Behind every Greek god , there is a Grecian goddess ( or seven , if you ’re counting all ofZeus’wives ) . But Hera stands out among the crowd as the Queen of the Gods , and despite her married man / brother ’s ( remember , this is Greek mythology ) reputation for getting around , she withstand the crown as thesupreme goddessof matrimony , women , the sky and the stars , and she ’s usually the one depicted by Zeus ' side rock awreath and veil .
" As the wife ( and sister ) of Zeus , she is a powerful queen whose strong belief and opinions often are opposed to her husband ’s , " saysRichard P. Martin , Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek prof in classics at Stanford University . " Proud , envious and quick to take activeness when she feel spurned , she can be a risk to gods and soul who get in her means . "
But consort to Martin , Hera also has a soft side . " On the other script , she is fiercely protective of the institution of marriage , and also the one who watched over women in childbirth , " he says . " In some places , she was even identified with the goddess of childbirth , Eileithyia . "
Born to Kronus and Rhea , Hera gained a reputation as the only " really marital goddess among the Olympians , " and she had three tike with Zeus : Ares , the god of war , Heba , the goddess of spring chicken and Hephaestus , the god of metallurgy . She also gave nascence to one son all on her own ( again — that ’s Grecian mythology for you ) . get a line more about that particular taradiddle and more in the follow three Hera fact :
1. Hera’s Husband Was Super Unfaithful, but She Stayed by His Side
" She have wild and often got back at him but she did not go away — for whatever reason , " Martin says . " If we apply some vulgar New ideas , we could , I theorise , distrust her of not wanting to empty the good things — queenship and so on — that run along with being the married woman of Zeus . Or possibly we would say that as an ill-treated married woman , she was panicky and ineffectual to flee — something that materialise . "
Martin does , however , offer a warning about strongly siding with either theory . " It is importantnotto psychologize ancient myths , " he enounce . " First , gods werenothumans ; by definition , they acted differently and sometimes enigmatically . Second , in actual Hellenic social damage , it was passably much unimaginable that a wife would divorce or go away her husband ’s sign — she and children would have no position or protection otherwise . But third — to my thinker , the primary reason — as goddess of spousal relationship , Hera plays a symbolical function . Her very essence is to substantiate a bond that last , socially , no matter how it is strained by people ’s behavior . It is likeHestia , the goddess of the fireside , being unable to leave the house — symbolically , shehasto rest put . "
2. She Threw Her Son Off Mount Olympus, Allegedly
" Well , as with most myths , there are alternative versions , " Martin says . " One of the more common stories feature a variety of titty - for - sleaze run-in between Zeus and his married woman — it looks like he set out it . Hearing that a shaver of one of his many love interest would one day overthrow him , Zeus proceed to swallow the minor goddess Mêtis ( ' sly intelligence agency ' ) , but as she was already pregnant , the child still had to come out — and it did so , out of Zeus ' own head . That kid was the goddess Athena . "
concord to Martin , this whole sequence of events did nothing but enrage Hera , who sought vengeance by bearing her own child , call Hephaestus , parthenogenetically , i.e. , without any help from a male person . " But when she saw the baby was lame , she rejected him and throw him off Mount Olympus , " Martin says . " In veridical liveliness — horrible to say — some ancient Greeks did in fact get out babies to snuff it if they were view physically defective . Sometimes they would be nibble up by passers - by in the position they were reveal and then were kindle by Stephen Foster - parents . "
Hephaestus finagle to pull round the longsighted fall and landed on an island in the Aegean Sea where he was cared for and he eventually managed to become a headmaster metallic element - worker . " To get back at his mother , he made a golden throne and charge it to her as a gift , " Martin say . " But the chair had hidden bonds that ricochet into action when Hera sit down , so she was held tight , ineffective to move . All the immortal begged Hephaestus to let her go , but he refuse until the god of wine-colored , Dionysus , got him intoxicated and brought him to Olympus to unwrap the trick hot seat . "
But as Martin advert to , there is more than one version of the Hephaestus myth . " The other story is that it was in factZeuswho hurl Hephaestus off the heap , and that due to this fall , he got injured and became lame in the first situation , " Martin says . " The plot in this alternative reading was that Zeus had suspended Hera in chains , dangling her from Mt. Olympus ( another weird touch — she ’s always being attach up somehow ) . He did that because she was harassing his own son , Heracles ( born out of wedlock ) . " When Hera ’s own Word , Hephaestus , came to her rescue , Zeus was incensed and boot out him from the hatful . " This one is sort of a mirror epitome of the first , " Martin says . " clear , the stories got spin out calculate on whether the husband or wife divinity was being made to look bad . "
3. She Fought With Zeus Over His Love Affair With … a Cow
" Once there was a priestess of Hera from central Greece whose name was Io , " Martin say . " Zeus , as was his manner with many mortal women , desire her , but he knew Hera would be raging , so he hid his lover Io by changing her into a white-hot cow . " Hera had an glimmer that something strange was choke on between her husband and the bovine , so she made a sneaky move . " She innocently asked that this beautiful cow be given to her as a present , then she assign a creature with 100 eyes ( Argos ) to keep watch over the animate being . "
As with most scenario in their marriage , Zeus and Hera began a stand - off . " The same old tit - for - tat , undercover agent - vs.-spy action ensued , " Martin says . " Zeus sent Hermes to kill Argos and relinquish the cow ; Hera sent a gadfly to keep stinging the cow , so that Io ended up wandering all over the Earth — she eventually swam across the Bosporus ( which is why it catch the name , which means ' the cow - carrefour ' or , if you like , ' ox - crossing ' ) . Meanwhile , Hera felt bad for the all - determine helper Argos and come out his 100 eyes in the derriere of her preferent bird — the peacock , " Martin order .
