Editing Hera (section)

==Mythology==
===Birth===
[[File:Hera Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2685 full.jpg|thumb|Hera (according to inscription); [[Tondo (art)|tondo]] of an Attic [[white-ground]] ''[[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]]'' from [[Vulci]], ca. 470 BCE]]
Hera is the daughter of the [[Titans]] [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], and the sibling of [[Hestia]], [[Demeter]], [[Hades]], [[Poseidon]], and [[Zeus]].<ref>Hansen, [https://archive.org/details/handbookofclassi0000hans/page/66/mode/2up?view=theater p. 67]; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:453-491 453&ndash;9].</ref> Cronus was fated to be overthrown by one of his children; to prevent this, he swallowed all of his newborn children whole until Rhea tricked him into swallowing a stone instead of her youngest child, Zeus. Zeus grew up in secret and then tricked his father into regurgitating his siblings, including Hera. Zeus then led the revolt against the Titans, banished them, and divided the dominion over the world with his brothers, Poseidon and Hades.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cronus|title=Cronus {{!}} Greek god|newspaper=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2016-12-04}}</ref>

Other traditions, however, appear to give Hera different upbringings. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] states that she was nursed as an infant by the three daughters of the river [[Asterion (god)|Asterion]]: [[Euboea (mythology)|Euboia]], [[Prosymna (mythology)|Prosymna]], and [[Acraea|Akraia]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.17.1 2.17.1].</ref> Furthermore, in [[the Iliad]], Hera states she was given by her mother to [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]] to be raised: "I go now to the ends of the generous earth on a visit to the [[Okeanos|Ocean]], whence the gods have risen, and Tethys our mother who brought me up kindly in their own house, and cared for me and took me from Rheia, at that time when Zeus of the wide brows drove Kronos underneath the earth and the barren water."<ref>Homer, Iliad 14. 200 ff, https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisTethys.html#Creation</ref>

===Marriage with Zeus===
[[File:Over life-size statue of Hera, from the Gymnasium of Salamis, 2nd century AD, Cyprus Museum, Nicosia, Cyprus (22497777355).jpg|thumb|right|Marble statue of Hera, 2nd century, [[Cyprus Museum]], [[Nicosia]].]]

Hera is the goddess of marriage and childbirth rather than motherhood, and much of her mythology revolves around her marriage with her brother Zeus. She is charmed by him and she seduces him; he cheats on her and has many children with other goddesses and mortal women; she is intensely jealous and vindictive towards his children and their mothers; he is threatening and violent to her.<ref name=Burkert129/>

In the ''[[Iliad]]'', Zeus implies their marriage was some sort of elopement, as they lay secretly from their parents.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D14%3Acard%3D270 14.295&ndash;299].</ref> [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] records a tale of how they came to be married in which Zeus transformed into a [[cuckoo]] to woo Hera. She caught the bird and kept it as her pet; this is why the cuckoo is seated on her sceptre.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.17.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.17.4].</ref> According to a scholion on [[Theocritus]]' ''Idylls'', when Hera was heading toward Mount Thornax alone, Zeus created a terrible storm and transformed himself into a cuckoo who flew down and sat on her lap. Hera covered him with her cloak. Zeus then transformed back and took hold of her; because she was refusing to sleep with him due to their [[Rhea (mythology)|mother]], he promised to marry her.<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Theocritus]]' ''Idylls'' [https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2021/08/21/explaining-the-cuckoo-women-know-everything-4/ 15.64].</ref>

In one account Hera refused to marry Zeus and hid in a cave to avoid him; an earthborn man named Achilles convinced her to give him a chance, and thus the two had their first sexual intercourse.<ref>[[Ptolemaeus Chennus]], ''New History'' Book 6, as epitomized by [[Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople|Patriarch Photius]] in his ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Myriobiblon]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/237#190.47 190.47]</ref> According to a version attributed to [[Plutarch]], Hera had been reared by a nymph named [[Macris]] on the island of [[Euboea]], but Zeus stole her away, where Mt. [[Cithaeron]] "afforded them a shady recess." When Macris came to look for her ward, the mountain-god Cithaeron drove her away, saying that Zeus was taking his pleasure there with Leto.<ref>[[Eusebius]], ''[[Praeparatio evangelica]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=yNRKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92 3.1.84a-b]; Hard, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA137 137].</ref>
[[File:Zeus Hera Iris Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2304.jpg|thumb|left|240px|God council in Olympus: Zeus and Hera throning, [[Iris (mythology)|Iris]] serving them. Detail of the side A of an Attic red-figure belly-amphora, ca. 500 BC.[[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]], Munich]]

According to [[Callimachus]], their wedding feast lasted three hundred years.<ref>[[Callimachus]], ''[[Aetia (Callimachus)|Aetia]]'' fragment [https://dcc.dickinson.edu/callimachus-aetia/untitled-48 48]</ref> All the gods and mortals were invited, but a [[nymph]] named [[Chelone (Greek mythology)|Chelone]] was disrespectful or refused to attend, so Zeus thus turned her into a [[tortoise]]. The Apples of the [[Hesperides]] that [[Heracles]] was tasked by [[Eurystheus]] to take were a wedding gift by [[Gaia]] to the couple.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Library'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D2%3Achapter%3D5%3Asection%3D11 2.5.11].</ref> 

