Juno

Queen of the Roman Gods

Juno was queen of the Roman gods and one of Rome’s most important divine protectors. She watched over marriage, childbirth and major stages in women’s lives, but her responsibilities also extended to the Roman state. She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops and both sister and wife of Jupiter. Together with Jupiter and Minerva she formed the Capitoline Triad, worshipped in Rome’s greatest temple. Romans identified her with the Greek Hera, so many myths about Hera became part of Juno’s story.

Juno had different titles for different responsibilities. Juno Regina meant ‘Juno the Queen’, while Juno Lucina protected childbirth. Juno Moneta was connected with warning and advice. Her temple stood on the Capitoline Hill, and Rome’s mint later operated nearby. The Latin word moneta eventually helped give English the word ‘money’. Juno’s festival of Matronalia was held on 1 March and was especially associated with married women and family life.

One famous Roman legend says Juno’s sacred geese helped save the Capitoline Hill when enemy soldiers tried to climb it secretly at night. The geese made enough noise to alert the defenders. Another form, Juno Sospita, could be shown wearing a goatskin and carrying weapons, which is very different from the quiet marriage goddess people might expect. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Juno becomes one of Aeneas’s greatest opponents, sending storms and delays because she knows his descendants will eventually threaten her beloved Carthage. She cannot defeat fate, but she makes the journey much harder. These stories show why describing Juno simply as ‘Jupiter’s jealous wife’ misses most of her importance. She was queen, mother, protector, adviser and sometimes warrior. Her presence was woven into Roman family life, public religion and even the calendar.

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