Hera
Caroline Carr
Hera's Family
Hera was the daughter of Cronos and Rhea. Zeus was a brother of her but ended up being her husband. Her children are Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, Eileithyia, Hectate, Charities, Eris, and Typhon. Cronos had swallowed her at birth and was later forced to vomit his children back up. "Cronos swallowed his children, including Hera, as they were born. When the grieving mother was about to bear Zeus, she hid her newborn son in a cave on Crete, giving her husband instead a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he swallowed. A year later when Zeus was fully grown, Cronos was tricked into vomiting up the stone and his children, including Hera." (World History). She married Zeus later on and she was his seventh wife, while he was her first husband.
Who is Hera?
"Hera was worshipped throughout the Greek world and played an important part in Greek literature, appearing most frequently as the jealous and rancorous wife of Zeus and pursuing with vindictive hatred the heroines who were beloved by him." (Encyclopedia Britannica) Hera was the supreme goddess of the Greeks. She was known for her jealousy of her husbands mistresses. She made them and their children suffer. Though, she was the goddess of marriage and birth of children. She was said to be very vain.
Symbols for Hera
The Romans relate Hera to Juno. She is also often seen and said to have carried a scepter. The peacock was also known as a common symbol for her. "Her chariot is drawn by peacocks, her special bird, and in later art a peacock often serves to identify her." (World History). The pomegranate was relative to Hera because it was a symbol for fruitfulness and marital love. Zeus was also a symbol to remind people of who Hera was and who she became in jealousy of Zeus. Her epithets are "white-armed" meaning owl-eyed and "ox-eyed" meaning gray eyed.
Other Information About Hera
Hera had temples at Argos and Salmos. She also helped Jason and the Argonauts on their quest fro Golden Fleece. Hera gave birth alone to Typhon. She created him to over throw Zeus in spite of him sleeping with other people. An example of Hera's actions against Zeus's mistresses, he had an affair with Semele and Hera killed the children that she produced. Heracles was going to receive the throne and Hera made sure that didn't happen and Zeus had declared him descendant of Persues. "This angered Zeus so much that he hung her from Olympus with a couple of anvils hanging from her feet, and her hands lashed together with an unbreakable golden chain." (Greek Mythology Link). Hera created trouble for the women that Zeus had affairs with and she was known to be very jealous.
Work Cited
Hansen, William. "Hera." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Bell, Roert E. "Hera." Women of Classical Mythology. N.p.: ABC_-CLIO, 1991. Print.
"Hera." Factmonster Search. Pearson Education, 2000. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.
Parada, Carlos. "Hera - Greek Mythology Link." Hera - Greek Mythology Link. Carlos Parada and Maicar Forlag, 1997. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.