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Questions and Answers Set IV about Hera and Her Impact on Greek Art and Culture
Question: HOW WAS HERA WORSHIPPED
Answer: Some people liked to worship her when they did not need her. They
liked to think that she was being remembered. This type of worship could
involve pouring a libation for her or participating in a festival for her.
At festivals sometimes there were sacrifices or perhaps athletic events.
This usually meant there was a feast involving the roasting of the sacrificed
animal. Sometimes there was a procession involving her statue and sometimes
gifts were carried for her. Also a bard might recite one or more poems that
contain her stories.
When there was need for Hera, worship involved presenting this need to Hera.
A prayer might be used to present a situation she could resolve. But it was
also common to present a gift that represented the problem so it was
represented visually. These gifts could be presented to a priestess of Hera
but they could also be cast into a well or other container.
Question: What kinds of things did Hera do for childbirth?
Answer: Very little since there was a special goddess for childbirth,
Eileithyia. Since she was the daughter of Hera one can assume that marriage
and childbirth are related; for example, a good marriage made childbirth
Question: Who were the Samians ?
Answer: Residents of the island of Samos are Samians.
Question: Did Hera flirt?
Answer: No. A good wife does not flirt.
Question: Is Hera The Goddess of peace
Answer: No. Eirene, one of the Horae, is the goddess of peace.
Question: How was Hera’s role in the war against the Titans and the giants
Answer: The role of a wife is to mind the home and so Hera has little
to do with fighting, but she does not mind telling others what to do.
Question: Who did Hera aid?
Answer: Jason, the mainland Greeks during the Trojan war, and many women.
Question: why r your nicknames white-armed and ox-eyed
Answer: Proper ladies stayed in the shade of the porch and so remained
white-armed. Hera, who is associated with cattle and is sometimes called “ox-eyed Hera,” is thought to have been the guardian of the herds at one time, while her sister Demeter looked after the crops in the field. This may also relate to
the fact that The Minoans worshipped bulls.
Question: What culture is Hera from?
Answer: Hera is uniquely Greek but her roots may be in Phoenicia, then Crete.
Question: in those times did divorce exist
Answer: Not really. A man could send his wife home but a woman could do
nothing about her husband.
Question: did she have any sort of relationship with hommer
Answer: Homer did much to popularize Hera.
Question: was hera retarded because she has alot of children
Answer: No. Neither goddesses nor women get retarded because they have
too many children. But the children can become retarded if the family have
too many. But too many is relative. The question is a matter of resources.
If there is not enough food to go around and the children are malnourished
then they fail to develop normally.
Question: Hera is named Juno in Roman myth, so are their stories the same?
Answer: No, but the Romans merged the stories of the two. But they are not
that different because the Romans wrote few stories.
Question: was Hera forced to marry Zeus?
Question: was she a lesbian?
Answer: No. The perfect wife could not be a Lesbian. It is easier for a
wife to be a Lesbian than a husband to be a homosexual. But in the perfect
situation both are heterosexual. Hera is a perfect wife.
Question: did hera love zues
Answer: She does now. She was reconciled to Zeus at the same time she was
reconciled to Herakles.
Question: where can i find pic of your whole body
Answer: Hera’s whole body includes every woman in the universe past and
present. It also includes a lot of other shapes since she can change her
shape at will.
Question: Did Hera ever have an interest in her sons like sexuality?
Answer: A perfect mother would not have sexual interest in her sons.
Jocasta did not know Oedipus was her son. When she knew she committed
Question: Did Hera ever kiss other women or have thoughts?
Women kiss other women all the time. But it is usually just a show of
affection and not of passion. But it is likely that she would have sexual
thoughts about other women. Sexual thoughts of all kinds often occur. But
they are rarely acted upon. Hera preferred sex with a man as most woman would.
Hera knew very well the consequences of her acts, controlled them and
maintained positive relationships. To do this some people must be touched
one way and others require other types of touching. Even women who prefer
sex with other women must seek balance in their relationships. The trick is
to have consenting parties where people understand the consequences of their
Question: what does she do to show her jealousy
Answer: Think about life from the woman’s side in the days before the Trojan
war. In order to get herself a husband she might have to get herself raped.
