Greek Mythology · deity

Hera

Ἥρα
also: Juno (Roman)
deitymarriagewomenkingshipfidelity (as patron)

Queen of the gods, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and the protection of women and kings.

Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type), Farnese Collection — Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type)
Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type) · Jamie Heath · undated · Wikimedia Commons (institution in source file) · CC BY-SA 2.0
The account

Who they are

Hera is the queen of Olympus and Zeus's wife (and, in Hesiod, his sister) [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗. Goddess of marriage, the family, and the protection of women, she is also the protector of kings and their authority — her wrath, famously, falls on those who dishonor the institution of marriage [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗. In the Iliad her long resentment of Zeus's many affairs drives much of the plot, and she takes the side of the Greeks [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗. Her sacred animals include the peacock and the cow (Io, a maiden she transformed into a heifer, is her most famous victim-turned-cow) [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text. Hera was worshipped at Argos, Samos, and elsewhere; the Heraion at Samos was one of the great sanctuaries [S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.
Worth knowing
  • Io, the mistress of Zeus, was turned into a heifer by jealous Hera — a foundational myth of her cult [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
  • The peacock feathers on her throne are said to be the eyes of the hundred-eyed Argus [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Uncertainties & variants
  • Hera's 'jealousy' is a literary characterization prominent in Homer; cult practice emphasized her as a benevolent marriage-goddess [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.
Relationships (8)

Connections

5 rows · 8 recorded edges — identical notes are grouped

Family & kinship

SIBLING_OFZeus · Hades · Poseidon · Demeter — First-born children of Cronus and Rhea.[S1]
PARENT_OFHephaestus — In the Iliad, Hephaestus is the son of Hera alone.[S1] [S2]
PARENT_OFHebe — Hera (with Zeus) is the parent of Hebe.[S5]

Partners

PARTNER_OFZeus — Zeus and Hera are the king and queen of the gods.[S1]

Conflict & enmity

ENEMY_OFHeracles — Hera's enmity drove Heracles to madness and set his labors.[S5]
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Their corner of the divine world

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hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side
Overlays
FocusHeraGreek
GREEK · 41variantvariant♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥AegisHelmet of HadesCaduceus of Her…Trident of Pose…Thunderbolt of …Alcmenamortalthe mortal mother of Heracles1 relationsAndromedamortalthe rescued princess2 relationsAphroditedeitylove7 relationsAtlasdeitythe sky (bore)1 relationsChaosprimordialorigin2 relationsDanaemortalthe mortal mother of Perseus1 relationsDemeterdeityharvest6 relationsEchidnamonsterthe monster-mother2 relationsGaiadeityearth6 relationsHadesdeitythe dead7 relationsHeradeitymarriage8 relationsHestiadeityhearth1 relationsLetodeitymotherhood (as mother of Apollo/Artemis)2 relationsMedusamonsterthe Gorgon3 relationsMetisdeitycounsel2 relationsOceanusdeitythe great world-river1 relationsOdysseusherocunning2 relationsPenelopemortalthe faithful wife of Odysseus2 relationsPoseidondeitythe sea6 relationsRheadeitymotherhood2 relationsSemelemortalthe mortal mother of Dionysus1 relationsTethysdeitythe primordial sea1 relationsTyphonmonsterthe great monster7 relationsCerberusmonsterthe guardian of the underworld3 relationsErosdeitylove2 relationsHebedeityyouth2 relationsHephaestusdeityfire6 relationsMaiadeitythe nymph2 relationsUranusprimordialsky6 relationsPersephonedeitythe underworld2 relationsTelemachusmortalthe son of Odysseus2 relationsCronusdeitytime (later association)9 relationsZeusdeitysky29 relationsApollodeitysun (later)4 relationsAresdeitywar (violence, bloodshed)3 relationsArtemisdeitythe hunt3 relationsAthenadeitywisdom4 relationsDionysusdeitywine3 relationsHeraclesherostrength7 relationsHermesdeitymessengers5 relationsPerseusheroheroism8 relations
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Myths featuring Hera

2 stories

The Abduction of Persephone and the Seasons

Hades abducted Persephone to be his queen. Demeter's grief withheld the earth's fertility until a compromise: Persephone spends part of the year on earth (spring/summer) and part in the underworld (autumn/winter), because she ate pomegranate seeds below [S4]S4 · Homeric Hymnsc. 700–300 BCEtext[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.

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The Twelve Labors of Heracles

Driven to madness by Hera, Heracles killed his children and was set to perform the twelve labors for Eurystheus as penance — including the Nemean lion, the Lernaean Hydra, and the capture of Cerberus. After his death he was raised to Olympus [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.

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Artworks

Depictions

Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type), Farnese Collection — Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type)
Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type) · Jamie Heath · undated · Wikimedia Commons (institution in source file) · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type) · undated
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