege trains and fortresses. The lightest of these weapons (later known as "light siege howitzers") had calibers around 150 mm and fired shells that weighed between 40 and 50 kilograms. The heaviest (later called "medium siege howitzers") had calibers between 200 mm and 220 mm and fired shells that weighed about 100 kilograms (220 pounds).

During the 1880s, a third type of siege howitzer was added to inventories of a number of European armies. With calibers that ranged between 240 mm and 270 mm and shells that weighed more than 150 kilograms, these soon came to be known as "heavy siege howitzers". A good example of a weapon of this class is provided by the 9.45-inch (240 mm) weapon that the British Army purchased from the Skoda works in 1899.

20th century
In the early 20th century, the introduction of howitzers that were significantly larger than the heavy siege howitzers of the day made necessary the creation of a fourth category, that of "super-heavy siege howitzers". Weapons of this category include the famous Big Bertha of the German Army and the 15-inch (381 mm) howitzer of the British Royal Marine Artillery. These large howitzers were transported mechanically rather than by teams of horses. They were transported as several loads and had to be assembled at their firing position.

These field howitzers introduced at the end of the 19th century could fire shells with high trajectories giving a steep angle of descent and, as a result, could strike targets that were protected by intervening obstacles. They could also fire shells that were about twice as large as shells fired by guns of the same size. Thus, while a 75 mm field gun that weighed one ton or so was limited to shells that weigh around 8 kg, a 105 mm howitzer of the same weight could fire 15 kg shells. This is a matter of fundamental mechanics affecting the stability and hence the weight of the carriage.

As heavy field howitzers and light siege howitzers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries used ammunition of the same size and types, there was a marked tendency for the two types to merge. At first, this was largely a matter of the same basic weapon being employed on two different mountings. Later, as on-carriage recoil-absorbing systems eliminated many of the advantages that siege platforms had enjoyed over field carriages, the same combination of barrel assembly, recoil mechanism and carriage was used in both roles.

By the early 20th century, the differences between guns and howitzers were relative, not absolute, and generally recognized as follows:
 * Guns – higher velocity and longer range, single charge propellant, maximum elevation generally less than 45 degrees.
 * Howitzers – lower velocity and shorter range, multi-charge propellant, maximum elevation typically more than 45 degrees.

The onset of trench warfare after the first few months of World War I greatly increased the demand for howitzers that gave a steep angle of descent, which were better suited than guns to the task of striking targets in a vertical plane (such as trenches), with large amounts of explosive and considerably less barrel wear. The German army was well equipped with howitzers, having far more at the beginning of the war than France.

Many howitzers introduced in the course of World War I had longer barrels than pre-war howitzers. The standard German light field howitzer at the start of the war (the 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 98/09) had a barrel that was 16 calibers long, but the light field howitzer adopted by the German Army in 1916 (105 mm leichte Feldhaubitze 16) had a barrel that was 22 calibers long. At the same time, new models of field gun introduced during that conflict, such as the 77 mm field gun adopted by the German Army in 1916 (7,7 cm Feldkanone 16) were often provided with carriages that allowed firing at comparatively high angles, and adjustable propellant cartridges.

In the years after World War I, the tendency of guns and howitzers to acquire each other's characteristics led to the renaissance of the concept of the gun-howitzer. This was a product of technical advances such as the French invention of autofrettage just before World War I, which led to stronger and lighter barrels, the use of cut-off gear to control recoil length depending on firing elevation angle, and the invention of muzzle brakes to reduce recoil forces. Like the gun-howitzers of the 19th century, those of the 20th century replaced both guns and howitzers. Thus, the 25-pounder "gun-howitzer" of the British Army replaced both the 18-pounder field gun and the 4.5-inch howitzer.

During World War II, the military doctrine of Soviet deep battle called for extensive use of heavy artillery to hold the formal line of front. Soviet doctrine was remarkably different from the German doctrine of Blitzkrieg and called for a far more extensive use of artillery. As a result, howitzers saw most of the action on the Eastern front. Most of the howitzers produced by the USSR at the time were not self-propelled. Notable examples of Soviet howitzers include the M-10, M-30 and D-1.

