Bronze Bas-relief By Hans Wimmer, Germany 1961

Bronze plaque by the 20th-century artist Hans Wimmer depicting "Hephaestus Forging Achilles' Weapons on Mount Etna." Hephaestus, in ancient Greek religion and later in Greek mythology, is the god of fire, the forge, and metallurgy. According to accounts relating to Mount Etna, the Etna region became the home of Vulcan (Hephaestus to the Greeks). He was the blacksmith of the gods and possessed a furnace inside Mount Etna; it was there that he worked iron to forge weapons for his brothers. On the right side, we see the forged weapons of Achilles: helm, helmet, and, mysteriously, a dove. In the center, Hephaestus is hammering the anvil while his naked assistant presents the iron amidst a great cloud of smoke.
The artist's signature is in the upper right corner.