If she was careless she would get raped by a stinker. She had to cozy up to
the right man and then entice him into raping her. He would then carry her off.Women who were not raped were stuck at home. In the new home now she would
to keep the man from raping anyone else so she could bear his children. If she
got mad at the husband he would kick her out, so she would have to focus on her
rivals. What she would do is torment them so they would stay clear of her man.
This was not jealousy; it was survival. If he found a better woman her would
kick her out. Agamemon took Clytemnestra as a prize of war and then he was
going to kick her out when he obtained Cassandra.
Question: was she a slut?
Answer: Certainly not. She was neither dirty nor loose. In fact in most
of her myths she directed her anger at other women who she could interpret
as behaving as a slut.
Question: what was hera’s education
Answer: A goddess has no need of education but is born knowing all. A
goddess lives out of time and knows the future as well as the past. One of
the proofs of divinity is a demonstration of prophesy.
Question: was hera a mean woman greddy or anything or was she nice?
Answer: Normally she was friendly and helpful. She was only nasty when
someone threatened her. She was threatened when someone challenged her
position as queen. She was very happy when she was recognized as queen.
Question: I need this for my report..please…answer….help!! Who or what does Hera like or dislike? and How does she tie into any Greek myth or story? pLEaSe !!!!
Answer: Hera, as goddess of marriage, likes people who respect their
marriage vows. She dislikes people who threaten her position as wife of Zeus
and she also dislike people who disrespect their marriage vows. She also
liked Jason, who she assisted on his voyage. She did much to interfere in
the Trojan war as reported in the Iliad.
Question: what did hera acomplish and not acomplish, please answer i need it for my project?
Answer: This question treats Hera as a mortal, but she was a goddess.
Goddesses do not live in time and what they accomplish they do for all time.
Their main task is to organize their realm which they must do almost
immediately at birth based upon their conception in the mind of another
god or goddess. They have no choice about their realm but they can choose
its nature. Once set it can be changed based upon their insight and
experience. Prayers provide information for the changes that might be made.
Question: Is Hera a favorite of any group or city?
Answer: Hera’s favorite city is Argos. Some wives were fond of her.
Question: is hera real
Answer: Marriage is real, and married women are real. Hera is a
personification of these. But the ancient Greeks felt that Hera was as real
as tree in a forest or a bird in the sky.
Question: thessalian king
Question: Lover of Hera punished by Zeus
Question: was she an important goddess
Question: why is hera always so mean to everyone else?
Answer: Hera is not mean. Her behavior in the myths reflect behaviors of
married women in the early days before ancient Greece. A woman was chosen
for or by a husband. If she alienated her husband her life might be over.
But if she let another women get the affections of her husband, her life might
be over. She walked a difficult line to keep her family together.
Question: Do you have any pictures of women on Lesbos?
Question: was she a blonde
Answer: A goddess can change their hair color at will. But their basic
nature is perfection so the question is whether there is a perfect hair color.
For me perfection is a redhead so I think of her as a redhead. The ancient
Greeks picture her with black or brown hair.
Question: Has Hera ever been jelouse of zeus daughter Atena? ,have Hera always hated or tried to kill hercules?
Answer: Hate and jealousy cause error so Hera avoids these characteristics.
Question: I have three questions. First, what did Hera like to do with her family? Second, why were Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis such good friends? Third, on the occasions that Hera became passionate about Zeus, did she talk about it afterwards with Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis? If you could give me some answers, that would be great! Thank you
Answer: Very few of the stories about Hera relate to domestic tranquility,
while the majority relate to domestic turmoil. Hera seems to have a fairly
violent family life and strife seems all too common. Hephaetus is certainly
a part of that srife, while Ares could have enjoyed it. Ilithyia also reflects
the struggle that women have with childbirth. Only Hebe reflects
some domesticity. Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis seem to share a common
ancestry. It is possible they all came from the Minoan culture at once. It
is even possible that at one time they were just one goddess. On most
occasions these goddesses act like sisters so no doubt sisters would have
consulted in the manner you suggested.
Question: Could Hera fly?
Answer: All goddesses can fly, though they do not need to flap any wings.
Ancient goddesses were often depicted with wings because of this, but they
did not really need wings. Some could fly faster than others. Iris flew
at the speed of light while Hermes flew at the speed of sound. Others flew much
slower. Most could benefit from the services of a chariot drawn by divine
horses who could fly faster.
Question: Why does hera get jealous at Zeus when she finds him with other women?