After a quarrel with Zeus, Hera left him and retreated to Euboea, and no word from Zeus managed to sway her mind. Cithaeron, the local king, then advised Zeus to take a wooden statue of a woman, wrap it up, and pretend to marry it. Zeus did as told, claiming "she" was Plataea, [[Asopus]]'s daughter. Hera, once she heard the news, disrupted the wedding ceremony and tore away the dress from the figure only to discover it was but a lifeless statue, and not a rival in love. The queen and her king were reconciled, and to commemorate this the people there celebrated a festival called [[Daedala]].<ref name=Pausanias927/> During the festival, a re-enactment of the myth was celebrated, where a wooden statue of Hera was chosen, bathed in the river Asopus and then raised on a chariot to lead the procession like a bride, and then ritually burned.{{sfn|Murray|1842|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RNVPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA313 313]}}

According to [[Diodorus Siculus]], [[Alcmene]], the mother of Heracles, was the very last mortal woman Zeus ever slept with; following the birth of Heracles, he ceased to beget humans altogether.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca historica|Library of History]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html#p391 4.14.4].</ref>

=== Leto and the Twins: Apollo and Artemis ===
In the early works of [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]], Hera displays no inherent animosity towards Leto or her children (for being children of an affair, that is. She quarrels with them for political reasons in the ''[[Iliad]]''). In Hesiod’s ''[[Theogony]]'', [[Leto]] is presented as one of Zeus’ wives prior to Hera, giving no indication that Hera disliked them. In later variations of this story, our earliest account being the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Delian Apollo''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hymn 3 to Apollo, To Delian Apollo |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0138:hymn=3 |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>, Hera was enraged when she discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Zeus was the father; especially when she was told that Apollo would be more dear to Zeus than Hera's son [[Ares]]. Hera received help from Ares and Iris to prevent Leto from giving birth, whence they “threatened all the cities which Leto approached, and prevented them from receiving her.”<ref>"Callimachus, ''Hymn to Delos''"</ref>  Alternatively, [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] convinced the nature spirits to prevent [[Latona]] (Leto) from giving birth on [[Solid earth|terra-firma]], the mainland, any island at sea, or any place under the sun,<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' 140).</ref> but Poseidon felt pity to Leto and guided her to the floating island of [[Delos]], which was neither mainland nor a real island where Leto was able to give birth to her children.<ref>Hammond. ''Oxford Classical Dictionary.'' 597-598.</ref> Afterwards, Zeus secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean.{{sfn|Freese|1911|p=184}} The island later became sacred to Apollo. Alternatively, Hera kidnapped her daughter [[Eileithyia]], the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods bribed Hera with a beautiful necklace nobody could resist and she finally gave in.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |last1=Rutherford |first1=Ian |year=1988 |title=Pindar on the Birth of Apollo |journal=The Classical Quarterly |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=65–75 |doi=10.1017/S000983880003127X |jstor=639206 |s2cid=170272842}}</ref>

Either way, Artemis was born first (earlier sources make no mention of them being twins, so Artemis could be any age older than Apollo<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hymn 3 to Apollo, To Delian Apollo |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0138:hymn=3 |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>) and then assisted with the birth of Apollo.<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheke'' 1.4.1; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'', 35, giving as his sources Menecrates of Xanthos (4th century BCE) and Nicander of Colophon; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' vi.317-81 provides another late literary source.</ref> Some versions say Artemis helped her mother give birth to Apollo for nine days.<ref name=":4" /> Another variation states that Artemis was born one day before Apollo, on the island of [[Ortygia]] and that she helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo. 

Later, [[Tityos]] attempted to rape Leto at the behest of Hera. He was slain by Artemis and Apollo.

This account of the birth of Apollo and Artemis is contradicted by [[Hesiod]] in [[Theogony]], as the twins are born prior to Zeus's marriage to Hera.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hesiod |title=Theogony |pages=Line 918}}</ref>

=== Semele and Dionysus ===
{{See also|Dionysus#Birth}}
When Hera learned that [[Semele]], daughter of [[Cadmus]] King of [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], was pregnant by Zeus, she disguised herself as Semele's nurse and persuaded the princess to insist that Zeus show himself to her in his true form. When he was compelled to do so, having sworn by [[Styx]],<ref name="Hamilton">Hamilton, Edith (1969). "Mythology".</ref> his thunder and lightning destroyed Semele. Zeus took Semele's unborn child, [[Dionysus]], and completed its gestation sewn into his own thigh.

