Hera


 * Title: The Life of Hera **
 * By: Haelee **

You are a beautiful goddess. In fact you are the goddess of not only marriage but of heaven and childbirth too. You are a nice person and you don’t usually mean any harm. You are married to the grand Zeus even though you don’t want to; all he does is runs around with other women while you’re sitting at home. You try to punish him, but he hangs you from the clouds which are a painful experience. You are angry and upset. You need some vengeance how do you deal? Why not take it out on Zeus’s mistresses instead? They can’t hurt you. (Bryant)

Hera is the goddess of the heavens, marriage, and childbirth. Her parents are Cronus and Rhea. Although along with her brothers and sisters she was eaten as a child; she was finally set free when Zeus conquered Cronus. Hera had five other siblings Zeus, @Poseidon, Hades, Dementer, and Hestia. She is married to Zeus, and is known for her extreme jealousy towards Zeus’s affairs, but what do you expect from the goddess of marriage? All she wanted was commitment, but Zeus quickly became tired of her and always searched for new women. (Bryant)

Hera became a very beautiful goddess, fit enough to become the most powerful man’s wife. When Zeus first approached Hera, she turned him down not wanting to marry him. Zeus of course could not stand this and tricked her. He turned himself into a cuckoo bird; Hera took pity on the bird and held him close for warmth. Zeus then turned into himself into his natural form and Hera married him out of embarrassment. Their marriage wasn’t the best due to constant affairs from Zeus, and Hera’s plan to take Zeus’s power away, but they held through. ([|Atmas]) Since Hera tried to take Zeus’s master bolt away, Zeus hung her from the clouds putting her through extreme pain. Hera, from then on lived with a small fear of Zeus. The only way to possibility let out her anger, would be to take it out on somebody else; his mistress and step children. Hera is known for cursing and punishing the affairs of Zeus. (Mcleish)

Leto was one of Zeus’s many mistresses. Once Hera found out about this she became very jealous and thought out a plan to punish her. Leto at this time was carrying Zeus’s twins; later to be known as Apollo and @Artemis. Hera decided to prevent Leto from giving birth to the twins by declaring; she could not give birth on land and anywhere the sun shines. Leto searched and searched for a place to give birth to the twins, but could not find one. She was in pain and was depressed. @Poseidon, god of the sea, took pity on poor Leto and led her to an island called Delos. This island fit Hera’s requirements and Leto was then able to finally give birth. (Bryant)

Hercules was the son of Zeus and another one of his mistresses. Out of all the people Hera hated, Hercules is probably the one she hates the most. Before Hercule wa s even born Hera was stirring up a disaster for him to face. He was naturally supposed to be born first and become the ruler of Argos, but Hera prevented that by having someone else be born first. Hercules moved on, but at a young age, Hera sent two poisonous snakes into his crib. Due to Hercules being part god, he showed his strength and killed them both with his bare hands, putting Hera back to the drawing board. During this time, Hercules was married and had children. As a result to another one of her schemes, Hera made Hercules go mad; making him kill his whole family including his children. When Hercules died, the gods took pity on him realizing all the incredible things he had accomplished. They took him to Mount Olympus and turned him into an immoral god. It wasn’t until Hercules married Hera’s daughter, Hebe, when that she finally put her retaliation behind her and became Hercules friend. (Mcleish)

Echo was a nymph. She was very talkative and was a servant worker for Hera. At first Hera had nothing against poor Echo; in fact she was a fairly good servant until Zeus thought of an idea. Echo was so talkative, talkative enough to distract Hera while he went off to have sex with his mistresses. Once Hera found out what Echo was doing she was outraged, because Echo loved to talk, Hera cursed her so she could only repeat what people say to her. That is why sometimes when you scream, you hear poor cursed Echo repeating what you’ve said. (Mcleish)

In conclusion, Hera could have been known for being nice and sympathetic, but her marriage to Zeus made her destined for bad things to happen. Throughout the marriage Hera takes her anger out on all Zeus’s mistresses and stepchildren. The outcomes appear to harm innocent people, giving Hera the reputation of a jealous and vengeance filled figure.

1. Atsma, Aaron J. “STORIES OF HERA 1 : Greek Mythology.” //THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art//. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . 2. “Bryant, Megan.//Mythlopedia: She’s all that.// Canada: Scholastic,2010.Print. 3. Lindemans, Micha F. “Hera.” //Encyclopedia Mythica: Mythology, Folklore, and Religion.// Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . 4. “Hera.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. <[]>. 5. “Hera — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts.” History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. . 6. “Mcleish, Kenneth. Myth and Legends of The World Explored. London: Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1996. Print.
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