Poseidon, god of the sea, persuaded him to release the two lovers. Another display of trickery came at the expense of his mother, Hera. .
As a sequence to the tale that Hera tossed him into the sea at birth, a fully-grown Hephaistos made and set a clever trap for her in retaliation. While still on Lemnos, he constructed thrones for the twelve Olympian gods and goddesses. He disguised Hera's throne so that when she sat she was wrapped with invisible feathers and her throne disappeared, suspending her in mid air. The trap was such that none of the Gods could free her. In hopes of persuading him to release Hera, the smith god was invited to return to Mt. Olympus permanently. Finally, a friend clouded Hephaistos" mind with alcohol and persuaded him to release her. Aside from his more infamous and mischievous deeds, Hephaistos yielded some of the most spectacular relics in Greek mythology.
In Homer's epic tale The Iliad, Hephaistos receives a request to forge battle armor and shield for the great Greek warrior and mortal, Achilles, during the heat of the Trojan War. The request comes from Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and by one account, the one that cared for Hephaistos after he was tossed off Mt. Olympus and crippled. Feeling a special bond to Thetis, he conceded even though Achilles was a mortal and began to forge an indestructible set of armor worthy of a god. The armor is hailed as one of his greatest works of symbolism and craftsmanship. .
The shield portrays two cities and the plight of the Greeks and their fight against the Trojans in a microcosm of the larger story. It depicts dramatic scenes of life and death, peace and war, and joy and grief within the cities. It is constructed of gold, bronze, tin, and silver and is forged five layers thick for strength. Intricacies include the heavens, earth, sun, moon, seas, and constellations. One city is depicted with celebrations, feasts, marriage, music, and dance, while the other city is burdened with two armies in siege and armed in battle.