In another version, Dionysus was originally the son of Zeus by either Demeter or [[Persephone]]. Hera sent her Titans to rip the baby apart, from which he was called Zagreus ("Torn in Pieces"). Zeus rescued the heart; or, the heart was saved, variously, by [[Athena]], [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], or [[Demeter]].<ref>Seyffert ''Dictionary''</ref> Zeus used the heart to recreate [[Dionysus]] and implant him in the womb of Semele—hence Dionysus became known as "the twice-born". Certain versions imply that Zeus gave Semele the heart to eat to impregnate her. Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to reveal his true form, which killed her. Dionysus later managed to rescue his mother from the underworld and have her live on Mount Olympus.

=== Heracles ===
[[Image:Herakles strangling snakes Louvre G192.jpg|thumb|[[Heracles]] strangling the snakes sent by Hera, [[Attica|Attic]] red-figured [[stamnos]], ca. 480–470 BCE. From [[Vulci]], [[Etruria]].]]

Hera is the stepmother and enemy of [[Heracles]]. The name Heracles means "Glory of Hera". In Homer's ''Iliad'', when Alcmene was about to give birth to Heracles, Zeus announced to all the gods that on that day a child by Zeus himself, would be born and rule all those around him. Hera, after requesting Zeus to swear an oath to that effect, descended from [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]] to [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] and made the wife of [[Sthenelus (son of Andromeda and Perseus)|Sthenelus]] (son of Perseus) give birth to [[Eurystheus]] after only seven months, while at the same time preventing Alcmene from delivering Heracles. This resulted in the fulfillment of Zeus's oath in that it was Eurystheus rather than Heracles.<ref name="Hom. Il. 19.95"/> In [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias']] recounting, Hera sent witches (as they were called by the Thebans) to hinder Alcmene's delivery of Heracles. The witches were successful in preventing the birth until [[Galanthis|Historis]], daughter of Tiresias, thought of a trick to deceive the witches. Like Galanthis, Historis announced that Alcmene had delivered her child; having been deceived, the witches went away, allowing Alcmene to give birth.<ref name="Paus. 9.11.3">[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.11.3 9.11.3]</ref>

Hera's wrath against Zeus's son continued and while Heracles was still an infant, Hera sent two [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpents]] to kill him as he lay in his cot. Heracles throttled the snakes with his bare hands and was found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were a child's toys.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZATs1x4BnsC&q=Galanthis+greek+mythology|title=Gods, Demigods and Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology|last=Evslin|first=Bernard|date=2012-10-30|publisher=Open Road Media|isbn=978-1-4532-6438-6|language=en}}</ref>

According to an earlier source, however, Hera had nothing to do with the snakes in Heracles’ crib. [[Pherecydes of Syros|Pherecydes]] said that “it was Amphitryon who put the serpents in the bed, because [then] he would know which of the two children was his, and that when Iphicles fled, and Heracles stood his ground, he knew that Iphicles was begotten of his body.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY 2.4.8 - Theoi Classical Texts Library |url=https://www.theoi.com/Text/Apollodorus2.html |access-date=2025-05-19 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>

[[File:Jacopo Tintoretto - The Origin of the Milky Way - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Origin of the Milky Way]]'' by [[Jacopo Tintoretto]], 1575]]
One account of the origin of the [[Milky Way]] is that Zeus had tricked Hera into nursing the infant Heracles: discovering who he was, she pulled him from her breast and a spurt of [[Milk of Hera|her milk]] formed the smear across the sky that can be seen to this day.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=867195|title=The Origin of the Milky Way in the National Gallery|last1=Mandowsky|first1=Erna|journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs|year=1938|volume=72|issue=419|pages=88–93}}</ref> Her milk also created a white flower, the lily.<ref>{{cite book | pages = [https://archive.org/details/Geoponica02/page/n111/mode/2up?view=theater 81-82] | author = Anonymous | title = Geoponika: Agricultural Pursuits | volume = II | translator = Thomas Owen | date = 1806 | location = [[London]]}}</ref> Unlike any Greeks, the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]]s instead pictured a full-grown bearded Heracles at Hera's breast, a reference to his adoption by her when he became an Immortal: he had previously wounded her severely in the breast.

When Heracles reached adulthood, Hera [[Insanity|drove him mad]], which led him to murder his family and this later led to him undertaking his famous labours (Alternatively, according to [[Euripides]]’ [[Herakles (Euripides)|''Herakles'']], this happened after his labors had been completed). Hera assigned Heracles to labour for King [[Eurystheus]] at Mycenae. She attempted to make almost all of Heracles's twelve labours more difficult. When he fought the [[Lernaean Hydra]], she sent a [[Karkinos|crab]] to bite at his feet in the hopes of distracting him. Later Hera stirred up the [[Amazons]] against him when he was on one of his quests, claiming that he kidnapped their queen, [[Hippolyte]]. When Heracles took the cattle of [[Geryon]], he shot Hera in the right breast with a triple-barbed arrow: the wound was incurable and left her in constant pain, as [[Dione (mythology)|Dione]] tells [[Aphrodite]] in the ''[[Iliad]]'', Book V. Afterwards, Hera sent a [[gadfly (mythology)|gadfly]] to bite the cattle, irritate them and scatter them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the water level of a river so much that Heracles could not ford the river with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera. 

