Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans.
The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as histor...
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Juno was married to Jupiter. She was the queen of all the gods, and also the goddess of marriage.
In Greek myth, Hera often behaves as a dangerously jealous, petty queen of the heavens, who is not nice at all, and spends a great deal of her time getting even, whether the slights are imagined or real.
But in Roman mythology, Juno was the beloved goddess of marriage, worshipped as a housewife and mother and matron. Although Juno watched over all Roman women, her special concern was Roman married women.
Juno's temples were mostly in Rome. Every March 1st, there was a big festival in ancient Rome, to honor Juno. It was a very serious affair. Roman women counted on Juno to watch out for them.
Although the Romans enjoyed the Greek myths about Queen Hera, they treated some of these myths with a "not much truth in them really, but aren't they fun" kind of attitude.
Still, even the best of wives get jealous now and then. Some of the Greek tales did wander their way into Roman mythology. But with the retelling of this ancient Greek myth, the Romans did more than change the names of the gods. They gave the story the personalities of the Roman gods, especially the personality of Juno.
Facts about Juno
Name: Juno
A major deity and one of the 12 Olympian Gods
Jurisdiction: She was described as being the Roman Goddess of Marriage and Childbirth
Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: Juno was believed to be the Queen of the Gods
She was the sister and wife of Jupiter
Her other brothers were Pluto and Neptune
Her sisters were Vesta and Ceres
Depiction / Description / Symbol: Her symbols include the peacock and the cow
Capitoline Triad - The Capitoline Triad consisted of three major gods - Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The most important temples in Rome were dedicated to the triad of gods and situated on the Capitoline Hill.
Name of equivalent Greek Goddess: Hera
Myths of Juno
Several myths are associated with Juno that give us some understanding of her personality as a goddess and explain some of the symbols she is frequently depicted alongside.
One such story tells of the origin of the spots on a peacock's tail. Juno had a servant whose name was Argus. Argus had one hundred eyes and this, as you can guess, made him an excellent watchman. Juno asked Argus to watch over Io (who had recently been turned into a cow) because Jupiter wanted to steal her. Mercury was sent to steal Io and killed Argus in the process. Juno was so sad at the death of Argus that she took all of his eyes and scattered them over the tail of her favorite bird - the peacock. In paintings and sculpture, Juno is frequently depicted with that peacock.
Roman gods
