The name Volcanus likely derives from Latin terms for lightning and flames, meaning lustre or brilliance. Some scholars suggest it comes from the Cretan god Velchanos or matches the Ossetic smith Kurd-Alä-Wärgon from the Nart saga.
The oldest shrine stood at the foot of the Capitoline Hill in the Roman Forum near the Arch of Septimius Severus. Archaeologists discovered tufaceous foundations measuring 3.95 meters long and 2.80 meters wide dating back to the eighth century BC.
August 23 marked the annual celebration known as the Vulcanalia festival during which summer heat placed crops and granaries at high risk of burning. The date May 23 was also sacred to Vulcan as one of two Tubilustria ceremonies for purifying trumpets.
Roman scholars identified Vulcan with the Greek smith-god Hephaestus through syncretism evidenced by a Greek pot fragment found at the Volcanal dating to the sixth century BC. Unlike Hephaestus who focused on constructive metalworking, Vulcan carried stronger associations with destructive fire threatening cities.
Ancient legends portrayed Caeculus founder of Praeneste as conceived when a spark dropped onto his mother's womb near a hearth. Servius Tullius another legendary king had a similar origin story involving a male sex organ appearing in ashes while Cacus and Caca were sons representing metallurgic and domestic fire projections.