That was not the only time Heracles had violently attacked Hera, either. After murdering [[Iphitus (son of Eurytus)|Iphitus]] of [[Oechalia]] in cold blood and seeking purification for the crime from [[Neleus]], king of [[Pylos]], Neleus and his fourteen children turned him away. After being purified elsewhere, “Heracles then marched against Neleus and not only sacked Pylos, ''but even wounded Hera, who was fighting as Neleus’ ally''. As for Neleus himself, Heracles killed him and his children, except for the youngest, Nestor.”<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/866 D Scholium on Homer’s Iliad, 5.392]</ref>

Eurystheus also wanted to sacrifice the [[Cretan Bull]] to Hera. She refused the sacrifice because it reflected glory on Heracles. The bull was released and wandered to Marathon, becoming known as the [[Marathonian Bull]].

Some myths state that in the end, Heracles befriended Hera by saving her from [[Porphyrion]], a giant who tried to rape her during the [[Gigantomachy]], and that she even gave her daughter [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]] as his bride. Whatever myth-making served to account for an archaic representation of Heracles as "Hera's man", it was thought [[Decorum|suitable]] for the builders of the Heraion at [[Paestum]] to depict the exploits of Heracles in [[bas-relief]].<ref>Kerenyi, p 131</ref>

=== Trojan War ===
{{Main|Judgement of Paris}}
[[File:Judgement of Paris Met 98.8.11.jpg|thumb|right|280px|Judgement of Paris.Side B from an Attic black-figure neck amphora, 540-530BC. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]]]

A prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph [[Thetis]], with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father.<ref>Scholiast on Homer's ''[[Iliad]]''; Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' 54; Ovid, ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 11.217.</ref> Possibly for this reason,<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.1.1&redirect=true 3.168].</ref> Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king, [[Peleus]] son of [[Aeacus]], either upon Zeus's orders,<ref>[[Pindar#Chronological order|Pindar]], ''Nemean'' 5 ep2; Pindar, ''Isthmian'' 8 str3–str5.</ref> or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her.<ref>Hesiod, ''[[Catalogue of Women]]'' fr. 57; ''[[Cypria]]'' fr. 4.</ref> All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of [[Achilles]]) and brought many gifts.<ref>Photius, ''Myrobiblion'' 190.</ref> Only Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited and was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus's order. She was annoyed at this, so she threw from the door a gift of her own:<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' 92.</ref> a [[golden apple]] inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, "To the fairest").<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DEpitome%3Abook%3DE%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D2 E.3.2].</ref> [[Aphrodite]], Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.
[[File:Mengs, Urteil des Paris.jpg|thumb|left|240px|This is one of the [[Judgement of Paris#Gallery|many works]] depicting the event. Hera is the goddess in the center, wearing the crown. ''Das Urteil des Paris'' by [[Anton Raphael Mengs]], ca. 1757]]

The goddesses quarreled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. They chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]], a [[Troy|Trojan]] prince. After bathing in the spring of [[Mount Ida]] where Troy was situated, they appeared before Paris to have him choose. The goddesses undressed before him, either at his request or for the sake of winning. Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they resorted to bribes. Hera offered Paris political power and control of all of [[Asia Minor|Asia]], while Athena offered wisdom, fame, and glory in battle, and Aphrodite offered the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was [[Helen of Troy|Helen]], who was, unfortunately for Paris, already married to King [[Menelaus]] of [[Sparta#Prehistory, "dark age" and archaic period|Sparta]]. The other two goddesses were enraged by Paris' decision and, after the [[Trojan War]] started through Helen's abduction by Paris, they sided with the Greeks.[[File:Theoi Cdm Paris 229.jpg|thumb|left|280px|'''English:''' Hermes, Athena, Zeus (seated), Hera and Ares (all named). Side A of an Attic black-figure neck-amphora, end of 6th century BC. [[BnF Museum]], Paris]]
Hera plays a substantial role in ''[[The Iliad]]'', appearing in several books throughout the epic poem. She makes many attempts to thwart the Trojan Army. In books 1 and 2, Hera declares that the Trojans must be destroyed and persuades [[Athena]] to aid the [[Achaeans (Homer)|Achaeans]] in battle, and she agrees to assist with interfering on their behalf.<ref name="Iliad">{{cite book|last1=Homer|title=The Iliad|url=https://archive.org/details/theiliad02199gut}}</ref>

In book 5, Hera and Athena plot to harm [[Ares]], who had been seen by [[Diomedes]] in assisting the Trojans. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera saw Ares's interference and asked Zeus for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares and he threw his spear at the god. Athena drove the spear into Ares's body, and he bellowed in pain and fled to [[Mount Olympus]], forcing the Trojans to fall back.<ref name="Iliad" />

In book 8, Hera tries to persuade [[Poseidon]] to disobey Zeus and help the Achaean army. He refuses, saying he doesn't want to go against Zeus. Determined to intervene in the war, Hera and Athena head to the battlefield. However, seeing the two flee, Zeus sent Iris to intercept them and make them return to Mount Olympus or face grave consequences. After prolonged fighting, Hera sees Poseidon aiding the Greeks and giving them the motivation to keep fighting.

