Hera— Greek God"Queen of the Gods"

Queen of Heaven

Hera is the Queen of Olympus, equal in majesty to Zeus himself. She sits beside him on a golden throne, and all the gods rise when she enters. Her beauty rivals Aphrodite's—Homer calls her "white-armed" and "cow-eyed," comparing her large, lustrous eyes to those of a sacred heifer. She is the firstborn daughter of Kronos and Rhea, swallowed by her father and later freed by Zeus.

The Sacred Marriage

Zeus pursued Hera relentlessly before she agreed to marry him. Some say he seduced her by transforming into a cuckoo during a storm; when she pitied the shivering bird and held it to her breast, he resumed his true form. Their wedding night lasted three hundred years. But the marriage that should have been the divine model became instead a tale of infidelity and vengeance.

The Jealous Wife

Zeus's countless affairs drove Hera to legendary rage. She persecuted his lovers and their children with relentless cruelty. She sent serpents to kill the infant Heracles, drove Dionysus's mother to her death, and transformed Io into a cow. Her anger was not mere jealousy—each affair was an insult to marriage itself, the sacred institution she embodied.

Protector of Women

Despite her dark reputation, Hera protected married women and mothers in childbirth. Women prayed to her for happy marriages and healthy children. The Heraion at Argos was one of the greatest temples in Greece. Her festivals celebrated the renewal of marriage, and brides sacrificed to her before their weddings.

The Rebellion

Once, Hera led the Olympians in rebellion against Zeus, with Athena and Poseidon binding him in chains. Only the hundred-handed giant Briareus freed him. Zeus hung Hera from the sky with golden chains and anvils on her ankles until she swore never to rebel again. Their marriage endured—passionate, stormy, and eternal as the gods themselves.