Gaea, the Greek Goddess of Creation was married to Uranus, the God of the Heavens or Sky. Uranus was a terrible husband to Gaea and an even worse father to their children. When one of their children was born, Uranus would hide it away deep within the bowels of its mother, never again to see the light of day. Eventually, Gaea could no longer deal with Uranus’ unconciouable behavior, so she enlisted the aid of her youngest son, Chronos, to help her destroy Uranus. Chronos did exactly what his mother required of him, and proceded to castrate his own father using a jagged-toothed sickle that Gaea had created specifically for that purpose.
Then, there came a time when Chronos and his sister Rhea married, and from that union they produced many children. However, whenever a child of theirs was born, Chronos immediately devoured it. It seems that Chronos soon began to realize, and then eventually began to fear, that if he had been able to castrate his own father, then there was no reason why one of his own children might not do the exact same thing to him.
When Zeus was born, Rhea was able to hide his birth from Chronos. She gave birth to Zeus on the Island of Crete, and instead of giving Chronos their baby to devour, she gave him a stone, completely wrapped in baby swaddling. Then, when Zeus became old enough, he actually did overthrow his own unknowing father.
Hera was born beneath an ancient willow tree in Samos, on an island near the river Imbrasus. The Titans Ocean and Tethys raised Hera, while the Horae and the Charities acted as her nursemaids, and once she became old enough, as her friends and companions. Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow was Hera’s attendent, and she was always there at Hera’s side. Legend tells us that the milk which spurted from Hera's breasts created the Milky Way, and that the drops of it which fell upon the Earth created the flowers that are known as lilies.
Each and every year Hera would bathe in the Spring of Canathus as a way of renewing her virginity. This ritual of renewal was almost identical to the one performed by Aphrodite who, every year, would dive into the waters off the island upon which she had originally washed up. When Aphrodite came out of the water, it appeared as though she had just been re-born, and the same thing was also true with Hera. Renewing a Goddess’ virginity did not mean that she actually became a virgin again; it simply meant that she appeared to be refreshed and renewed, as though she had just been re-born.
When the appropriate time arrived, Zeus left the cave in which he had been hiding and immediately travelled to Knossus, in Crete, in search of his sister Hera. His plan was to marry Hera, and by his doing that they would have job security for life as the King and the Queen of the Gods.
Zeus kept trying to get close to Hera, and he continued to court her even though she constantly rejected his advances. Eventually, however, Zeus was successful, although he achieved that success through the use of trickery and lies. One day, Zeus appeared before Hera in the guise of a shivering little bird known as a cuckoo. Out of the goodness of her heart, Hera picked up that little bird and warmed it tenderly at her breast.
Being held so tenderly at Hera's breast aroused Zeus to such a degree that he did what appeared to be the most natural thing in the world for him to do; he changed back into his natural form, and immediately began to ravish Hera. By doing that Zeus shamed Hera, and it was only after he had promised to marry her that she finally acquiesced.
Hera and Zeus were married in true Olympion style, and their lavish wedding was attended by all the Gods and Goddesses. The newlyweds spent their three hundred year honeymoon on the Island of Samos, but as soon as they returned to Olympus it became exceedingly clear that nothing had changed at all. Zeus immediately returned to his philandering ways and Hera, as a way of punishing Zeus for his many infidelities, began to act vindictively. The honeymoon was definitely over.
Hera was metaphorically born in approximately 24,000 B.C.E., which was about the same time that the Venus of Willendorff has been carbon dated at. That indicates that Hera is an extremely ancient Goddess. The worship of Hera and the Goddess Aphrodite began in Phoenecia, and it is believed that Phoenecian traders and colonists brought their worship with them to the Island of Crete. The Goddess Athena eventually joined Aphrodite and Hera on Crete, having been brought there by Phoenecian traders from Africa. The worship of these three Goddesses eventually took them from Crete, and brought them to Athens, on the mainland of Greece, where they became members of the Classical Greek Pantheon.
In Classical Greek mythology a well-known story exists which takes place at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. At the wedding party, Eris (Strife) tossed a golden apple which was inscribed with the words “for the fairest” upon it into the crowd of wedding guests. Immediately, a quarrel errupted among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, because each one of them believed that the apple was expressly meant for her. In order to be fair, the Olympians decided to settle the dispute by holding a contest, the outcome of which would decide, once and for all, which Goddess was the most beautiful. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all agreed that Paris, a Trojan Prince, would act as the judge.