In book 14 Hera devises a plan to deceive Zeus. Zeus set a decree that the gods were not allowed to interfere in the mortal war. Hera is on the side of the Achaeans, so she plans a [[Deception of Zeus]] where she seduces him, with help from Aphrodite, and tricks him into a deep sleep, with the help of [[Hypnos]], so that the Gods could interfere without the fear of Zeus.<ref>Homer. ''Iliad'', Book 14, Lines 153-353.</ref>

In book 21, Hera continues her interference with the battle as she tells [[Hephaestus]] to prevent the river from harming [[Achilles]]. Hephaestus sets the battlefield ablaze, causing the river to plead with Hera, promising her he will not help the Trojans if Hephaestus stops his attack. Hephaestus stops his assault and Hera returns to the battlefield where the gods begin to fight amongst themselves. After Apollo declines to battle Poseidon, [[Artemis]] eagerly engages Hera for a duel. Hera however treats the challenge as unimportant, easily disarming the haughty rival goddess and beating her with her own weapons. Artemis is left retreating back to [[Mount Olympus]] in tears to cry at Zeus's lap.<ref name="Iliad" />

=== Minor stories ===
[[File:Statue of a female deity (Academy of Athens) on May 22, 2022.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Hera in the pediment of the [[Academy of Athens (modern)|Academy of Athens]].]]

====The Golden Fleece====
Hera hated [[Pelias]], king of [[Iolcus]], because he had killed [[Sidero]], his step-grandmother, in one of her temples. She later convinced his nephew [[Jason]] to kill Pelias. The [[Golden Fleece]] was the item that Jason needed to get his mother Alcimide freed, which he obtained with the help of the sorceress [[Medea]], who was influenced by the goddess. At the request of Hera, [[Aeolus (son of Hippotes)|Aelous]] calmed all the winds but the "steady" west wind, to aid their crew, the [[Argonauts]], on their journey home.<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes]], [https://archive.org/details/argonautica00apoluoft/page/346/mode/2up?view=theater 4.757–769], [https://archive.org/details/argonautica00apoluoft/page/346/mode/2up?view=theater 4.757–769] & [https://archive.org/details/argonautica00apoluoft/page/350/mode/2up?view=theater 4.818–822]</ref>

==== Cydippe ====
[[Cydippe]], a priestess of Hera, was on her way to a festival in the goddess's honor. The oxen which were to pull her cart were overdue and her sons, [[Kleobis and Biton|Biton]] and [[Cleobis]], pulled the cart the entire way (45 [[stadia (length)|stadia]], 8 kilometers). Cydippe was impressed with their devotion to her and Hera, and so asked Hera to give her children the best gift a god could give a person. Hera ordained that the brothers would die in their sleep. This honor bestowed upon the children was later used by [[Solon]] as proof when trying to convince [[Croesus]] that it is impossible to judge a person's happiness until they have died a fruitful death after a joyous life.<ref>Herodotus' ''History'', Book I</ref>

====Ixion====
When [[Zeus]] had pity on [[Ixion]] and brought him to Olympus and introduced him to the gods, instead of being grateful, Ixion grew lustful for Hera. Zeus found out about his intentions and made a cloud in the shape of Hera, who was later named [[Nephele]], and tricked Ixion into coupling with it. From their union came [[Centaurus (Greek mythology)|Centaurus]]. So Ixion was expelled from Olympus and Zeus ordered [[Hermes]] to bind Ixion to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning. Therefore, Ixion was bound to a burning solar wheel for all eternity, first spinning across the heavens, but in later myth transferred to [[Tartarus]].<ref>Kerenyi 1951, p.160</ref>

==== Olympian Rebellion ====
In the ''Iliad'', Homer tells of another attempted overthrow, in which Hera, Poseidon, and Athena conspire to overpower Zeus and tie him in bonds. It is only because of Thetis, who summons Briareus, one of the [[Hecatoncheires]], to Olympus, that the other Olympians abandon their plans (out of fear for Briareus).<ref>Gantz, p. 59; Hard 2004, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA82 p. 82]; [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.386-1.427 1.395&#x2013;410].</ref>

==== Aëtos ====
According to the myth, Aëtos was a beautiful boy born of the [[Gaia|earth]]. While Zeus was young and hiding in [[Crete]] from his father [[Cronus]] who had devoured all of Zeus's siblings, Aëtos became friends with the god and was the among the first beings to swear fealty to him as new king. But years later, after Zeus had overthrown his father and become king in his place, Zeus's wife Hera turned Aëtos into an eagle, out of fear that Zeus loved him. Thus the eagle became the sacred bird of Zeus, and a symbol of power and kingship.<ref>[[Sophocles]] frag 320.</ref><ref name=":serv">[[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053%3Abook%3D1%3Acommline%3D394 1.394]</ref>