Answer: Hera may look jealous but she is not really. Jealousy is a source
of error, and a goddess cannot make a mistake. But Hera is probably acting
this way because wives acted this way. In ancient times a women had to worry
about her huusband taking up with another woman, because whe was solely
dependent upon him, and without him she was probably dead. Because her
positien was so tenuous she would not want to anger her husband. So she
could only pick on her rivals.
Question: Why was she chosen to be Queen of the heavens
Answer: Zeus was obviously attracted to her nude and perfectly beautiful
body. He also probably thought that if he was going to marry that the
goddess of marriage would make the most loyal wife. His choice turned out
to be a good one. Hera stood by Zeus in spite of his many affairs.
Question: Do you believe in the Greek religion?
Answer: I can appreciate how the ancient Greeks could believe in their
religion. And I believe much can be learned from the ancient Greek Religion.
I also believe that for now and the future religious tolerance is very
importance. This means that you should learn to respect the beliefs of others
even though they are different from your own. Respecting the beliefs of the
ancient Greeks is a good place to start.
Question: What are Hera’s mankind benefits???
Answer: Hera orders the realm of marriage and married women.
Answer: most of Hera’s good traits were transferred to the Virgin Mary and
the Angels of Christianity. Some saints also benefited.
Question: Do the gods smoke weed?
Answer: Probably not. The Scythians, northern neighbors of the Greeks,
used cannibus by 1500 BCE. But I cannot find references to smoking it before
1200 AD. The Greeks most likely used it as a medicine. The recreational uses
of cannibus were most likely developed by the Arabs around 1200 AD. This was
in response to the Muslim prohibition against alcohol.
Question: Are their any life pictures of Hera and a peacock
Answer: Even though the ancient Greeks believed that Hera would still be
alive today, no one has taken a picture of her from life, that I know of.
Question: A colorofull peacock and hera together
Question: where can i find pictures of the gods and goddess temples
Answer: Temples of Hera:
Question: Wouldn’t it be considered wrong for Hera to marry Zeus because it
was her brother?
Answer: If a mortal marries her brother and she has babies they are likely
to have birth defects. Because of this marriage between mortal siblings is
considered immoral and sometimes illegal. Cousins also have this problem but
the chance of defects is only double the average population. Gods and
goddesses are perfect and never have this problem. But this type of marriage
sets a poor example for impressionable mortals.
Question: Is there a symbol to symbolize Hera? I want to tatoo Hera’s
symbol with Aphrodite’s and Athena’s on my hip…I just don’t know what they
Answer: This is not a good idea as Greek Goddesses do not like tattoos or
any other bodily modification, with the exception of pierced ears on women.
You do not see the symbols of the goddesses that often either. More often
you see a portrait. But if you want the symbols three birds will work:
A dove for Aphrodite, a peacock for Hera, and an owl for Athena.
Question: does Hera oversees the home?
Answer: Yes! Hera oversees the palace of Zeus.
Question: Why do Hera and Athene rage against the Trojans in the Iliad?
Answer: They are angry at Aphrodite who bribed Paris, a Trojan, into
declaring that she was the most beautiful. Aphrodite’s son Aeneus was also
a Trojan. The Trojans suffered because they protected Paris after he raped
Helen and took her to Troy.
Question: hera_q=zues and hera had an argument on who experiences more
pleasure in bed male or female and by how much? teiresias answers this
Answer: Teiresias had been a female and had been changed to a male so he
had experienced both types of pleasures. He declared that women receive more
sexual pleasure, in fact about 10 times more. Hera was so unhappy with this
answer that she struck Teiresias blind.
Question: is hera ugly
Answer: She can be. She can appear any way she wants. If you have crossed
her she may appear ugly and do to you very ugly things. But if you respect
her, and her realm of marriage and married women, then she may appear to you
as the most beautiful women you have ever seen.
Question: what is hera goddess of?
Answer: Hera is the goddess of marriage and married women. This means that
the realm that she rules includes the institution of marriage and the women
in that institution. She not only provides the rules for this realm, she
also enforces them and provides exceptions to the rules as she answers prayers.
Question: who was the priestess of Hera at Argos who was loved by Zeus?
