by Tim Kavi
Hera acts as the
reigning queen of the gods in Greek mythology due to her role as Zeus’s wife. (Her
counterpart is the Roman Goddess Juno). Hera also acts as the goddess of
marriage and childbirth. Because Zeus is also the god of philanderers, their natures
would frequently clash. This has led to Hera being depicted as a quarrelsome
and jealous goddess that can be a force to be reckoned with. In spite of her
place as Zeus’s bride, the worship of Hera is actually much older than that of
her husband, stemming back to the days when the Greeks believed that any single
entity associated with divinity must take the form of a woman. Her role is
believed to have changed when the male’s role in procreation became more
understood, leading to Hera’s worship as a mother figure rather than an
all-encompassing deity.
Much of Hera’s jealousy
was directed toward women that Zeus seduced or had affairs with, though one of
the most common legends associated with Hera is her jealousy toward the hero
Hercules. This jealousy stemmed from the fact that Zeus fathered Hercules with
the mortal Alcmene, a mortal. Hera went as far as to send snakes to kill
Hercules when he was a baby. She also stirred the Amazons against him while he
was on a quest.
Another famous legend
associated with Hera has to do with the judgment of Paris. At the wedding
between Peleus and Thetis (the later parents of Achilles) many gods and
goddesses were invited to the ceremony. Eris, the goddess of discord, threw a
golden apple among some of the goddesses, and only the fairest was to own the
apple. Since Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite claimed to be the most beautiful
goddess, a decision had to be made as to which goddess should own the apple. The
goddesses brought the question before Zeus, but Zeus was wise enough to leave
the choice of who was the most beautiful up to Paris, a Trojan prince.
So the three Goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite came before Paris, but he
could not decide. Finally, each of them offered Paris a gift to try to persuade
him. It is said that Athena offered him great fame and glory in battle, Hera
offered him control over all of Asia and Europe, and Aphrodite offered him the
most beautiful mortal woman in the world. Because of this he chose Aphrodite,
which absolutely enraged the other two goddesses, especially Hera. Of course, the most beautiful woman in the world at that time was Helen of Troy who was
already married to the King of Sparta. So after the abduction of Helen by
Paris, there was a great war (partially stirred up by the jealous goddesses);
and this was called the Trojan war.
There is some debate surrounding
Hera’s familial roles. Some origin stories depict Hera’s parents as the Titans
Rhea and Cronos, making her Zeus’s sister. Given these close family ties, there
is some debate on whether or not Zeus and Hera produced children together. Hera
is known as the lone parent of Hephaestus. Ares and Hebe are often depicted as
the children of Zeus and Hera, but in some traditions Ares is seen to have been
conceived from a flower in the field of Olenus and Hebe fathered by a lettuce.
These tales may have been invented to avoid adding scandal to Hera’s myth.
In any regard, the
Greek goddess Hera is a major part of goddess mythologies and motifs. She is
not only a fierce mother image, but also that of the fierce, powerful wife, and
symbolizes both a wifely devotion towards her husband, and respect for the protection
of marriage.
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