====Tiresias====
[[Tiresias]] was a priest of Zeus, and as a young man, he encountered two snakes mating and hit them with a stick. He was then transformed into a woman. As a woman, Tiresias became a priestess of Hera, married, and had children, including [[Manto (mythology)|Manto]]. After seven years as a woman, Tiresias again found mating snakes; depending on the myth, either she made sure to leave the snakes alone this time, or, according to [[Fabulae|Hyginus]], trampled on them and became a man once more.<ref>Hygini, ''[[Fabulae]]'', LXXV</ref>

As a result of his experiences, Zeus and Hera asked him to settle the question of which sex, male or female, experienced more pleasure during [[Sexual intercourse|intercourse]]. Zeus claimed it was women; Hera claimed it was men. When Tiresias sided with Zeus, Hera struck him blind.<ref name=":3" /> Since Zeus could not undo what she had done, he gave him the gift of prophecy.

An alternative and less commonly told story has it that Tiresias was blinded by [[Athena]] after he stumbled onto her bathing naked. His mother, [[Chariclo]], begged her to undo her curse, but Athena could not; she gave him a prophecy instead.
[[File:Figino.jpg|left|thumb|''[[Io (mythology)|Io]] with [[Zeus]]'' by [[Giovanni Ambrogio Figino]], 1599]]

==== Io and Argus ====
The myth of Io has many forms and embellishments. Generally, Io was a priestess of Hera at the [[Heraion of Argos]]. Zeus lusted after her and either Hera turned Io into a heifer to hide her from Zeus, or Zeus did so to hide her from Hera but was discovered. Hera had Io tethered to an olive-tree and set [[Argus Panoptes]] ({{lit|all-seeing}}) to watch over her, but Zeus sent Hermes to kill him.<ref name="OCD_Io3">{{cite book |last1=Dowden |first1=Ken |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-866172-X |editor1-last=Hornblower & Spawforth |edition=Third |location=Oxford |pages=762–763 |chapter=Io}}</ref> Infuriated, Hera then sent a gadfly (Greek {{lang|grc|oistros}}, compare [[Estrus cycle|oestrus]]) to pursue and constantly sting Io, who fled into Asia and eventually reached Egypt. There Zeus restored her to human form and she gave birth to his son [[Epaphus]].<ref name="OCD_Io3" />

====Gerana====
[[Gerana]] was a queen of the [[Pygmies]] who boasted she was more beautiful than Hera. The wrathful goddess turned her into a crane and proclaimed that her bird descendants should wage eternal war on the Pygmy folk.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 6.89 - 91</ref>

====Lamia====
[[Lamia (mythology)|Lamia]] was a lovely queen of [[Libya]], whom Zeus loved; Hera in jealousy robbed Lamia of their children, either by kidnapping and hiding them away, killing them, or causing Lamia herself to kill her own offspring.<ref name="johnston">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57MwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA174 |title=Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece |publisher=Univ of California Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-520-28018-2 |editor-last=Johnston |editor-first=Sarah Iles |page=174}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Ogden|2013b|p=98}}: "Because of Hera ... she lost [''or'': destroyed] the children she bore".</ref> Lamia became disfigured from the torment, transforming into a terrifying being who hunted and killed the children of others.<ref>[[Duris of Samos]] (d. 280 B. C.), ''Libyca'', quoted by {{harvp|Ogden|2013b|p=98}}</ref>

