Hera - mythology

Crohn's and Ray's daughter, sister and lawful wife of the supreme god Zeus. Kron swallowed Hera immediately after birth and she lived in her father's womb until she was released by her youngest brother Zeus. During the fight between Zeus and Crohn, the titan Ray entrusted Hera to guard Ocean and Tethys. Even then, Zeus secretly reunited with his sister and remained with her in an unofficial marriage for three hundred years. Others say that Hera was raised by Asterion's daughters or Pelasg's son Temen. Only after the victory of the gods over the titans, the wedding of Zeus and Hera was solemnly celebrated. This holy marriage was concluded in the far west, by the ocean, and all the gods came to the wedding and brought precious gifts. Hera received as a gift golden apples, which she liked so much that she planted them in the garden of the gods. The islands of Crete, Samos and Euboea are also mentioned as the place of Zeus' and Hera's wedding.

According to an Arcadian legend, Zeus cunningly won over Hera. He transformed into a coward and landed on Mount Tornak, and then caused a storm and rain. Hera, who was walking on the hill, sat down to rest, and a cold and wet coward landed on her lap. The goddess took pity on the bird and clung to her chest, and Zeus immediately showed his true face. Hera agreed to unite with him only when he promised her marriage. Since then, Tornak Hill has been called Kokigion (Coward's Hill).

Hera bore Zeus a son Ares and daughters Eiletius and Heba. Some say that the goddess could give birth to children on her own. Competing with her husband, she gave birth to Hephaestus herself. Later, enraged by the birth of Athena from Zeus' head, Hera withdrew from the gods and begged Gaia to conceive a son on her own who would be stronger than Zeus. She did not approach her husband for a year, and then she gave birth to the terrible Typhon. Some say that the goddess conceived Ares with a flower given to her by Flora. By bathing in the spring of Kanatu, near Nauplia, Hera regained her virginity and celebrated her wedding.

As the mistress of heaven and Zeus' lawful wife, Hera is the protector of marriage and punishes those who violate it. She never defiled her double bed. Jealous and quarrelsome, unable to prevent numerous infidelities of her husband, she cruelly took revenge not only on her rivals but also on their children. Thus, she tried with all her might to prevent Leti and Alcmene from giving birth, and she persecuted the greatest Greek hero, Hercules, Alcmene's son, until his death on Eta. Since she cruelly punished her rival Semela, she tried to harm not only her son Donis, but also those who took care of him (Atamant, Inona). On her orders, the obad tortured Zeus' mistress Iya for a long time. To punish her for persecuting Hercules, Zeus tied Hera with a golden rope and hung her on the clouds.

Hera often clashed with Zeus for other reasons as well. On one occasion, she quarreled with her husband about whether men or women enjoy love more. When the prophet Tiresias sided with Zeus in that dispute, Hera blinded him. However, the spouses always reconciled, sometimes thanks to Zeus' indulgence, and sometimes because of his threats. During the Trojan War, Hera had a fierce quarrel with Zeus. She did not forget Paris' verdict and, hurt by vanity, she inflicted the greatest evils on the Trojans. Among the Greek heroes, Hera especially protected Achilles and Menelaus. To help the Greeks in the war with the Trojans, she asked Aphrodite for a magic belt to seduce Zeus with it. While he slept deep in her embrace, the Greeks seriously threatened Troy. Not even the destruction of Troy calmed her anger; Hera persecuted Aeneas and the other Trojan refugees until they landed on the shores of Lazio.

Hera is one of the oldest Greek deities. Her name (Mistress) shows that she is the protector of every house, city and the whole country. An inscription on a tablet from Pila (13th century AD) documents the cult of Zeus and Hera during the heyday of the Mycenaean culture, but it can be assumed that Hera is the deity of the older, Pelagian population of the Aegean. This goddess was originally revered by the population of Thessaly, Boeotia and the Peloponnese. Hera's attribute "volooka" (boopis), as well as the myth of Ija and Pretida, shows that the goddess was originally the mistress of vast fields where countless cattle graze. Later, in Mycenaean times, this great goddess became associated with the supreme Greek god, becoming his wife and protector of Mycenaean kings and palaces. At the same time, Hera is associated with Athens: both goddesses take part in the campaign of the Seven on Thebes, in the campaign of the Argonauts and in the Trojan War.

Although the cult of Hera was spread all over the Greek world, it is still noticeable that it had the largest number of sanctuaries in the Peloponnese, especially in Argolida (Tiryns, Corinth, Sicyon, Argos, Epidaurus). Hera's favorite places are Arg, Mycenae and Sparta. The Argonauts transferred her cult from Argos to the island of Samos. Already in the Mycenaean era, Hera was also the protector of certain heroes, in the first place Jason.

Hera was first revered independently of Zeus; it shows the position and age of her sanctuary in Olympia, as well as numerous myths about the enmity between the two deities (the myth of Typhon's birth, the transformation of Zeus into a coward, or how Hera, Athena and Apollo chained Zeus). In historical times, Hera was primarily the goddess of marriage; it governs the fate of a woman on her journey from girl to mother. The sanctity of marriage is emphasized by the wedding of Zeus and Hera, which was celebrated in Athens, Samos and Crete as a holy marriage (hieros gamos).

The most important holidays of the goddess Hera are Toneja (on the island of Samos) and Daedalus (in Boeotia). On Samos, her cult statue was carried to the seashore, where she was bathed, dressed in bridal attire and wrapped in twigs of ligos. The statue was left on the shore overnight, and the next day the believers solemnly returned it to the temple. In Plateia, on the feast of the Little Grandfathers, a doll made of oak was driven in a car and burned in memory of the reconciliation of Zeus and Hera. All the cities of the Boeotian alliance took part in the celebration, and each city was awarded one of fourteen wooden dolls with a dice. These dolls were decorated and bathed in the river, and then taken by car to Kitheron, where they were placed on a bonfire together with the sacrificial animals. Each city gave one cow as a sacrifice to Harry and one bull that was sacrificed to Zeus.

Hera is most often respected as the protector of marriage (Gamelia), the protector of the city (Akraia) and as the one who brings victory (Tropaia). From animals, cows, peacocks and cowards are dedicated to her, and from plants - pomegranate and ligos. Its attributes are: tiara, scepter and shield.

Hera was first revered in the form of aniconic idols (high pillar in Argos, log in Thespia, plank on Samos). Terracotta is known from Boeotia, depicting Hera with a stripe (a kind of sundial) on her head and a body stylized in the form of a board. Only the head of Hera's old cult statue in Olympia has been preserved. Her marble statue from Samos, a gift from Heramije, is stylized in the form of a pillar. A holy wedding of Zeus and Hera (middle of the 5th century AD) is shown on one metope of the temple of Hera in Selinunt. The famous sculptor Polycleitus presented Hera on the throne.

Literature:

• Dragoslav Srejović - Aleksandrina Cermanović-Kuzmanović, Recnik grčke i rimske mitologije, drugo izdanje, Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, 1987