Name of Hera
Hera was a very old goddess, potentially predating even
Zeus, based on the number of cults. It’s supposed that we don't even know what
her real name is. "Hera" is a title that is commonly translated as
"Lady" or "Mistress." Juno, the goddess who
gave her name to June, which is still the most popular season for weddings
today, was Hera's Roman counterpart.
Hera's Symbolism and Portrayal
Hera was commonly shown with Zeus as a fully dressed
matronly woman of serious beauty, wearing a polo or wreath and a veil. She
sometimes holds a sceptre topped with a pomegranate and a cuckoo, the former a
sign of fertility, the latter a reminder of how Zeus wooed her. She is
frequently accompanied by a peacock, which is one of her sacred animals.
Hera's Household
Hera is the youngest of Cronus and Rhea's three daughters
and their third child overall, born after Hestia and Demeter; her younger
brothers are Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus, in that order. However, because she was
eaten by her father at birth and then disgorged to be born again, she is
sometimes described as Cronus' and Rhea's oldest daughter. Reasonably, given
that the Titan had to empty his stomach of his progeny in the reverse sequence
in which he ate them.
Hera and Zeus, the Archetypal Married Couple
Hera had no option but to be a devoted wife as the protector
of marriage and the spouse of the King of Gods and Men. Even though she was
stunning, few men – and none of the gods – dared to touch her. Endymion
attempted it once, but Zeus sentenced him to perpetual slumber. Ixion fared far
worse: Zeus duped him into having a love affair with a cloud fashioned in
Hera's likeness, then forced Hermes to bound him to a continually rotating
wheel of fire.
According to popular belief, Hera gave Zeus four sons: Ares,
the god of battle, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, Hebe, the
goddess of endless youth, and Hephaestus, the god of fire.
The Hera Wooing
Zeus duped Hera into marrying him. Knowing well that the
goddess adored animals, he disguised himself as a worried cuckoo, only to
revert to his real shape when Hera carried the wretched bird to her breast to
warm it. Hera accepted to marry because she was ashamed of having been taken
advantage of.
Zeus is challenged by Hera
It didn't, however,
turn out to be a joyful ending. Zeus was nasty and brutish to everyone. Hera,
unable to tolerate this, devised a scheme of vengeance with Poseidon, Athena,
and maybe a few other gods. Zeus was drugged, and they chained him on his bed
while snatching his thunderbolt. Thetis, on the other hand, sent Briareus, who
quickly untied Zeus, who was then brutal to the primary schemer: he hanged Hera
from the sky with golden chains.
Hera pledged never to rebel against her husband again to
secure her freedom. As a result, she turned her rage toward Zeus' lovers and
their progeny, transforming herself into a jealous and bitter wife.
Hera, the conceited goddess
Hera, like most of the other Greek deities, was easily upset
when it came to her beauty.
Orion and Hera
Side ("pomegranate"), Orion's wife, once bragged
that she was as lovely as Hera, so the goddess sent her to the Underworld. When
Antigone, Laomedon's daughter, did the same, Hera transformed her into a stork.
After Paris chose Aphrodite over her, she became a sworn adversary of Troy.
Hera is one of Greek mythology's most significant deities
- The
great mother goddess was immensely significant to the Greeks, and it is
said that she was the first deity to be honoured with a roofed shrine.
- The
site was established in 800 BC in Samos, but it was eventually superseded
by the Heraion, one of the biggest Greek temples.
- Archaeological
evidence at the location shows that people came from all over the
Mediterranean to give offerings. During the eighth and seventh century BC,
pilgrims travelled from Armenia, Babylon, Iran, Assyria, and Egypt to give
sacrifices for Hera.
- There
were temples devoted to the great goddess all across mainland Greece, most
notably in Argos, Sparta, and Mycenae, towns Hera mentions in Homer's
"Iliad" as the three she "loves best."
- There were additional Hera temples in Olympia, Corinth, Tiryns, Perachora, and on Delos, Apollo's sacred island.
Good article 👍
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