Question: Why did Hera pester Heracles
Answer: Commonly this is explained as jealously because that is how a
normal woman would have to behave. She could not anger her husband because
he could toss her out. But in reality it should be noted that Herakles was a
hero because of Hera. Hera made Herakles a hero. Notice that all these
words, Hera, Herakles, and Hero are etymologically related.
Question: Is the number eight asscociated with Hera? What does the name Hera mean
Answer: “The Pythagoreans call the Ennead “Hera, Sister-Consort of Zeus,”
because it stands opposite the Monad (Zeus) and balances it, and because the
Decad comprises Zeus and Hera (10 = 1 + 9).” Reference. Eight may be the number of the universe,
of which Hera is queen,
because it is two cubed and the number of the cube. The meaning of ‘hera’ is
vague but the most likely guess is that it is the feminine of ‘hero’.
Question: What was the symbol of the Goddess Hera?
Question: what is her symbol of power
Answer: Hera is often shown with a crown and a spear. These are both
easily interpreted symbols of her power.
Question: are all the children that hera had from the same father?
Answer: Yes. You would expect this from the goddess of marriage.
Question: why is hera called “ox-eyed?”
Answer: Archeology has revealed that the ancient Minoans included bull
worship as a part of their religion. The fact that images of the bull
often included just the head suggests that they were relating the head of
the bull to the human uterus. This in turn suggests that the main focus
of the Minoan religion was on the reproductivity of the female. In fact there
was a time when the sexual contribution of the male was not understood. At
this time the female goddesses were considered much more important than the
male gods. Hera was the head goddesses and had as her consort a bull god.
She had cow features to remind the worshippers of this fact. Her ox eyes
were one of these features that were maintained even after the gods were
seen as the major power.
Question: What is Hera’s emblem
Answer: A peacock.
Question: Why didnt Hera just leave Zeus we all know she loves him but why go
though all that pain.?
Answer: First Hera was the goddess of marriage. She needed to set a good
example and that example was to stick by your husband. Of course there is
no place to go to excape Zeus. But this was probably secondary to the trials
of wives at the time Hera was an example. Wives were often seized against
their will and lived like captives in the times before ancient Greece. The
lucky wife acquired and kept the favor of her husband. If she lost his favor
she was lucky if her family would take her back. She would not usually have
any useful skills to fall back on so she could not live on her own. Someone
might take her as a slave if she was lucky. Hera demonstrates the scheming a
wife might have to endure to maintain favor. Fortunately men needed wives
to bear and raise children who were economically very important to them. This
was all that made a woman’s life easier.
Question: you know how Heras father keep eating this children when they
were born because he thought they would turn on him like he did his own
father then why didnt Hera get eaten or any of the other children
Answer: All the children of Cronus were eaten, except Zeus. But in this
case eaten does not mean like food eaten, or even oral sex. It is like one
country or organization swallowing another. The eater extentends his
boundaries to encompass the eaten, but he does not destroy what is eaten.
boundaries to encompass the eaten but does not digest or destroy the eaten.
The eater controls, isolates, and absorbs the resources of the eaten. Later
Zeus recovered all this by making Cronus regurgitate all this up. The result
was that all of the chidren of Cronus were recovered by Zeus.
Question: how come hera married zeus u said that she married him cuz she wanted her kids to have a dad but other goddess had kids with no dads?
Answer: As the goddess of marriage Hera has to set a good example. Children
have always done better with their dad around. Hera made sure this was the
Question: if her important month is june then y did zues call her his august queen?
Answer: You are confused by translation issues. Our months were named by
the Romans. August was named after Caesar Augustus. Zeus did not use the
word ‘august’ but rather its translation into Greek.
Question: i know that hera was always faithful to zeus but did she ever have any crushes on anyone?
Answer: Probably many. Jason is an example.
Question: what was her purpose in Greek culture
Answer The purpose of Hera was to provide an understanding of the realms of
marriage and married women.
Question: Does Hera have the power to change the weather?
Answer: The weather is not in the realm of Hera, but she can negotiate with
the other gods and goddesses that do control that realm. She often can bring
about whatever changes she desires in this way. But whatever she does is
subject to the will of the other deity whose realm she uses.
Question: Why was Hera famous?
Answer: Fame does not really apply as much to goddesses like Hera as
importance does. Hera is important because she is the goddess of marriage and
Question: When doing an advertisement what would be good for using Hera?
Answer: Family counseling.
