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Hera by CG artist Soa Lee
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[reposted from original in la Vie Sirene]
Protector of women and marriage, familiar with magic
"Hera is the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function is as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow, lion and the peacock are sacred to her. Hera's mother is Rhea and her father Cronus.
Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, and crowned with the polos (a high cylindrical crown worn by several of the Great Goddesses), Hera may bear a pomegranate in her hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute for the narcotic capsule of the opium poppy. A scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos."
Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, most notably against Zeus's lovers and offspring, but also against mortals who crossed her, such as Pelias. Paris offended her by choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess, earning Hera's hatred.” [Wikipedia]
Some of the more famous myths featuring the goddess include:--
- Her marriage to Zeus and her earlier seduction by the god in the guise of a cuckoo bird;
- The birth of Hephaistos who she produced alone and cast from heaven because he was crippled;
- Her persecution of the consorts of Zeus, especially Leto, Semele and Alkmene;
- Her persecution of Herakles and Dionysos, the favourite bastard sons of Zeus;
- The punishment of Ixion, who was chained to a fiery wheel for attempting to violate the goddess;
- The assisting of the Argonauts in their quest for the golden fleece, their leader Jason being one of her favourites;
- The judgement of Paris, in which she competed against Aphrodite and Athene for the prize of the golden apple;
- The Trojan War, in which she assisted the Greeks.
[sources: Theoi.com, GreekMythology.com & Wikipedia]