Since World War II, most of the artillery pieces adopted by armies for attacking targets on land have combined the traditional characteristics of guns and howitzers – high muzzle velocity, long barrels, long range, multiple charges and maximum elevation angles greater than 45 degrees. The term "gun-howitzer" is sometimes used for these (e.g., in Russia); many nations use "howitzer", while the UK (and most members of The Commonwealth of Nations) calls them "guns", for example Gun, 105 mm, Field, L118.

Types

 * A self-propelled howitzer is mounted on a tracked or wheeled motor vehicle. In many cases, it is protected by some sort of armor so that it superficially resembles a tank. This armor is designed primarily to protect the crew from shrapnel and small arms fire, not anti-armor weapons.
 * A pack howitzer is a relatively light howitzer that is designed to be easily broken down into several pieces, each of which is small enough to be carried by mule or pack-horse.
 * A mountain howitzer is a relatively light howitzer designed for use in mountainous terrain. Most, but not all, mountain howitzers are also pack howitzers.
 * A siege howitzer is a howitzer that is designed to be fired from a mounting on a fixed platform of some sort.
 * A field howitzer is a howitzer that is mobile enough to accompany a field army on campaign. It is invariably provided with a wheeled carriage of some sort.

title: Howitzer


text:
Hummer

Hummer (stylized in all caps) is a brand of pickups and SUVs first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. Although discontinued in 2010, Hummer returned as a model under GMC in 2020. In 1998, General Motors (GM) purchased the brand name from AM General and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the military Humvee, as well as the new H2 and H3 models that were based on smaller, civilian-market GM platforms.

By 2008, Hummer's viability in the economic downturn was questioned. Rather than being transferred to the Motors Liquidation Company as part of the GM bankruptcy in 2009, the brand was retained by GM, to investigate its sale. No final deal was made, and in 2010, Hummer dealerships began shutting down.

The nameplate returned to the marketplace for the 2022 model year, not as a separate make brand but as electric pickup truck and SUV models sold under the GMC brand as the "GMC Hummer EV". The pre-production versions of the EV began November 2021 after a $2.2 billion investment to build a variety of all-electric vehicles in GM's Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant.

Origin
AM General had planned to sell a civilian version of its Humvee as far back as the late 1980s. Having the same structure and most mechanical components, the civilian Hummers were finished in automotive gloss paint, adding passenger car enhancements such as air conditioning, sound insulation, upgraded upholstery, stereo systems, wood trim, and convenience packages. The civilian model began in part because of the persistence of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who saw an Army convoy while filming Kindergarten Cop in Oregon and began to campaign and lobby for a civilian version to be available on the market.

In 1992, AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee vehicle to the public under the brand name "Hummer". The first two Hummer H1s to be sold were purchased by Schwarzenegger.

GM purchase
In December 1999, AM General sold the brand name to General Motors but continued to manufacture the vehicles. GM was responsible for the marketing and distribution of all civilian Hummers produced by AM General. Shortly thereafter, GM introduced two of its own design models, the H2 and H3, and renamed the original vehicle H1. AM General continued to build the H1 until it was discontinued in 2006 and was contracted by GM to produce the H2. The H3 was built in Shreveport, LA, alongside the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, with which it shared the GMT-355 platform (modified and designated GMT-345). Hummer dealership buildings featured an oversized half Quonset Hut style roof, themed to the Hummer brand's military origins.

By 2006, the Hummer began to be exported and sold through importers and distributors in 33 countries. On October 10, 2006, GM began producing the Hummer H3 at its Port Elizabeth plant in South Africa for international markets. The Hummers built there at first were only left-hand drive, but right-hand drive versions were added and exported to Australia and other markets.

The H2 was also assembled in Kaliningrad, Russia, by Avtotor, starting in 2006 and ending in 2009. The plant produced a few hundred vehicles annually, and its output was limited to local consumption with five dealers in Russia.

On June 3, 2008, one day prior to GM's annual shareholder meeting, Rick Wagoner, GM's CEO at that time, said the brand was being reviewed and would possibly be sold, have the production line completely redesigned, or be discontinued. This was due to the decreasing demand for large SUVs as a result of higher oil prices. Almost immediately after the announcement, a pair of Indian automakers, including Mahindra & Mahindra, expressed interest in purchasing all or part of Hummer.

In April 2009, GM President Fritz Henderson stated several interested parties had approached GM regarding the Hummer business.