Question: What are some things Hera said about herself?
Answer: Homer, Iliad, 4.51: “Verily have I three cities that are far dearest in my sight, Argos and Sparta and broad-wayed Mycenae; these do thou lay waste whensoe’er they shall be hateful to thy heart. Not in their defence do I stand forth, nor account them too greatly.  For even though I grudge thee, and am fain to thwart their overthrow, I avail naught by my grudging, for truly thou art far the mightier. Still it beseemeth that my labour too be not made of none effect; for I also am a god, and my birth is from the stock whence is thine own, and crooked-counselling Cronos begat me as the most honoured of his daughters  in twofold wise, for that I am eldest, and am called thy wife, whilst thou art king among all the immortals.”
Question: what were some contest hera was involed in?
Answer: Beauty contests such as the Judgement of Paris, Wars such as the Trojan War.
Question: What is the story of how Zeus hunge Hera?
Answer: Homer, Iliad, 15.13: “Hera, that art hard to deal with, it is the craft of thine evil wiles  that hath stayed goodly Hector from the fight, and hath driven the host in rout. Verily I know not but thou shalt yet be the first to reap the fruits of thy wretched ill-contriving, and I shall scourge thee with stripes. Dost thou not remember when thou wast hung from on high, and from thy feet I suspended two anvils, and about thy wrists cast  a band of gold that might not be broken? And in the air amid the clouds thou didst hang, and the gods had indignation throughout high Olympus; howbeit they availed not to draw nigh and loose thee. Nay, whomsoever I caught, I would seize and hurl from the threshold until he reached the earth, his strength all spent.”
Question: What is the correct pronunciation of Hera?
Question: what is hera greek name
Answer: Hera is the Greek name.
Question: was hera ever nice to the human for what i have herd she was
suposed to be mean
Answer: Hera can be very nice. She is mean to bad people but she can
reward her friends and people who do good for her.
Question: how old was hera when she passed away
Answer: Hera will never pass away. She is an immortal goddess. She is
as alive today as she ever was.
Question: does hera have any hobbies?
Answer: Hera maintains a pet cuckoo, a pet peacock, and a pet cow.
Question: what color represents hera
Answer: Purple works well, but a peacock has many colors.
Question: Are there myths about Hera alone?
Answer: Hera acts alone in a number of myths.
Question: How old did Hera become?
Answer: Hera is as alive today as she ever was.
Question: was hera tricked by zuse to marry him?
Question: did men have sex then? Where there any gods that did?
Answer: Most deities, men, women, animals, and plants, all had sex in
Question: did men have hair down there? And did hara do any sexual/exotic favors?
Answer: Women removed body hair, but men perhaps did not. But since women
did it some men probably did it too. Whether Hera did exotic favors
depends upon whether the perfect wife does exotic favors. If the promise
of Pandora is true then she probably did.
Question: In ancient greece was there gay sex between male gods? Or was it
just strait? Who was the gay god?
Answer: The ancient greeks were mostly bisexual and so the deities can
be expected to be bisexual as well. Dionysus is sometimes indicated as the
gay god but Zeus, himself had a same-sex relation with Ganymede.
Question: What’s a diodem
Answer: A diadem is either a crown or a crown-like object that signifies
that the wearer is royalty. Hera with a diadem in her hair..
Question: did hera have a disguise?
Answer: Hera did not need a disguise because she could assume the shape
and personality of any mortal. The ancient Greeks believed that the deities
would visit them in the guise of a friend. She can also assume the shape
and personality of a bird and spy on you by flying around.
Question: How did Hera affect the women?
Answer: Hera sets the rules by which marriage and married women work.
She also answers prayers related to marriage and married women. She has little
to do with women who are not married.
Question: what was the main weapon Hera used?
Answer: Her main weapon, as with most goddesses is her mortal life
redirection weapon. A goddess has the ability to change the lives of mortals
within her realm. Artemis is an exception because she shoots her arrows of
death at mortals. This is a special ability that she has. If Hera wants to
kill a mortal she must negotiate with Artemis to do it. She is seen with a
spear in some images, but this is just a symbol of her power. She might
use it against spiritual enemies, but never mortals.
Question: how old was Hera to be exacte when she married Zeus?
