Hera
Ἥρα
Also known as: Lady of the Marriage House, Queen of Olympus, Ox-Eyed
God of: marriage, women, family, and the sanctity of the household
Patron of: married women and lawful households
Character
Regal and exacting, Hera guards the institution of marriage with a ferocity that makes her both the protector every faithful spouse prays to and the last god an unfaithful one wants attention from.
Earning Favor
Hera favors those who honor their marriage vows, defend the sanctity of the household, and show loyalty to family above personal desire. She rewards patience and dignity under provocation — the exact qualities her own marriage demands of her.
Notable Relationships
- Consort — Zeus (husband and brother)
- Notable children — Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, Eileithyia
- Rival — every one of Zeus's mortal lovers, and their children
Anecdote
When Zeus fathered Heracles on the mortal Alcmene, Hera's fury followed the child from the cradle — she sent serpents to strangle him in his crib, and later inflicted the madness that led him to the Twelve Labors. Yet the same myths that record her cruelty record her precision: her wrath is never random. It always lands on the exact wound Zeus's infidelity created.
Emblem & Companions
The peacock, whose tail bears the hundred eyes of her slain servant Argus, and the diadem that marks her as queen.
Real-World Sites
The Heraion of Samos and the Heraion of Argos, among the oldest and grandest temples in the Greek world, both sacred to her as patron of those regions.
Appears In
- The Fleece of ColchisAppears disguised as the shipping agent “Lady Argive.”