Failed sale and shutdown
On June 1, 2009, as a part of the General Motors bankruptcy announcement, the company revealed that the Hummer brand would be discontinued. However, the following day GM announced that instead it had reached a deal to sell the brand to an undisclosed buyer. After GM announced that same day that the sale was to an undisclosed Chinese company, CNN and the New York Times identified the buyer of the Hummer truck unit as China-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company Ltd. Later that day, Sichuan Tengzhong itself announced the deal on their own website.

On January 6, 2010, GM CEO Ed Whitacre said he hoped to close the deal with Tengzhong by the end of that month. On February 1, 2010, it was announced that Sichuan and General Motors had agreed to extend the deadline until the end of February as Sichuan tried to get approval by the Chinese government. It was also revealed that the price tag of the Hummer brand was $150 million.

Later, on February 24, 2010, GM announced the Tengzhong deal had collapsed and the Hummer brand would soon shut down. There were reports that Sichuan Tengzhong might pursue the purchase of the Hummer brand from GM by purchasing it privately through the company's new J&A Tengzhong Fund SPC, a private equity investment fund owned by an offshore entity that was recruiting private investors to buy into its acquisition plan. The financial markets posed problems for established borrowers and even more for Tengzhong, a little-known company from western China, at the same time as the potential value of the Hummer brand continued to decline, given high fuel prices and weak consumer demand.

The company announced it was willing to consider offers for all or part of the assets. American company Raser Technologies along with several others expressed interest in buying the company. However, on April 7, 2010, this attempt failed as well, and General Motors officially said it was shutting down the Hummer SUV brand and offering rich rebates in a bid to move the remaining 2,200 vehicles.

After filling a rental-car fleet order, the last Hummer H3 rolled off the line at Shreveport on May 24, 2010.

Revival
In mid-2019, rumors began to circulate that General Motors was considering reviving the Hummer nameplate in 2021, as the market for off-road vehicles was reaching historic levels of sales. GM President Mark Ruess was asked about the possible return in the summer of 2019 and said, "I love Hummer. I don't know. We're looking at everything." Credibility to the earlier reporting began to solidify after the conclusion of the 2019 General Motors strike, as contract negotiations led to the commitment by GM of saving its Detroit-Hamtramck facility from closing by investing in and retooling it to build future electric trucks and SUVs; the products were to be built on GM's upcoming "BT1" electric truck platform. GM's own documentation listed three brands as receiving products from the BT1 architecture: Cadillac (presumably an electric Cadillac Escalade), Chevrolet (Silverado EV), and a third unknown brand referred to as the "M-Brand."

Industry insiders claimed they had sources saying that the "M-Brand" was a Hummer, because a revival of the brand with established name recognition would help reduce marketing costs. The Hummer revival on the BT1 platform was known internally as "Project O," potentially named after former Chief Camaro Engineer Al Oppenheiser (the man responsible for the return of the Camaro in 2010), who was moved from Camaro development to overseeing an EV program. Oppenheiser later confirmed this himself. By November 2019, media reports all but confirmed that Hummer would return with two electric models, a truck and an SUV, sometime in 2021. On November 21, 2019, General Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed that GM would be releasing an electric pickup truck in the fall of 2021, but did not name the brand under which it would be built.

The new Hummer line is not a standalone brand, as it was before General Motors filed for bankruptcy, but a model within GM's GMC brand.

On January 30, 2020, GM released a series of short videos revealing the return of Hummers in the form of electric SUV and truck models marketed under the GMC brand. A 30-second Super Bowl ad featured NBA superstar LeBron James. The vehicle was to be revealed on May 20, 2020, but the date was later pushed back to October 20, 2020.

The Hummer EV SUT was officially revealed on October 20, 2020, during the 2020 World Series. The Hummer EV SUV was unveiled during the NCAA Tournament Final Four on April 3, 2021.

There will be several versions and models under GM brand GMC, with initially only the most expensive "Edition 1" four-door pickup available, followed by other models and later as an SUV.

Hummer H1
The first vehicle in the Hummer range was the Hummer H1, based on the Humvee. Released for the civilian market in 1992, this vehicle was designed by American Motors' AM General subsidiary to meet U.S. Military specifications that were issued in 1979. By 1982, Renault (which was partially owned by the French government) took controlling interest in AMC, and the AM General division was sold in 1983 to Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), because US regulations barred ownership of defense contractors by foreign governments. American Motors itself was acquired by Chrysler in 1987. Production of H1 civilian versions continued throughout 2006.

