Hera was Zeus wife and sister. In the Roman beliefs she was
known as Juno. The first encounter between Hera and her husband
Zeus, king of all the gods, was in the region of the Hesperides.
Hera was not responding to his attempts to seduce her so he
resorted to trickery that appealed to Hera's nurturing side. It was
winter and Zeus turned himself into a cuckoo that appeared to be
frozen from the cold. Hera, feeling sorry for the bird turned to
her motherly instincts as she held the bird tightly to her breast
to warm it. Zeus then turned himself back into his normal shape and
took advantage of the surprised state Hera was in. Unable to fight
him off, Hera succumbed and then persuaded to marry him to cover
her shame.
During the sacrifice that took place before the marriage, Hera
was associated with Artemis and with the Morai. They both received
the cuttings of hair that young girls sacrificed before them before
a matrimony. On the day of Hera's wedding, Aphrodite joined them
and brought Hermes, Peitho, and Charites. Hera holds first place
among the three female powers that occupy a specific position in
the marital area. The ritual depends on the necessary collusion
with Artemis and Aphrodite alike.
Once when Zeus was being particularly overbearing to the other
gods, Hera convinced them to join in a revolt. Her part in the
revolt was to drug Zeus, and in this she was successful. The gods
then bound the sleeping Zeus to a couch taking care to tie many
knots. This done they began to quarrel over the next step. Briareus
overheard the arguments. Still full of gratitude to Zeus, Briareus
slipped in and was able to quickly untie the many knots. Zeus
sprang from the couch and grabbed up his thunderbolt. The gods fell
to their knees begging and pleading for mercy. He seized Hera and
hung her from the sky with gold chains. She wept in pain all night
but, none of the others dared to interfere. Her weeping kept Zeus
up and the next morning he agreed to release her if she would swear
never to rebel again. She had little choice but, to agree. While
she never again rebelled, she often intrigued against Zeus's plans
and she was often able to outwit him.
Hera is queen of Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus, daughter of
Cronis and Rhea, and mother of Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, and
Eileitha. As the eldest daughter of Cronus and Reah, Zeus was
deemed to give her respect. Hera was associated with Zeus's
sovereignty and became the chief feminine deity of Olympus. She sat
on a golden thrown beside her husband and when she entered the
congregation of all the gods, they all rose in reverence to her. On
Olympus. H er marriage to Zeus had been the occasion of great
rejoicing. All the Immortals had taken part in the procession and
the Fates themselves had chanted the hymeneal chorus.
Congrats to StealthCowboy for the
FTF.
As always, enjoy.