Post by Tyrant Cecelia on Oct 11, 2006 11:54:58 GMT -5
Hera is a prominent Greek goddess. She appears frequently in both literature and art, where she is usually depicted as being both beautiful and quite adept at making use of her considerable wiles. These two aspects - her beauty and guile - may be in part attributed to her role on Olympus, for as the wife (and sister) of Zeus, she is the Queen of the Greek gods. As such, she is the patron of marriage for mortals and immortals alike. It is therefore no surprise that Hera plays a part in the oldest of the Greek epics: the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, as well as Hesiod's Theogony. The goddess is deserving of much attention, so let us begin by looking at her role as the queen of Olympus.
Queen of Olympus
Hesiod mentions Hera in his introduction to the Theogony (the introduction is a dedication to the gods and the Muses). He describes the goddess as "queenly Hera, the Lady of Argos who walks in golden sandals" and connects her with her husband Zeus. This passage emphasizes Hera's importance within the Greek pantheon by stressing her relationship with the ruler of the gods. Hesiod is in effect justifying the legitimacy of Hera's claim as the queen of the heavens by stating:
"Zeus made Hera his buxom bride,
and she lay in love with the king
of gods and men and bore Hebe
and Ares and Eileithyia."
In this way, Hera's status as wife and mother also serves as the divine model for the role of women in human marriage. However, the conjugal bliss between the king and queen of Olympus was sometimes, well, not so blissful. For more information about difficulties in the marriage of Hera and her husband, see the Mythography page devoted to Zeus.
Queen of Olympus
Hesiod mentions Hera in his introduction to the Theogony (the introduction is a dedication to the gods and the Muses). He describes the goddess as "queenly Hera, the Lady of Argos who walks in golden sandals" and connects her with her husband Zeus. This passage emphasizes Hera's importance within the Greek pantheon by stressing her relationship with the ruler of the gods. Hesiod is in effect justifying the legitimacy of Hera's claim as the queen of the heavens by stating:
"Zeus made Hera his buxom bride,
and she lay in love with the king
of gods and men and bore Hebe
and Ares and Eileithyia."
In this way, Hera's status as wife and mother also serves as the divine model for the role of women in human marriage. However, the conjugal bliss between the king and queen of Olympus was sometimes, well, not so blissful. For more information about difficulties in the marriage of Hera and her husband, see the Mythography page devoted to Zeus.