Answer: There is no way of knowing. Much of the activity of the ancient
Greek deities occured before historic time. A certain seriality can be
established such as Zeus married Hera after Cronus regurgitated her, but the
time units are indefinite. Since one story indicated Zeus and Hera were
married in Cnossus, so you might conclude the they were married after that
city was founded. You might also conclude that since the deities are perfect
that they must have married at the perfect age. This might make Hera between
13 and 21 for example. But this might be a problem since Zeus was younger
than Hera and if she married at a perfect age, then he could not.
Question: who was friends of hera?
Answer: Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, and her pets: a cow, a peacock, and a
Question: How do we know if what you say is true about Hera, or any other deite
Answer: First you need to compare what I say to the references that I cite.
Then you need to study the works of the ancient Greeks themselves. Then you
need to bring to my attention any difficulties that you find. I correct
any mistakes that I find and publish any unresolved differences. What you have
then is a consensus of the discriminating readers of this material. There
are many readers and few find fault.
Question: What is the orgin of Hera?
Answer: The myth of Europa suggests that Hera came from Phoenicia.
Aphrodite may have come at the same time. Astarte seems like the source.
But neither the name ‘Hera’ or ‘Aphrodite’ are Phoenician. Some local culture
made a significant contribution. It is possible the Minoan culture did this.
We know little of the Minoan language and we do not know where it came from.
All we know is that it was not Greek or a precursor of Greek. The Mycenaean
culture may also have had a contribution. We know only one fact about the
Greek dark ages before the classical period. Wonderful stories were developed
which later cultures have built upon. We now know that the myths of ancient
Greece have similarities to the myths of other cultures. But the myths of
the Greeks are more complicated, more original, and even more meaningful.
The ancient Greeks were very creative and inventive. Much of the content of
the myths about Hera are really the result of the Greek culture.
Question: How was Hera subdued by Zeus? Why did he rape her?Was hera ever
unfaithful?Did hera have any illigitimate children
Answer: Zeus changed himself into a cuckoo, Hera’s favorite bird. When
she cuddled it he took advantage of her. Zeus raped Hera because in those
days that is how a man obtained a wife. Hera is a perfect wife and never
unfaithful. Hera never had illigitimate children.
Question: I have a couple of questions about Hera. First What part of the world
revered Hera, Who could this goddess help and under what circumstances? What
special sacrifices or actions did the people believe were necessary to appease
Hera? What allusions to Hera still exist today?
Answer: Hera was revered in ancient Greece and many colonies of Greece.
These colonies were in southern Europe, Italy, Nothern Africa, and around the
Black Sea. Alexander the Great spread her influence into Egypt and Persia.
The Romans adopted Hera as Juno and spread her into northern Europe. Hera was
mainly concerned with marriages and married women. But by making deals with
other goddesses she could help almost anybody with almost anything. The best
way to appease Hera was to have a good marriage. Prayer might help this.
The best allusion to Hera is the word ‘hero’ which is the masculine form of
Question: when did hera start puberty
Answer: Probably when she was inside Cronus.
Question: What is a good story that I could tell about Hera in first person and where could I find it?
Answer: The Wedding of Zeus and Hera
Question: Who was Hera trying to seduce with aphrodites girdle
Answer: Read the Iliad to answer this.
Question: what did hera say she would give paris for the golden apple?
Answer: Honor. She would make him an honorable ruler.
Question: why didnt hera win the golden apple?
Answer: A wise Paris would have chosen Athena, but if he was wise he would
not have made the choice at all. The goddesses originally went to Zeus to
make the choice, but he, wisely, deferred. The moral is not to choose
favorites among the goddesses, but rather to be grateful for whatever gifts
you get. If you choose one goddess over others then you reject the others
and goddesses do not like to be rejected.
Question: did hera like any one else
Answer: Yes. Hera has liked many men. But as goddess of marriage she
has felt that fidelity in the face of difficulty is the best example.
Question: W hy does Hera like cows?
Anmswer: In the Minoan culture Hera may have been the head goddess
just as Zeus was the head god in the Ancient Greek culture. Women were
deified in that culture as the source of life. It was found that the vagina,
the seat of that power, had a shape resembling the head of a bull. For
this reason the bull was the symbol of the Minoan Religion. When Hera
was demoted to wife of Zeus her symbol was similarly demoted to a cow.
Question: have hera had menstruation ?