When the contest was over, Paris decided in favor of Aphrodite, rather than Hera or Athena, even though Hera had attempted to bribe him with power, and Athena with victory in battle. Aphrodite became the winner, not necessarily because she actually was the most beautiful, but because she offered Paris the one thing he could not refuse; the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta, soon to become Helen of Troy. Paris immediately whisked Helen away with him, taking her back to Troy, and that action, by Paris, was one of the major events that led to the ten-year Trojan War. It is also believed that the Trojan War could have ended in an honorable peace, with neither side conquering the other, had Hera been able to control her hatred of Paris, which existed solely because he had decided that Aphrodite was more beautiful than she. It is also believed that Hera’s jealousy was one of the main reasons why, in 1260 B.C.E., Troy fell.
Hera and Zeus had four children together. Their names were Hebe, Ilithyia, Hephaestus, and Ares. Even after she gave birth to her children, Hera continued to be miserable in her marriage to Zeus. Zeus continued to have one affair after another. In fact, his affairs became so numerous that it actually became impossible for anyone to keep track of them. Perhaps the worst thing of all was the fact that the affairs that Zeus had, were with any and every woman he happened to meet, and that they all took place, whether they happened to be consentual or not.
Shortly after they were married, it become exceedingly clear to Hera that her husband had some extremely serious problems including, among them, the fact that he was a completely unfaithful husband. Zeus just continued having affair after affair, and when a woman refused to acquiesce to his sexual advances, he simply raped her, claiming that he had no other choice but to give in to his immediate sexual desires.
Zeus was in complete denial when it came to his raping those women, and he actually believed that he had done nothing wrong. Instead, he blamed the multitude of his extramarital affairs, including the many times where he raped his unwilling partners, upon the women themselves. He simply justified his actions by claiming that the women had asked for it, because their appearance had been so enticing, or because they had aroused him, thereby offering him no other alternative but to acquiesce to his own sexual needs.
Hera found Zeus’ constant infidelities to be rather disconcerting, to say the least, and it was those actions by Zeus that eventually caused Hera’s jealousy to become completely out of control. When Hera and Zeus were first married, she already suffered from extremely low self-esteem. Zeus was well aware of that fact, and he frequently tried to feed it, by telling Hera that she was not beautiful enough for him, even though she was, indeed, the most beautiful of all the Goddesses; even more beautiful then Aphrodite.
Hera was, indeed, an exquisitely beautiful Goddess, and while she may have been extremely beautiful, whenever her vindictiveness came soaring to the forefront, it simply nullified the many positive qualities that she had. She began to look upon Zeus’ affairs, including the many affairs in which he had raped his unwilling partners, as personal attacks upon her, and she was well known for metting out extremely severe punishments upon those women.
There is a popular myth which is known as The Story of Zeus and Io. This myth describes one of Zeus' most well known extramarital affairs. It also describes, in detail, the great lengths that Hera went to in order to exact her revenge. There came a time when Zeus finally realized that he had to find a way of hiding his beautiful lover, Io, from Hera’s vengence, so he turned Io into a black and white heifer.
Hera, however, was nobody’s fool, and she saw right through Zeus' plan. Then, she sent Argos Panoptes, whose name means the "all seeing," to go and keep Io as far away from Zeus as possible. The God Hermes was always known to do Zeus’ bidding, so when Zeus finally learned about Argos, he immediately ordered Hermes to kill him, which Hermes immediately did. Once Hermes murdered Argos, he became known by the title "Argeiphontes," which translates to mean "the murderer of Argos." It has been said that the eyes of Argos can still be seen in the tails of peacocks, which are Hera’s sacred birds.
Finally, things reached the point where Hera decided that enough was enough and that vengence, indeed, would be hers; so she sent a gadfly to constantly stay by Io’s side and bother her to the point where she was never was able to get even one moment’s rest. The gadfly served its purpose well, and it eventually bothered Io so much that she had to find a way to get away from it. It was then that Io traveled as far away as she possibly could, from both the gadfly and from Zeus, and she eventually ended up in Egypt, where she was finally able to get some desparately needed rest.
Zeus’ constant psychological abuse of Hera caused her great emotional harm, and it was because of that that her actions were often considered to be similar to those of Aphrodite, since she would cause terrible things to happen to those women. Not only did Hera harm the people that she hated, she continued to use her vengence against their children and even against their childrens’ children who had not even been conceived, much less born. That happened because Hera is an immortal Goddess, which allows her vengence to continue from one generation to the next.