===Children===
[[Image:Hera Prometheus Cdm Paris 542.jpg|thumb|Hera and [[Prometheus]], [[Tondo (art)|tondo]] of a 5th-century BCE cup from [[Vulci]], [[Etruria]]]]
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Name !! Father !! Functions !! Explanation
|-
| [[Angelos (mythology)|Angelos]]
| Zeus
| An underworld goddess
| Her story only survives in [[scholia]] on [[Theocritus]]' Idyll 2. She was raised by [[nymphs]]. One day she stole Hera's anointments and gave them away to [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]]. To escape her mother's wrath, she tried to hide. Hera eventually ceased prosecuting her, and Zeus ordered the [[Cabeiroi]] to cleanse Angelos. They performed the purification rite in the waters of the [[Acherusia]] Lake in the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]]. Consequently, she received the world of the dead as her realm of influence, and was assigned the epithet ''katachthonia'' ("she of the underworld").<ref>Scholia on Theocritus, Idyll 2. 12 referring to [[Sophron]]</ref>
|-
| [[Ares]]
| Zeus
| God of war
| According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', he was a son of Zeus and Hera.<ref name="Theo-921">''Theogony'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+921 921&ndash;922].</ref>
|-
| [[Arge]]
| Zeus
| A [[nymph]]
| A nymph daughter of Zeus and Hera.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Classical Manual, being a Mythological, Historical and Geographical Commentary on Pope's Homer, and Dryden's Aeneid of Virgil with a Copious Index|last=Murray|first=John|year=1833|location=Albemarle Street, London|page=8}}</ref>
|- 
| [[Charites]]
| Not named
| Goddesses of grace and beauty
| Though usually considered as the daughters of Zeus and [[Eurynome]], or [[Dionysus]] and [[Coronis (mythology)|Coronis]] according to [[Nonnus]],<ref name="48.548">[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#48.548 48.548]</ref> the poet [[Colluthus]] makes them the daughters of Hera, without naming a father.<ref>[[Colluthus]], ''Rape of Helen'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Colluthus/Rape_of_Helen*.html#p555 173]</ref>
|-
| [[Eileithyia]]
| Zeus
| Goddess of childbirth
| In ''Theogony'' and other sources, she is described as a daughter of Hera by Zeus.<ref name="Theo-921"/> Although, the meticulously accurate mythographer [[Pindar]] in ''Seventh Nemean Ode'' mentions Hera as Eileithyia's mother but makes no mention of Zeus.
|-
| [[Eleutheria]]
| Zeus
| Personification of liberty
| Eleutheria is the Greek counterpart of [[Libertas]] (Liberty), daughter of Jupiter (Zeus) and Juno (Hera) as cited in Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' Preface.
|-
| [[Enyo]]
| Zeus
| A war goddess
| She was responsible for the destruction of cities and an attendant of Ares, though Homer equates Enyo with Eris.
|-
| [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]
| Zeus
| Goddess of youth
| She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+921 921&ndash;922]; [[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:11.601 11. 604&ndash;605]; [[Pindar]], ''Isthmian'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DI.%3Apoem%3D4 4.59&ndash;60]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3.1 1.3.1], and later authors.</ref> In a rare alternative version, Hera alone produced Hebe after being impregnated by eating lettuce.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YTkjHT6N9nIC&q=hera+impregnated+by+lettuce|title=The Writing of Orpheus: Greek Myth in Cultural Context|last=Detienne|first=Marcel|date=2002-11-25|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-6954-9|language=en}}</ref> A fragment by [[Callimachus]] describes Hera holding a feast to celebrate the seventh day after the birth of Hebe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Callimachus |title=Iambi, Fragment 202}}</ref> [[Pindar]] states that Hebe stays by her mother's side in Olympus forever.<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Nemean'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DN.%3Apoem%3D10 10.17]</ref>
|-
| [[Hephaestus]]
| Zeus
| God of fire and the forge
| Attested by Hesiod, Hera was jealous of Zeus's giving birth to [[Athena]] with [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], so she gave birth to Hephaestus without union with Zeus<ref name=":1">''Theogony'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+924 924&ndash;929].</ref> (though Homer has Hephaestus refer to "father Zeus"<ref>In Homer, ''[[Odyssey]]'' viii. 312 Hephaestus addresses "Father Zeus"; cf. Homer, ''[[Iliad]]'' i. 578 (some scholars, such as Gantz, ''Early Greek Myth'', p. 74, note that Hephaestus's reference to Zeus as 'father' here may be a general title), xiv. 338, xviii. 396, xxi. 332. See also [[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' 3.22.</ref>). In some versions, Zeus threw Hephaestus off [[Mount Olympus]] because he protected Hera from his advances.<ref>{{cite book |last=Graves |first=Robert |title=The Greek Myths: 1 |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1955 |isbn=0736621121 |location=Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England |pages=51}}</ref><ref name="Foot2">''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D305 316–321]; Homer, ''Iliad'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D18%3Acard%3D388 18.395–405].</ref><ref name="Hera2">[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D568 1.590–594]; [[Gaius Valerius Flaccus|Valerius Flaccus]], ii, 8.5; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], i, 3 § 5. Apollodorus confounds the two occasions on which Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus.</ref>