Answer: This seems possible but may be inconsistent with her perfection. Hera has been confused with Selene, the moon goddess, but menstruation is rarely associated even with Selene in myth even though menstruation has moon cycle timing. Hera may be associated with menstruation through Io, her priestess. Io has horns very similar to a moon crescent. Io’s descendents, the daughters of Danaus have a definite moon connection since there were 50 of them. Likewise Selene seems to have had 50 female offspring by Endymion. The number 50 is important because it is involved in the intercalculation between the solar month and the lunar month. But the absence of menstruation in Greek myth is quite striking considering its imprtance to myths of other cultures.
Question: Hera why was she raped by Zeus who is The King of Gods and
Goddess so shouldn’t he have wisdom???
Answer: There are different ways of looking at this. One way is that
gods live out of time and beyond human knowing. What Zeus has given us is
a test of our knowing. It looks like Zeus did an evil thing but we just do
not understand at his level.
Another way is to realize that this seizing of women was one of the ways
wives were obtained in prehistoric days. This proved the man was potent.
But the true test of the maorality of the act was how the man treated the
woman later. Of course Hera was a better wife that Zeus was a husband. But
Zeus had to impregnate those mortal woman so they would produce heroes as
Still another way to look at this was as the Zeus cult on earth defeating
the Hera cult and merging the two cults. This may have happened when the
Mycenaeans defeated the Minoans after many years of Minoan persecution. This
story may have meant to punish the Minoans for their evils.
Question: Why was the peacock concidered Hera’s sacred bird?
Answer: “Hera’s watchfulness is symbolized by the peacock and the ‘eyes’ in its
feathers. The bird was a sacred symbol of Hera and wandered the in temples
of Hera. In addition, the peacock is often associated with summer and
therefore this may symbolized Hera’s second phase, the mature woman, the
mother phase.” reference.
Question: What does hera have on the end of her staff?
In her left hand she holds a scepter, ending in a lotus-bud.
Question: Did Hera and Zeus have any sexual interactions before they got married,
or before Zeus had raped her???:
Answer: When Hera was born her father Cronus immediately swallowed her. She had
no sexual relations with Zeus while she was in her father’s belly. When Zeus caused
Cronus to regurgitate Hera she was naked and vulnerable. He could have had sex with
her then, but this seems unlikely because her form took a while to affect him. The vision
of her naked caused him to fall in love with her, but by the time he wanted to do something
about it she was less vulnerable. The experience of being in her father’s belly was
something that she had to recover from so she probably did not want to have sex wih anyone.
Zeus had to resort to trickery to get her out of recovery and into sex. It was this initial
act of sex which caused her to desire to marry Zeus. He raped her before they were married.
but she continued to have sex with Zeus before they were married but after she was raped
Question: what are Hera’s weaknesses??
Answer: Hera is a goddess and it does not make sense to talk of her weaknesses.
More important is her realm and its properties because to know of a
goddess is to know of her realm. Hera is the goddess of marriage and
women in marriage. In the past a wife had to be very concerned about
her rivals and so Hera was concerned about her rivals. A wife had to be
worried about her status so Hera was concerned about her status. A
goddess embodies the realm that she rules so that the realm determines the
personality of the goddess and knowledge of the goddess is knowledge about
the realm. It does not makes sense to talk about a weakness of a realm
so it does not make sense to take about a weakness of Hera. But to know
Hera is to know how to get along in this world. To Know Hera is to know
the rules that make for a good life. You needs to know the rules of Hera
not her weaknesses.
Question: could you explain what exactly the cow and peacock represent as Hera’s symbols. What does the peacock stand for?
Answer: At a very superficial level the cow represents motherlyness and the peacock represents vanity and it is these characteristics that Hera personifies in the many popular myths about her. But we can go deeper.
Hera might have been the goddess that ruled the Minoan culture. In that culture a bull’s head was the symbol of their religion. So a cow might represent the great mother. The Minoan culture was very wrapped up in ritual and processions. The peacock would have fit right into these proceedings.
Question: why was Argos Hera’s favorite city?
Answer: This kind of statement useually refers to the fact that the people of the city felt Hera is their favorite. Here are a number of statements that suggest that:
- The sculptor Polycleithos made a statue of her for the temple in Argos.
- She was also said to be able to renew her virginity every year by traveling to Argos and bathing in the Canathus Spring.
