ix. HERA

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GREEK NAMEἩρη

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GREEK NAME
ρη

TRANSLITERATION
Hêrê

LATIN SPELLING
Hera

ROMAN NAME
Juno


HERA was the Olympian queen of the gods, and the goddess of marriage, women, the sky and the stars of heaven. She was usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and holding a royal, lotus-tipped sceptre, and sometimes accompanied by a lion, cuckoo or hawk.


M Y T H S

Her marriage to Zeus who seduced her in the guise of a cuckoo bird.

The birth of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) who she produced alone without a father and cast from heaven because he was born crippled.

Her persecution of the consorts of Zeus including Leto, Semele and Alkmene (Alcmena).

Her persecution of Herakles (Heracles) and Dionysos, the favourite bastard sons of Zeus.

The punishment of Ixion, who was chained to a fiery wheel for attempting to violate the goddess.

The assisting of the Argonauts in their quest for the golden fleece, their leader Iason (Jason) being one of her favourites.

The judgement of Paris, in which she competed against Aphrodite and Athene for the prize of the golden apple.

The Trojan War in which she assisted the Greeks.


PARENTS     cronus and rhea
HUSBAND     zeus
GODDESS OF     marriage, sky, queen of the gods
SYMBOLS     royal sceptre
SACRED ANIMALS     cow (heifer), lion, cuckoo, peacock
SACRED PLANTS     pomegranate
RETINUE     hebe, eileithyia, iris, the charites

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