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Period 2: Hera

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Hera

The Queen of the Gods

Life

In Greek mythology, Hera is the wife and older sister of Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus, making Hera the queen of all Olympian deities. In Roman mythology, Hera's equivalent is Juno, the protector and counselor of the Roman state and queen of the gods. Hera is also identified with Isis, the Egyptian goddess. Hera was born on the isle of Samos, on the banks of the river Asterion. Hera is the daughter of Kronus, the Titan-King of the Gods, and Rhea, the former Titan-Queen of the Gods, and at birth, Hera and her siblings were swallowed by Kronus because he feared that they would overthrow him. Zeus with the help of Metis later tricked Kronos into a swallowing a potion that forced him to disgorge his offspring.^[1] Hera was raised by the Titans Oceans and Tethys on the Argos in the Argolis, Greece. She was worshipped long before any other Olympian gods came to power, even her husband, Zeus. Her worship goes back to a time when the spirtual figure of "God" was conceived of a woman. The goddess consumed many forms, one being that of a bird. She was worshipped throughout all of Greece, including Samos and the Greek Island, and the Temple of Hera, or the Herion, remains to be the oldest of most significant of all Greek temples. The goddess's main sanctuary was at the Argos in the Peloponnesus, where she was worshipped as the town goddess. Hera has proved to be worshipped longer than any other god because tens of thousands of years ago, man concentrated on the wonders and powers of the female body. Childbrith was the closest evidence humanity could come to that caused the earth to bring forth new life. Hera, along with other central female figures, continued to be worshipped over man until humanity discovered man's role in creation. Hera was worshipped generally as the goddess of marriage and birth. She is also the the goddess of kings and empires, the goddess of women's fertility, the goddess of heirs.

Marriage

As mentioned before, the goddess Hera was married to Zeus, ruler of the gods. Their marriage is defined by constant conflicts and struggles, along with Hera's raging jealousy. According to a myth, the marriage was founded with Zeus being incapable of courting the goddess. Because of his failure, Zeus deceived Hera by transforming himself into an ailing cuckoo. Hera held the bird to her breast to warm it, while Zeus resumed his natural form and raped Hera. She then married Zeus in a secret ceremony to cover for her shame of the incident. Throughout their marriage, the goddess was resentful of Zeus's countless affairs with not only other gods, but mortals as well. In fact, most myths concerning the goddess Hera involve her revenge toward her husband's infidelities. Hera, being the goddess of marriage and birth, praised the ideas of faithfulness and chastity, much opposed to the beliefs of Zeus. Because of her envy toward Zeus, Hera punished her rivals and their children with merciless fury. At times when Zeus was furious with the goddess, he would chain her to Mount Olympus by fastening anvils to her feet. More often than not, Zeus would resort to hiding his children, or changing them into animals to conceal his affairs from Hera. She and Zeus did have five divine children together- Ares, the God of War; Hephaistos, the God of Metalworking; Hebe, the Goddess of Youth and Brides; Eileithyia, the Goddess of Childbirth; and Eris, the Goddess of Strife.

Myths

Because Hera is such a major and influential goddess, there are several myths that involve her. One of the many myths displaying Hera's jealous and rage toward Zeus was once when Hera convinced the other gods to join her in a revolt against Zeus because he was being particularly arrogant at the time. Hera and the other gods drugged Zeus, and then bound him to a couch, which tied many knots around his body. After doing so, they began to argue about what to do subsequently. Briareus, a god still full of gratitude to Zeus, overhead this quarrel, and quickly untied the many knots restraining Zeus. Once conscious, Zeus leapt up from the couch and pursued his thunderbolt. The gods involved in Hera's revolt begged for mercy while Zeus seized Hera and hung her from the sky with gold chains. All night, the goddess sobbed in agony, but no other god dared to assist her. This weeping kept Zeus up all night, and the next morning, Zeus went to Hera. He proposed that he would release her is she swore to never rebel against him again. Hera had to agree with his proposal, for she had no other options. The goddess kept her word, but often conspired against Zeus's plans and in the end could outwit him.

Another popular myth concerning Hera is the myth of Hercules, who is considered one of Hera's greatest victims. Hercules was the son of Zeus and Alcmena, a mortal woman Zeus had an affair with. Once Hera discovered the birth of Hercules, she vowed to punish him for the remainder of his life. While still an infant, the goddess sent two snakes into the cradle of Hercules, but because he was known for his strength, the infant Hercules strangled the snakes. Later in his life, Hera drove Hercules insane for a brief amount of time, causing him to kill his own wife and children. Hera once tried to seek revenge on Hercules by raising a storm against his ship, but Zeus penalized the goddess by hanging her by her wrists from Mont Olympus, with anvils attached to her feet.^[2]

Symbols

The goddess Hera has several distinct symbols that are unique to her. A central symbol of Hera is the cuckoo, which is a bird in many placed connected with springtime. Various myths including Hera mentioned that the goddess had a tenderness for the cuckoo. Another symbol of Hera is the peacock, which also symbolizes pride. This is because Hera's vigilance is represented by the numerous 'eyes' of the peacock's vibrant feathers. The peacock was often found wandering in the temples of Hera, making it a sacred symbol of the goddess as well. In several myths, it is mentioned that Hera's chariot was pulled by peacocks. The pomegranate she shares with Persephone is an additional symbol of Hera. In artwork, Hera is often portrayed holding the pomegranate, but no myths that tell of Hera suggest any significance of the pomegranate. The pomegranate represents the goddess Hera in the sense that its leathery skin and juicy interior ripens late in the year, making it an image of a woman in her crone or later years. The cow is not only a symbol of Hera, but a sacred animal dedicated to her. Hera was said to have cow eyes, and once in a myth, disguised herself as a cow. On occasions, Hera was known as Bopis, which means "cow-eyed". The term was later translated as meaning "with big eyes", which Hera was described as having in other myths. Because of this connection, cows were often sacrificed to her by the Greeks. Another symbol of Hera is the apple, which is because when the goddess was forced to marry Zeus, she was given an enchanted garden in the West, or the Hesperides, where she kept her apples of immortality.