- Io was a priestess of Hera at Argos. (There was a temple of Hera in ancient times)
- Hera was the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and was born either on the island of Samos or at Argos.
- Hera is often listed as the ruling deity of Argos and (in Virgil) Carthage.
Question: Why did Hera hate the Trojans?
Answer: Paris was a Trojan and Paris chose Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess instead of Hera. The famous “judgement of Paris” myth describes the circumstances. You will notice that this is not a good example of logic, but it is the answer to your question. Hera was not particularly logical in her relation to humanity.
Question: I read recently in a book that Hera was associated as a Goddess of Death and Dying. It was my understanding that is not the case as I know her as the Goddess of Marriage, childbirth and home. Can you please confirm or deny this.
Answer: Any deity can bring about death and destruction so it is important to know the context in which this claim is made. A reference would be helpful. Also important is the concept of Hera over time. During the Classical Period death and destruction was not the realm of Hera. Rather her realm was marriage and majesty. But the site
http://thanasis.com/hera.htm states “As a former Death-goddess, Hera was also shown holding a pomegranate.” Hera can be indentified as a cow-goddess from Indo-European religion especially because of her epithet “cow-eyed”. Even though Hera is the last wife of Zeus in Greek Mythology, it makes more sense to make her the original wife of Zeus in her early development as an Indo-European Goddess. In that original pairing she and Zeus would have shared the attributes of Apollo and Artemis as well as their present ones. Artemis can also be classed as a cow goddess because of the crown that she wears that resembles the horns of a cow as well as a moon crescent. It is Artemis who developed into the goddess of death as the characteristics of Apollo and Artemis were separated from Zeus and Hera over time.
There are a number of goddesses in Classical times that had a better claim to the realm of death than Hera:
- 1. Persephone, goddess of the underworld. It is she that is most often associated with the pomegranate.
- 2. Hecate, goddess of luck, potions, incantations and curses.
- 3. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and of childbirth.
- 4. Calypso, goddess of concealment, as when one is buried.
- 5. The Gorgons including Medusa, Sthenno, and Euryale.
Note that the Classical period spanned a few hundred years after 600 BCE. During the Mycenean period 1600 to 1100 BCE the nature of Hera was not probably that different from her classical nature. Her nature as a death goddess would have been accepted perhaps 2000 years or more before that.
Question: Im doing a big research paper on Hera’s influence on our modern society. How does she appear in todays society? And what influence does she have on todays society? Please elaborate
Answer: A new British music theater work is “Hera’s List” by Eve Harrison. See information at: click here.
There are also many products named after her, many art objects which include her, and many books about her.
In ancient Greece many women worshiped her not because she was perfect, but because she seemed to make so many mistakes. While she was the queen of heaven and the consort of the most powerful god, she was subject to many indignities. She was tricked into marriage by the equivalent of date rape. She was abused by her husband who cheated on her constantly. But through it all she maintained her dignity and continued to be effective. There may have been a time when Hera was more important than Zeus and women were regarded very highly. But by the time of classical Greece women were greatly restricted in their activity. At that time Hera must have been an inspiration for the women of that time.
The situation for women varies greatly over the world today. Though the stories may not help that much for the women of the USA, still they are relevant to some. Then in the rest of the world these stories are more relevant.
Question: What were Hera’s political, social and cultural impacts upon the Ancient Greece?
Answer: In the Iliad of Homer Hera is one of the most important political actors. As wife of Zeus Hera is less powerful than her husband and must resort to scheming and trickery to get her way. Her way is somewhat dependent upon desire for status which seems important to her. It seems likely that mortal women looked to Hera for guidance in their similar role. Penelope is an example of a mortal wife who was involved in similar activities. Clytemnestra tried to be more direct in her political behavior but her actions were not respected.
The importance of Hera’s realm, marriage, to the state is reflected by one of Plato’s laws Plato, Laws, 6.774a: “All this and more one might say in a proper prelude concerning marriage and the duty of marrying. Should any man, however, refuse to obey willingly, and keep himself aloof and unpartnered in the State, and reach the age of thirty-five unmarried, an annual fine shall be imposed upon him, of a hundred drachmae if he be of the highest property-class, if of the second, seventy, if of the third, sixty, if of the fourth, thirty.” Plato was against the common practice of giving dowries also.
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