Hera

Queen of the Olympian Gods

Hera was the queen of the Olympian gods and a daughter of Cronus and Rhea. She was the sister and wife of Zeus and became goddess of marriage, women and royal power. Hera was one of the most important goddesses in Greece, with major temples and festivals in places such as Argos, Samos and Olympia. She was often shown wearing a crown or veil and carrying a sceptre like a queen. The peacock later became one of her most famous animals. Hera could protect marriages and cities, so real Greek worshippers saw much more in her than the angry character who appears in many adventure stories.

Unfortunately, Hera’s marriage to Zeus was full of problems. Zeus had many relationships with other goddesses and mortal women, and Hera became famous for her jealousy. The unfair part is that she often punished the women or children instead of Zeus. She made life difficult for Leto before Apollo and Artemis were born and tricked Semele, the mother of Dionysus, into making a dangerous request. Her most famous enemy was Heracles, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman called Alcmene. Hera caused him problems from the time he was a baby and later played a terrible part in the events that led to his Twelve Labours.

Hera was not afraid to disagree with Zeus either. During the Trojan War she supported the Greeks and sometimes worked against Zeus’s plans. In one story she even joins Athena and Poseidon in an attempt to bind him. Hera and Zeus had several children together, including Ares and Hebe, while different stories disagree about Hephaestus. Hera could be proud, stubborn and extremely harsh, but reducing her to ‘the jealous wife’ misses how important she was. She represented queenship and marriage and was worshipped for centuries. I think the best way to imagine Hera is as a very powerful queen who expects respect. Unfortunately for almost everyone around her, Zeus was absolutely terrible at giving her a peaceful family life.

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