Hera+-+1

Hera: The Greek Goddess of Marriage and Birth Queen of Heaven, Goddess of marriage and birth, and the Virgin Queen; these are just some of the titles that Hera, the Greek goddess can claim. Hera is the daughter of [|Cronus] and [|Rhea]. She is married to Zeus, the king of the gods. Hera was said to be very beautiful. Despite her beauty, she was also filled with anger and rage. This anger was conjured up by her unfaithful husband. Zeus would have many affairs with many women, goddesses or mortals. Hera turned bitter because of this. She often tried to hurt or execute the women Zeus had been with, and the children that he had with them (Hera). Hera’s Beauty  The goddess, Hera, was depicted as a very beautiful woman, second to Aphrodite. Hera was said to have very large eyes, soft skin, and she wore “her earrings with three tear-dropped clusters, the robe clasped at her breast with a golden pin, and a white veil draping from her head” (Sosa). Below is a photo of what Hera looked like. The meaning of Hera’s names Hera was called by many different names. She was known as the Queen of Heaven and of the Gods because she was married to Zeus, who is the king of all the gods. She was called the Goddess of marriage and birth because that was the power bestowed upon her. Hera was known as the protector of married women because of her own misfortunes with her marriage; she would watch over women that were married to make sure there husbands stayed faithful. She also did not stray, unlike her husband. Lastly, Hera was known as the Virgin Queen, She was known as this because it was said that “she went to bathe every year in the [|spring Canathus as Nauplia] and renewed her virginity in the mystical waters” (Sosa). Also, even though they were not names that Hera was called, her sacred animals were the cow and the peacock. The cow was one of her sacred animals because of there large eyes, and Hera had very large eyes. The peacock was also one of her sacred animals because the peacock symbolizes pride; her chariot was pulled by peacocks, and that meant that she was proud (Hera). Hera’s Jealousy One thing that Hera was very well known for were her jealous ways. Her husband Zeus, had many affairs with many women. He also had many children with his affairs. Hera was very jealous of them, and often persecuted Zeus’ children, and there mothers. To keep Hera away from his children, Zeus often changed them into animals, or hid them. One case of Hera’s anger is shown in Heracles story. Heracles is the son of Zeus and a mortal. When Heracles was just a baby, Hera sent serpents into his crib to tried to kill him (Hera). Another example of Hera’s jealous ways was when Laomedon’s daughter Antigone. Antigone said that she had prettier hair then Hera. Hera was so angry at Antigone’s statement that she turned Antigone’s hair into snakes. One other example of Hera’s jealousy deals with the Trojan War. “ The reason that Hera had sided with the Trojans in the [|Trojan War] was because she had lost a beauty contest. She presided against Aphrodite and Athena, with Paris acting as the judge. Paris refused to give her the prize even after she attempted to bribe him with promises of world sovereignty" (Sosa).

Hera’s Children Hera had three children. Ares, Hephaestus, and Hebe. There are many stories that go along with how the children were conceived. The most common stories are as follows. Ares, the god of war, was apparently conceived by a seed from the [|garden of Flora]. Hephaestus, the smith-god birth is not known. Some sources say that he was conceived with Zeus though. Lastly, it is said that Hebe, the goddess of youth was created by Hera eating a head of lettuce (Sosa). It is also said that Hera could conceive a child by slapping her hand against the ground (Hera).

How Hera and Zeus met

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Hera and Zeus met eachother in the region of the Hesperides. Zeus was trying to seduce Hera but she kept refusing him. He then resorted to trickery. It was winter when Zeus turned himself into a cuckoo that appeared to be frozen from the bitter cold. Hera held the bird tightly to her breast to warm it and Zeus then turned himself back into his normal shape and took advantage of the surprised state Hera was in and Hera was raped. She was then persuaded to marry him to cover her shame. (Sosa) ======  More of Hera's Jealousy Most stories concerning Hera have to do with her jealous revenge for Zeus, when he was with other women. When Zeus was being partcularly overbearing to the other gods, Hera convinced the gods to join together against Zeus. Her part of the plan was to drug Zeus. After she completed this, the gods then tied the sleeping Zeus. After this was completed, they began to quarrel over the next step. Briareus overheard the arguing and realeased Zeus. Once he was free, he grabbed up his thunderbolt. The gods fell to their knees begging and pleading for mercy but instead of paying attention to them, he seized Hera and hung her from the sky with gold chains. She cried and wept in pain all night but none of the others dared to interfere after seeing Zeus' rage. Fortunatly for Hera, her weeping kept Zeus up and the next morning he agreed to release her if she swore she would never try to rebel against him again. She agreed but while she never again rebeled, she often intrigued against Zeus's plans and outwit him. (greekmythology)

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Hera also greatly affected Hercules life. She had hated the hero so much that she would cause problems for him every chance that she got. When Hercules died, Hera's anger subside and Hercules ended up married to Hera's daughter, Hebe. (Perseous) ======

Text Citations: <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; msoansilanguage: EN;"><span style="font-size: 140%; color: #3c7d9f; font-family: Georgia, serif;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia, serif;">"Hera." __Encyclopedia Mythica__. 2009. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 23 Apr. 2009. <http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hera.html<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">>. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sylvia Sosa. Hera: The first greek goddess.” __Art History__. Spring 1998. 22 Apr 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">[] <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Grimm, Lindsay. “The Greek Goddess Hera: An Introduction.” __Students__. 1998. 25 Apr. 2009. <span style="color: #3c7d9f; font-family: Georgia, serif;">[]

<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">“Hera” 2000-5. GreekMythology.com 27. April 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">[]

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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">"Hera made Hercules' life Difficult" <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">[|www.perseous.tufts.edu] <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 27 April 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">[]

<span style="font-size: 140%; color: #3c7d9f; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Image Citations: <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> “soa hera close.” __[|www.easterland.com]__. 22 Apr 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">[]

"Ancient Greek Mythology". [|www.shoshone.k12.id.us/greek/]. 27 April 2009. [|www.shoshone.k12.id.us/ greek/mytho.htm] <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">“Hera Drawing.” [|www.google.com]. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">25 Apr. 2009

"Charms" [|www.mycharmsonline.com]. 27 April 2009. []