Greek Mythology

Hera

The Olympian gods

Hera

Greek Goddess of Marriage and Queen of Olympus

Hera is the Queen of the Gods and is the wife and sister of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon. She is known for being the Goddess of Marriage & Birth. Despite being the Goddess of Marriage, she was known to be jealous and vengeful towards the many lovers and offspring of her husband Zeus.
She was also known to turn her anger towards mortals who crossed her as well – for example, Paris, who chose Aphrodite over Hera as the most beautiful goddess at the marriage of the sea-nymph Thetis to a mortal called Peleus.
In images and statues, Hera is portrayed as being majestic and solemn, crowned with the polos – a high cylindrical crown worn by many of the Great Goddesses.
Even before her marriage with Zeus, she ruled over the heavens and the Earth. This is one reason why she is referred to as ‘The Queen of Heaven’ – ruling over Mount Olympus where all the gods and goddesses live.
Even the great Zeus feared his wife Hera. Her never-ending hatred of Heracles, the illegitimate son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene stemmed from his continuous adultery and, amongst other things, Hera raised a storm at sea in order to drive Heracles out of his course to kill him.
Zeus became so angry that he hung her in the clouds by a golden chain, and attached heavy anvils to her feet. Her son Hephaestus tried to release his mother from her humiliating position, for which Zeus threw him out of heaven, and his leg was broken by the fall.

Facts about Hera
Hera was Queen of the Olympian gods.
She was the wife and sister of Zeus.
Hera was a jealous wife, and she fought with Zeus frequently over his extramarital affairs and illegitimate children. For this reason, Hera was known for punishing offending husbands.
She was the protector of women, presiding over marriages and births.
While Hera was worshipped in all parts of Greece, temples were erected in her honor at Argos and Salmos.
The peacock was sacred to her.
Hera had few, if any, redeeming qualities. She never forgot an injury.
The Titans Ocean and Tethys brought her up.
Hera is often described as “cow-faced,” although she was also called the chief among the immortals in beauty.
Though she may have been physically attractive, her vindictive personality makes her less so.
The Trojan War would have ended in peace, but Hera had a vested interest in its outcome and influenced Zeus to either switch sides or remain neutral.
Hera had no concept of justice when angry or jealous; she could not forgive the women with whom Zeus had sexual relations—even if they were innocent of wrongdoing.
Ilithyia, a daughter of Hera’s, assisted women in childbirth.
In the story of the Quest of the Golden Fleece, Hera was a gracious protector of the heroes.
Paris awarded Aphrodite the Golden Apple over Athena and Hera.
Hera punished one of Zeus’s love interests, Io, by putting her in the charge of Argus. Argus had a hundred eyes and kept vigilant watch over her so that Zeus could not come to her aid.
Hera turned Callisto into a bear because Zeus fell in love with her.
Hera arranged the death of Semele, another of Zeus’s mortal conquests, although she did not directly cause it.
Hera never forgave Hercules for being Zeus’s son, but when Hercules died and was taken to heaven, he and Hera reconciled. While in heaven, Hercules married Hera’s daughter Hebe.
In some stories, it was at Hera’s orders that Dionysus was torn to pieces. He was brought back to life, and it is this resurrection that was celebrated in theatres.

goddess of : Childbirth, Women, Home life, Royalty, Marriage and the heavens
Symbols: Pomegranate, Diadem, Lotus-Tipped Staff
Sacred animals: Heifer, Peacock, Lion, Cuckoo, Panther, Crow, Hawk
Parents:Cronus and Rhea
Consort: Zeus
Children: Hebe, Eileithyia, Ares, Enyo, and Hephaestus

Hera and Zeus
Zeus had asked her to be his queen, but she knew of his many other wives and denied his requests. Slyly, Zeus made a thunderstorm and turned into a disheveled cuckoo. Hera felt sorry for it, so she held it to keep it warm. Zeus then forced himself upon her. She married him to cover her shame.

Hera and Hephaestus
After Hera gave birth to Hephaestus, he was so ugly and lame that she threw him off of Olympus. He landed on an island and his legs were permanently damaged. He now has an awkward walk and his home is on the island that he landed on.

Hera and Zeus' Consorts
When Zeus and Io were having an affair, he tried to hide it from Hera by creating thick clouds over them, so that Hera couldn't see down to him. However, Hera knew that Zeus must be under the clouds, so she went down to earth and went under the clouds. Zeus, worrying about Hera's wrath, turned his lover, Io, into a stunning white heifer. Hera was not fooled. She knew this was one of Zeus' tricks but she pretended that she didn't know. She asked Zeus if she could keep the cow and Zeus, not wanting her to find out, allowed Hera to take the cow to their palace in Olympus. Hera tied Io to a tree and set Argos to watch over her.
Argos was a faithful companion of Hera who was the best guard that there ever was. This was because his body was completely covered in one hundred blue eyes. Also, Argos never closed more than half of his eyes at once, so he never missed anything.
When Zeus could no longer stand Io's distress, he sent Hermes, the sneakiest of gods, to set Io free. Hermes disguised himself as a shepherd and went to Argos, playing music on a pipe. Argos enjoyed the music and the company of another person as he was very bored watching a cow all day. After Hermes finished his tune he began to tell a very dull story. Eventually, fifty of Argos' eyes fell asleep and then one-by-one, his other fifty began to fall asleep as well. When all hundred were closed, Hermes touched each one with his wand, making them stay shut in eternal sleep. Hermes untied the cow and Io ran back to her father, who was a river god named Inachus. Inachus didn't recognize his daughter but when Io spelled out her name in the sand, her father understood. Inachus went to Zeus with extreme anger. Zeus killed Inachus with a thunderbolt, and ever since, the river bed of Inachus has been dry. Finally, when Hera saw Argos dead and Io gone, she became extremely angry. She sent a gadfly to chase the cow wherever she went and to continuously sting her. Io ran all over Greece, trying to get away from the fly. When Io arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians worshipped the beautiful cow and she became an Egyptian goddess. Hera told Zeus that he could turn Io back into a human if he promised to never look at her again.
After Io had been turned back, she became the goddess-queen of Egypt and her son with Zeus became the king after her.

Leto, When Hera found out that Zeus had impregnated Leto with a set of twins, she made all lands shun Leto so that she wouldn't be able to find a place to have her babies. However, Hera's brother, Poseidon, had recently created a piece of land that wasn't yet attached to the Earth, so it wasn't yet land. Leto went to this island and laid under a palm tree to give birth.
Semele, After Hera discovered that Zeus had impregnated Semele, a mortal princess, she went to Semele in the guise of an old woman and asked why the baby's father wasn't with her. Semele claimed that the father was the mighty Lord of the Sky, Zeus. Hera, still disguised as the old woman, asked Semele how she could be sure that her husband really was the Lord of the Sky as so many men claimed to be him. Hera told Semele that to be sure, she should ask Zeus to see him in all his true form.
When Zeus returned, Semele made him promise on the River Styx to grant her one wish. He did so but was shocked when she asked him to show her his true form. He begged her to change her wish but she refused. He did as she pleased and she was instantly incinerated. However, Zeus rushed down to Hades and took his son from Semele.
Zeus then gave their son, Dionysos, to Hermes to take him to a valley called Nysa that was located in faraway lands to hide him from Hera. Hermes did so and left him with the Maenads where he was raised with them, as well as tigers and leopards.