The Goddess Persephone was the daughter of the Titans Demeter and Zeus. Demeter had brought Persephone to Sicily from Crete, and it was in the area surrounding the springs of Kayane that she hid Persephone in a cave. In order to protect her daughter, Demeter placed two serpents at the entrance of the cave to act as Persephone’s guardians.
In order to keep busy, Persephone decided to gather some wool, so that she might spend her time weaving, which was a proper profession for a maiden who was under the protection of the Goddess Pallas Athene. Persephone took the wool, and with it she began to weave a great web that represented the entire world. She decided that she would make her weaving it into a robe, which she would then give to either her father or mother as a gift. While Persephone was weaving, her father Zeus entered the cave in the form of a serpent, and it was from that visit that Persephone eventually gave birth to Dionysus, as Zagreus, who became known as the Divine Boy or the Child-God. The Orphic Hymn to Dionysus describes that incestuous relationship by stating (to Dionysus) "You demigod immortal, born of the coupling of Zeus and Persephone, too dark to whisper!" (30.6-7).
When Dionysus was born, it became immediately apparent that he was a horned child, and that his horns signified the attributes of the heavenly bull. A crown of serpents also adorned his head, indicating that he was the waxing and waning lunar son of Persephone, the Moon-Goddess of the Underworld.
When Hera first learned about the Divine Boy’s existence she became so jealous, that she provoked the Titans into surprising the Child-God while he was playing with his toys. The Titans then proceeded to whiten their faces with chalk, so that it would appear as though they were the spirits of the dead who had come there from the Underworld, in order to harm him. Ironically, the Titans had actually come from the Underworld, in order to harm Dionysus, since they had been banished there as a form of punishment by Zeus.
When the Titans attacked Dionysus he attempted to flee, first transforming himself into Zeus and then into Chronos. Following that, he took on the guise of a young man, a lion, a horse, and a serpent until he finally appeared, once again, in the form of a bull, which was the same form that he had originally been in when the Titans first began to attack him. When the Titans were dismembering Dionysus, his blood fell upon the ground, and it was at that exact place that the world’s first Pomegranate tree sprang forth.
The Titans boiled the seven separate pieces of Dionysus in a cauldron that sat upon a tripod, which had apparently been placed there for that particular purpose. Then, once they had finished boiling his flesh, they began to roast it over an open fire on seven separate spits. They had barely gotten started, however, when Zeus quite suddenly appeared before them, and immediately attacked them using his lightening bolts to kill them all. Unfortunately for Zeus, it soon became apparent that his arrival had been too late to save his son. He could see that the Titans had eaten the Divine Boy’s flesh, and that his boiled limbs were completely burnt, with the exception of either a single limb or possibly it was his heart. In a later version of this particular myth, it was the Goddess, Pallas Athene, who hid the remaining undamaged limb or heart in a covered basket, until she was able to find Zeus, so that she might give him his son’s remains.
The mortal Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of King Cadmus and a Princess of Thebes. Zeus had fallen deeply in love with this mortal princess, and because of his great love for her and his concern for her well being, he always appeared before her in the form of a mortal man. Zeus had caused Semele to become pregnant, through the use of a potion which he had made from Dionysus’ remaining limb or heart, which had been rescued from the Titans when Zeus had killed them.
However Hera’s jealousy knew no bounds, so she paid a visit to Semele in the guise of her nurse, and then she tricked the mortal Princess into asking Zeus to reveal himself to her in all his immortal glory. Hera’s interference worked well, and she was able to convince Semele to ask Zeus to grant her one special wish which of course, without even thinking, he did.
However, when Semele stated the exact nature of her wish, Zeus became deeply saddened, since he knew that if Semele looked upon him in his natural form, it would automatically kill her. He had, however, given Semele his word, and it was solely for that reason that he had no other choice but to grant her wish. Then, when Semele finally gazed upon Zeus in his full immortal glory, the very sight of him, in his divine fire, immediately incinerated her.
For one moment, Zeus believed that he had lost Dionysus once again, but all of a sudden from out of Semele's smoldering body a clustering vine grew, which had shielded the fetus of the bull-horned child who wore a crown of serpents upon his head, and who, it was said, had danced in his mother's womb. Zeus took the fetus and placed it or stitched it into his own thigh, from which Dionysus was eventually born. It is for that reason that Dionysus became known by the important epithet of “twice-born.”
