Hera

Hera is a central figure in ancient Greek mythology, known as the queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, women, and childbirth. She is the wife and sister of Zeus, ruler of Mount Olympus, and acts as a patroness of married life and familial relations. Her worship was widespread in the Greek world, and she is commonly depicted as a regal, mature goddess often shown with a crown and a scepter. The peacock and the cow are among her symbols, and she was associated with various sanctuaries and ceremonies across Greece, including major cult centers at Argos, Samos, and Olympia.

Origins and family connections place Hera as a daughter of Cronus and Rhea. In the standard ancient Greek genealogies, she is the sister and wife of Zeus, sharing in his status as a principal deity of the Olympian pantheon. She is often listed as the mother of several important figures, most commonly Hephaestus, Ares, Hebe, and Eileithyia, though exact parentage can vary by myth.

In myth, Hera is frequently portrayed as jealous and vindictive toward Zeus’s lovers and their offspring, reflecting her role as protector of marriage and the sanctity of the family. She participates in or influences many narratives, including the events surrounding the Judgment of Paris, and, in the Trojan War myths, she sides with the Greeks in alliance with Athena against Troy. She is also connected to the myth of Heracles, in which she interferes with Zeus’s offspring in ways that drive much of Heracles’s early suffering.

The Roman equivalent of Hera is Juno. Hera’s cult and imagery persisted throughout antiquity, influencing art, literature, and later interpretations of Greek myth.