In other versions, Hera was the one who threw Hephaestus out of disgust for his ugliness.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Deris|first=Sara|date=2013-06-06|title=Examining the Hephaestus Myth through a Disability Studies Perspective|url=http://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/prandium/article/download/19652|journal=Prandium: The Journal of Historical Studies at University of Toronto Mississauga|language=en|volume=2|issue=1|access-date=2016-12-09|archive-date=2016-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220141457/http://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/prandium/article/download/19652}}</ref> He gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne that did not allow her to leave once she sat on it.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Hedreen_2004">Guy Hedreen (2004) The Return of Hephaistos, Dionysiac Processional Ritual and the Creation of a Visual Narrative. ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', '''124''' (2004:38–64) p.&nbsp;38 and note.</ref><ref name="Kerenyi_1951">Karl Kerenyi (1951) ''The Gods of the Greeks'', pp&nbsp;156&ndash;158.</ref> The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused.<ref name="Kerenyi_1951" /> [[Dionysus]] got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule.<ref>The return of Hephaestus on muleback to Olympus accompanied by Dionysus was a theme of the Attic vase painters, whose wares were favored by Etruscans. The return of Hephaestus was painted on the Etruscan tomb at the "Grotta Campana" near Veii (identified by Peterson; the "well-known subject" was doubted in this instance by A. M. Harmon, "The Paintings of the Grotta Campana", ''American Journal of Archaeology'' '''16'''.1 (January - March 1912):1-10); for further examples, see [[Hephaestus#Return to Olympus]].</ref> Hephaestus released Hera after being given [[Aphrodite]] as his wife.{{sfn|Slater|1968|pages=199–200}}
|-
| [[Pasithea]]<nowiki/>o
| [[Dionysus]] (?)l
| One of the [[Charites|Graces]]
| Although in other works Pasithea doesn't seem to be born to Hera, [[Nonnus]] made the Grace Hera's daughter.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#31.159 31.186]</ref> Elsewhere in the book, Pasithea's father is said to be [[Dionysus]],<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#15.86 15.91]</ref> but it's unclear whether those two together are meant to be Pasithea's parents.{{refn|group=note|name=first|Throughout the epic, [[Nonnus]] gives conflicting parentages of various characters: for example [[Helios]]'s daughter [[Astris]]'s mother in book 17<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#17.269 17.280]</ref> seems to be [[Clymene (mother of Phaethon)|Clymene]] while it's [[Ceto (Oceanid)|Ceto]] in Book 26,<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#26.351 26.355]</ref> and [[Lelantos]]'s daughter [[Aura (mythology)|Aura]]'s mother is [[Cybele]] in Book 1,<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#1.11 1.27]</ref> but [[Periboea]] in Book 48.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#48.247 48.247].</ref> Moreover, Pasithea is described as one of the Graces, and elsewhere in the poem the Graces' parents are given as Dionysus and [[Coronis (mythology)|Coronis]].<ref name="48.548">[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#48.548 48.548]</ref>}}
|-
| [[Prometheus]]
| [[Eurymedon (mythology)|Eurymedon]]
| God of forethought
| Although usually Prometheus is said to be the son of [[Iapetus]] by his wife [[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]]<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D507 507]</ref> or [[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]],<ref>Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D2 1.2.2]</ref> Hellenistic poet [[Euphorion of Chalcis|Euphorion]] made Prometheus the son of Hera by the giant [[Eurymedon (mythology)|Eurymedon]], who raped the young goddess while she was still living with her parents.<ref>Scholium on the ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=-9EIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA515 14.295]</ref><ref>Gantz, pp. 16, 57; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA88 p. 88].</ref>
|-
| [[Typhon]]
| –
| Serpent-monster
| Typhon is presented both as the son of Hera (in Homeric ''Pythian Hymn to Apollo'') and as the son of Gaia (in Hesiod's ''Theogony'').<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Decker|first=Jessica Elbert|date=2016-11-16|title=Hail Hera, Mother of Monsters! Monstrosity as Emblem of Sexual Sovereignty|journal=Women's Studies|volume=45|issue=8|pages=743–757|doi=10.1080/00497878.2016.1232021|s2cid=151482537|issn=0049-7878}}</ref> According to the [[Homeric Hymns|''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'']] (6th century BCE), [[Typhon]] was the [[Parthenogenesis|parthenogenous]] child of Hera, whom she bore alone as a revenge at Zeus who had given birth to Athena. Hera prayed to Gaia to give her a son as strong as Zeus, then slapped the ground and became pregnant.<ref>[[Homeric Hymns|''Homeric Hymn to Apollo'']] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D3%3Acard%3D305 306&ndash;348]. [[Stesichorus]], Fragment 239 (Campbell, [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/stesichorus_i-fragments/1991/pb_LCL476.167.xml?result=1&rskey=56v0bn pp. 166&ndash;167]) also has Hera produce Typhon alone to "spite Zeus".</ref> Hera gave the infant Typhon to the serpent [[Python (mythology)|Python]] to raise, and Typhon grew up to become a great bane to mortals.<ref>Gantz, p. 49, remarks on the strangeness of such a description for one who would challenge the gods.</ref> The b scholia to ''Iliad'' 2.783, however, has Typhon born in Cilicia as the offspring of Cronus. Gaia, angry at the destruction of the Giants, slanders Zeus to Hera. So Hera goes to Cronus and he gives her two eggs smeared with his own semen, telling her to bury them, and that from them would be born one who would overthrow Zeus. Hera, angry at Zeus, buries the eggs in Cilicia "under Arimon", but when Typhon is born, Hera, now reconciled with Zeus, informs him.<ref>Kirk, Raven, and Schofield. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kFpd86J8PLsC&pg=PA59 pp. 59&ndash;60 no. 52]; Ogden 2013b, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vv0Fxm6Amh4C&pg=PA36 pp. 36&ndash;38]; Gantz, pp. 50&ndash;51, Ogden 2013a, [https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ2pAK9luwkC&pg=PA76 p. 76 n. 46].</ref>
|}