Hummer H2
The Hummer H2 was the second vehicle in the Hummer range built in the AM General facility under contract from General Motors from 2002 to 2009. There were two variations: The H2 SUV and H2 SUT.

Hummer H3
The H3 and H3T pickup truck were the smallest of the Hummer models and were based on the GMT355 platform shared with the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon compact pickup trucks. The H3 line was produced from 2005 to 2010 by General Motors.

Hummer HX
The Hummer HX was developed in 2008 as an open-air, two-door off-road concept car, smaller than other Hummer models.

Plug-in hybrid
Raser Technologies (formerly of Utah) was to use technology similar to that of the Chevrolet Volt. The company unveiled the prototype to the 2009 Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit. The E-REV (Extended-Range Electric Vehicle) powertrain technology was claimed to power the vehicle for up to 40 mi on its battery, and then a small 4-cylinder internal combustion engine would start to generate more electricity.

Racing
Team Hummer Racing was created in 1993. Led by off-road racer Rod Hall, Team Hummer competed in the stock classes of both BitD and SCORE, with specialized racing shock absorbers, tires, and other modifications, along with mandatory safety equipment. Team Hummer stock-class H3 was driven by Hall who finished first in class with the H3 in the 2005 Baja 1000. Team Hummer earned 11 production-class wins at the Baja 1000.

A highly modified, two-wheel drive Hummer was raced by Robby Gordon in 2006 (did not finish), 2007 (8th place), 2009 (3rd place), 2010 (8th place), 2011 (did not finish), 2012 (disqualified), and 2013 (14th place) Dakar Rally.

Stretch limousines
The Hummer H2 has been stretched by third-party companies into a variety of limousine versions. The Hummer H2 was cut behind the cab, and the chassis was extended to create a passenger section for 14, 16, or even 22 passengers.

Production

 * AM General Hummer H1 Assembly Plant, Mishawaka, Indiana – 500000 sqft opened in 1984 to build HMMWV (HUMVEE) and began production of the H1 in 1992. Production ceased 2006, but HMMWV production continues.
 * AM General Hummer H2 Assembly Plant, Mishawaka, Indiana – 673000 sqft opened 2002. H2 production ended 2009. Plant sold to SF Motors, maker of electric vehicles, in 2017.
 * General Motors South Africa Struandale Assembly Plant, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa – built in 1996, expanded to 75625 sqm to build H3 models. H3 production ended 2009.
 * General Motors Shreveport Operations, Shreveport, Louisiana – in 2005, to accommodate the production of the H3, an additional 296000 sqft was added to plant built by GM in 1981. In July 2009, GM had shut down Hummer production of the H3, but the automaker had a special fleet order from Avis Rent a Car System.
 * Avtotor Kaliningrad, Russia – licensed version of H2 starting from 2006 and production ended in 2009.

Criticisms
Criticism of Hummers mirrors the criticism of SUVs in general, but to a higher degree. Specific criticisms of Hummers include:

 * Size:Hummers (specifically the H1 and H2) are significantly bigger than other SUVs, which can cause problems parking, driving, and fitting in a garage. Their large size may also pose a serious threat to smaller vehicles and pedestrians.

 * Poor fuel economy:Even compared to other heavy passenger vehicles, Hummers have very poor fuel economy. Because the H2 is built to the over-8500-lb GVW, its fuel economy is neither published by the U.S. EPA nor counted toward Corporate Average Fuel Economy. For example, H2 in one engine configuration averages an estimated 14 mpgus on the highway and 10 mpgus in the city. It has a curb weight of around 6400 lb.

 * Safety:Crash data for Hummers is less complete than for other SUVs. As a Class 3 truck, the Hummer is exempt from many United States Department of Transportation safety regulations. The H1 lacks standard safety features, including child safety locks, child seat tethers, side airbags, and stability control. Large blind spots make parking difficult and possibly dangerous.

 * Drivers:A one-year study, conducted by a firm that provides statistical information to insurance companies, found that drivers of Hummer H2 and H3s receive about five times as many traffic tickets as the national average for all vehicles (standardized based on the number of violations per 100,000 miles driven).

Licensing
GM is active in licensing the Hummer. Various companies have licensed the Hummer trademarks for use on colognes, flashlights, bicycles, shoes, coats, hats, laptops, toys, clothing, CD players, video games and other items. An electric quadricycle badged as a Hummer was produced in the UK.

title: Hummer