Name: Samnang Hor
Class Period: Lit A
Date: 19/03/2018
Topic: Hera The Greek Goddess
Hera’s Roman name Juno, known as the ‘Queen of the ancient Greek Gods’, ‘The Queen of Heaven’, and ‘The Queen of Olympian Deities’. She was the Greek goddess represented the ideal of women, childbirth, marriage, and family. People knew her as the most beautiful and powerful goddess. The goddess Hera ruled overs the heavens and earth, she is responsible for every aspect of existence, including the seasons and the weather. Hera had super strength, immortality, and opposition to injury. Despite being the goddess of marriage, Hera had the ability to bless and curse marriages and also competent to protect women from rape, death during childbirth, and help preserving the health of all women. Olympus is where she normally resides since she is the queens of the gods. In the ancient time, Hera image is found mostly in households and around the hearth.
Hera was the daughter of Titans Cronus and Rhea, the king and queen of the Titans. She was born on the riverbanks of Imbrasons, under a willow tree. Samos was believed to be the birthplace of Hera. A large sanctuary, the Heraion, was built on the spot of her birth. This was one of the oldest temples in Greece. When Hera and her siblings were born Cronos her father, scared that his children would someday overthrow him, so he swallowed all of them. one of his children was going to kill him, so he swallowed all of them, including Hera. Later on, when Zeus was born and grew up he killed Cronus and freed his brothers and sisters. Hera had five siblings, three brothers (Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus) and two sisters (Hestia and Demeter). She’s then married to her younger brother Zeus, the King of the Gods. Hera has four children, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, Ares, the Olympian god of war, Hebe, the goddess of youth and Hephaestus, the Olympian god of Metallurgy.
As mentioned above, Hera was swallowed after birth by her father, Cronus. Her other four siblings suffered the same fate. Rhea, a Hera mother, managed to save Zeus, the youngest child. Zeus later then rescued his brothers and sister by giving his father a potion that caused him to vomit all of them up. Some myth says that Hera was raised by the Tans Oceanus and Tethys. Others claimed that she grew up under the care of Temenus, who ruled the region of Arcadia in Greece. As Hera became older and more beautiful Zeus decided to made Hera his wife. Afterward, Hera became a mother. She was the mother of the great hero Hercules. One day Hera was envying her son Hercules so out of jealousy she places poisonous snakes in his crib but before the snakes could advance on him he woke up and casualty strangled them to death.
Hera’s symbols are the cuckoo, it symbolized Zeus’ love for her because Zeus was disguised in a cuckoo when he conquered her.The plants associating to Hera include the lily, poppy, stephanotis, cypress, coconut, iris, white rose, waterlily, maple trees along with all other white flowers. Gems and metals that represent Hera are silver, pearls, garnet, citrine, amber, diamond and star sapphire. Hera used the weapon of love and compassion to defeat even the meanest allowing them to become nicer and loving. The silver pin and bronze ax head have been inscribed with a dedication to Hera. Some of the most known Hera’s symbols are the peacock- an ancient symbol of immortality, the scepter, and the diadem. There are also some small symbols such as the lily, the cow, the orange tree, the apple tree, the Salix, the fig and the myrrh. Hera means “lady”, She is depicted as stunningly beautiful. The animals that represent Hera are the cow, eagle, crabs and other creatures with shells. Hera was considered so incredibly beautiful even topping the beauty of Aphrodite. Her sandals, chariot, and throne were all of pure gold. She wore a high, cylindrical crown. Hera’s revengeful nature was taken out on anyone questioning her beauty as taken out on Antigone and Paris. The queen was serious about her looks and no one would be more desirable.
The Heraia was a festival dedicated to Hera. Like the Olympic Games, this festival contained athletic competitions and was held at Olympia. Nevertheless, only women were allowed to compete at the Heraia festival. Daedala is other ancient Greek festival. Daedala, ancient festival of Hera, consort of the supreme god Zeus. The Daedalus was celebrated on Mount Cithaeron in Boeotia (in present-day central Greece). Hera was the patron goddess of the landscape Argolis. In Olympia, her temple is even older than that of Zeus, and games to her honor were held there for women.
Hera marriage to her brother Zeus in order to cover my shame of being taken forcefully. It started going Zeus fell in love with her but courted her unsuccessfully. Zeus then one day transformed himself into a cuckoo and flown out of her window and pretended to be freezing cold. At the sight of the bird, she felt very sorrow and pity so she took it inside and held it to my breast to warm it. Zeus then transformed himself back to original state and took advantage of Hera. She was so ashamed of being “exploited” that she had agreed to marriage which took place at the Garden of Hesperides. The sacred wedding was celebrated with honors and sacrifices and lasted for 3000 years. Everyone welcomed Hera as their new Queen, singing hymns and giving many presents to her.
Hera’s role became one of the ideal wives, and her marriage to Zeus became the prototype for monogamy. As much, as a symbol of compulsive jealousy, Hera endeared herself to the love of many families and wives alike. She was very protective to the affairs of such people. Her jealousy was not only powered by her indignation at being left out at the initial division of the universe, but also to the endless revenge on Zeus’ many lovers and their families. Her constant emotional conflict with Zeus was redolent of the inconvenient assimilation between the invasion of the followers of Zeus and her own indigenous goddess cult. Her worship is sometimes dismissed as a “fertility cult”, largely because religious practices deteriorated under new influences. Hera herself, on the other hand, was very faithful to Zeus in the means of sexuality, but didn’t obey her husband which was also important for marriage in Ancient Greece’s culture.