HeraBy Matt Corby

Who? In Greek Mythology, she is the Queen of Heaven She was the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and

both the sister and wife of the King of the Gods, Zeus The Greeks considered her a protector of marriage and

childbirth

Birth Hera was swallowed after birth by Cronus, one of her

parents Her siblings were also swallowed, but they were all saved by

Zeus after he gave Cronus a potion that made him vomit them up

Growing Up Some stories say that Hera was raised by Oceanus and

Tethys, both Titans Others believe that she grew up under the care of Temenus,

who ruled Arcadia in Greece

Marriage After defeating the Titans, Zeus and his brothers divided the

universe among themselves without giving any to their sisters Hera was naturally angered by this Her anger continued throughout her relationship with Zeus How Zeus and Hera became married is not certain, some say

Zeus seduced Hera while disguised as a cuckoo, others say that Zeus found her on an island and carried her away to a cave

They often fought, sometime fierce enough to shake the halls of Olympus

Children Hera bore 4 children as the

wife of Zeus: Hephaestus, Ares, Ilithyia, and Hebe

Hephaestus was the god of fire and crafts

Ares was the god of war Ilithyia was the goddess of

childbirth Hebe was the cupbearer of the

gods

Hera’s Anger Zeus wandered the world seducing beautiful women, often while disguised as a mortal or an animal

This made Hera insane with rage and jealousy

Strangely enough, most of her anger was directed at Zeus’s lovers and their children instead of Zeus himself

One of Hera’s targets was Hercules, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmena

She sent snakes to kill him and when that didn’t work she later drove him temporarily insane causing him to kill his own family

Juno The Romans identified Hera with the Goddess Juno

Juno was essentially the same as Hera and myths about her were pretty much identical, although Juno had greater authority than Hera

To the Romans, Juno symbolized marriage, home, and family

Significance Hera is significant because she represents marriage and how marriage is not to be betrayed and ignored

She also represents the anger and revenge we feel when we are hurt or offended

Works cited “Hera.” Myths and Legends of the World. Ed. John M.

Wickersham. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 10 Sep. 2012

Atsma, Aaron J. "HERA : Greek Goddess of Marriage, Queen of Heaven Roman Juno." HERA : Greek Goddess of Marriage, Queen of Heaven | Mythology, W/ Pictures | Roman Juno. Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.