Lesson 2 ~ Hera

Hera Lesson 2




HERA

QUEEN OF HEAVEN

Patron of: the Air; Clear skies; Rain; Storms; the Constellations
Favour: Clear skies; Rain-showers; Cool-breezes
Curse: Storms

GODDESS OF KINGS & EMPIRES

Patron of: Kings; Kingdoms; Empires; Royal dynasties; Politics

GODDESS OF MARRIAGE

Patron of: Maidens of marriageable age; Maiden virginity; Betrothals;
Bride-price (dowry); Weddings; Marriage; Wives; Fidelity; Widows
Favour: Good betrothal; Marital harmony
Curse: Marital discord; Punishment of adulterers

GODDESS OF WOMEN'S FERTILITY

Patron of: Menstruation; Women's fertility

GODDESS OF CHILDBIRTH

Patron of: Childbirth (the mother) (NB As goddesses of childbirth, Hera was protector of the mother, Artemis of the birthing infant)
Favour: Successful birth
Curse: Protracted labour; Death in childbirth

GODDESS OF HEIRS

Patron of: Heirs; Dynasties; Fidelity (legitimate heir & not the product of adultery); Inheritance
Favour: Birth of a male heir

SYMBOLS

Crown; Lotus-staff and Cuckoo

ATTRIBUTES

Lotus-staff; Crown; Cuckoo; Peacock; Pomegranate

SACRED PLANTS / FLOWERS

Pomegranate (Greek "rhoa", "rhoie" or "side"); Willow (Greek "itea");
Lotus / waterlily (Greek "lotos")

SACRED ANIMALS

Heifer / young cow (Greek "damalis" or "portis"); Lion (Greek "leon")

SACRED BIRDS

Cuckoo (Greek "kokkux"); Peacock (Greek "taos");
Wide-winged hawk (Greek "?"); Crane (Greek "geranos")

PLANET OF HERA

Venus (named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love identified with Aphrodite). The Greeks called the planet "Aster Aphroditas" (Star of Aphrodite) or "Aster Heras" (Star of Hera), for the women's star was shared between the two goddesses.

FATHER & MOTHER

KRONOS Deposed Titan-King of the Gods, son of Ouranos the sky & Gaia the earth. RHEA Former Titan-Queen of the Gods, daughter of Ouranos the sky & Gaia the earth.

HUSBAND

ZEUS King of the Gods

DIVINE CHILDREN

ARES God of War
HEPHAISTOS God of Metalworking
HEBE Goddess of Youth and Brides
EILEITHYIA Goddess of Childbirth
ERIS Goddess of Strife (including marital)

IDENTIFIED WITH NON-GREEK GODS

Juno (Roman goddess); Isis (Egyptian goddess)

SAGA OF THE GODS

* Hera and her siblings were swallowed at birth by their father Kronos. Zeus later conscripted Metis to feed the Titan-King a draught which made him disgorge the five.
* After Zeus birthed Athena from his head, Hera conceived her own child without intercourse. This son was born deformed, and Hera cast him out of heaven in disgust. Hephaistos, when grown, trapped his mother on a magical, binding throne as punishment of her earlier rejection.

FAVOUR & BLESSINGS

* Hera supported the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, aiding them on many occasions. Jason had earlier won her favour when he carried the goddess, disguised as an old woman, across a swollen river.

WRATH & PUNISHMENT

* Zeus transformed his lover Io into a cow when Hera appeared on the scene. She requested the heifer as a gift and set the giant Argos Panoptes to guard it. When he was slain, Hera sent a gadfly to torture Io, driving her to wander all the way to Egypt.
* Hera discovered the affair of Zeus and Semele and tricked the girl into asking Zeus to appear before her in his full glory. She did and was consumed by his fiery lightning.
* After the goddess learnt that Aiakos King of Aigina was an illegitimate son of Zeus, she poisoned the island's waters, killing the country's entire population.
* When Hera discovered the Titaness Leto was pregnant with Zeus' child, she sent her agents to drive the goddess from land to land, denying her a place to give birth.
* Zeus once declared that the next child born of his blood would rule in Mykenai. The god intended it to be Herakles, but Hera delayed his birth (almost killing his mother in the process) and sped up the delivery of his cousin Eurystheus. When Herakles was born, she sent serpents to his cradle to kill him.
* Hera drove Zeus' illegitimate son Herakles mad, compelling him to murder his own children. The hero was then forced to complete twelve labours for Eurystheus, and in the process Hera opposed him at every turn.
* The goddess was wrathful at losing to Aphrodite the prize of the Golden Apple adressed "to the Fairest". She took her anger out on the city Troy, supporting the Greeks, in a war over the elopement of unfaithful Helene (Aphrodite bribe to Paris for the prize).
* Hera turned the pygmy queen Gerana into a crane as punishment for claiming to be more beautiful than she.

















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How many questions can you get right with out looking back?

1) Hera was considered Queen of what?
2) She was Goddess of what?
3) What are her symbols and attributes?
4) Please name 5 things that are sacred to Hera.
5) Who were Hera's mother and father?
6) What planet is named after Hera?
7) Name 3 of her children and what they are God/Goddess of.
What other names did she go by other than Hera?
9) Which one of Hera's sons did she cast out of heaven?
10) Who won her favour and how?

~~Extra Credit~~

What do you think of Hera and why? Please give specific details.