Still needing to protect Dionysus from Hera's jealous rage, Zeus instructed Hermes to take the infant and place him in the care of his foster mother, Ino, who was Semele’s sister. It was actually Ino who first decided to dress Dionysus in feminine clothing, and to raise him as a girl rather then a boy, as a way of hiding him and protecting him from Hera’s uncontrollable wrath. It was extremely unfortunate that Dionysus had some extremely destructive qualities within him, and that he was somehow able to drive Ino and her husband insane. In fact, it was in that madness that they actually murdered their own children. Quite amazingly, however, is the fact that while Ino was still in that mad state she ran into the sea, and when she dove deep into its waters she was immediately transformed into the Sea Goddess, Leucothea. The Divine Child, then changed into the form of a young goat, and he was taken away by Hermes, to be raised by the Nymphs of Mount Nysa, and tutored by the Satyr Silenus.
The Orphic Concept was actually derrived from this particular myth. The Orphic Concept believes that humans have a divine spark within them, which originally comes from the ashes from which they are formed, and that the divine spark within them is actually Dionysus. The Titans were completely destroyed by Zeus. However, the divine essence of Dionysus, which they had eaten, was actually indestructible. Since it was indestructible, and that divine essence remained within the ashes of the Titans; it was those ashes that eventually became a part of the human race. This is why Dionysus became
known as a God of Life as well as a God of Death, since he had been recovered from the charred remains of the Titans, only to be born again at a later point in time from the cinders of his dead mother, Semele.
It was extremely unfortunate, indeed, that those who fell within the sphere of Dionysus’ influence, like his stepmother Ino, frequently would become mad, or even die, although in the particular case of Ino, she was actually transformed into a Goddess. This theme is also associated with Dionysus' later deliverance of his mother, Semele, from Hades, and her rise upward to Olympus. Eventually, the time arrived when Dionysus descended into the Underworld in order to search for his mother. When he found Semele, he transformed her into one of the immortals and gave her a new name, Thyone, which means “ecstatically raging.” Then, they ascended to Olympus together.
Dionysus represents a very ancient chthonic strand of the Greek religion, which somehow re-appeared into full view through Dionysus. People have frequently contrasted his feminine appearance with the “manly,” virile images of some of the other Olympians, such as Apollo and Zeus. Those manly Gods represented the northern patriarchal traditions of the Indo-European invaders, while Dionysus' female-like form was actually a resurgence of the earlier and more balanced female religion of that region. That female religion was known to place a great emphasis upon caves, underground places, and the Underworld, while delighting in the power of the Great Mother Goddess, who could be seen by everyone through all of her wonderful gifts that existed throughout nature.
Even though Hera may have done some extremely negative things, such as the ones I have touched on above, it should also be remembered that she was acting out of self-preservation in the only way that she knew how. Hera’s great need for self-preservation had been caused, not only by the psychological abuse that Zeus had constantly forced upon her, but also by her own lack of self-esteem, which continued to damage her as it grew stronger and stronger with each new infidelity that Zeus perpetrated upon her. In modern times, Hera would never be thought of as just a jealous and vindictive shrew. In all likelihood, people today would see her for what she truly was, which was a victim of domestic abuse.
Hera knew all too well from experience, what it was like to be the victim of a heartless and cruel husband like Zeus, and she was able to take that knowledge and use it for the welfare and betterment of her many devoted followers. While she may have been deeply troubled when it came to dealing with her own marital problems, when it came to helping the women who worshipped her, Hera had a wonderful ability for dispensing wisdom and compassion to them in their times of need.
Most experts on mythology all too frequently dwell upon Hera’s negative characteristics, without ever taking the time to look at her positive ones; and in doing so, they do Hera a great injustice. It is extremely unfortunate that some of the alleged “experts,” appear to ignore Hera’s positive traits, for she does, indeed, have many of them about her. She was capable of doing much good, and she frequently did whatever she could to help others in their times of need. One example of this can be seen when she aided Jason who, without Hera’s sponsorship, would never have been able to retrieve the Golden Fleece.
Hera also became the protectress of Argo, guiding him through the narrow rocks of Cynea, and keeping him safe and out of harm’s way whenever he came too close to the many-headed monster, Scylla, and the whirlpool, Charybdis. The peacock is one of Hera’s main symbols, and its plumage has been said, quite appropriately, to represent the eyes of Argos, the Watcher.
It was also to Hera that married women could always turn. It mattered little whether they happened to need her help or solace, or whether they simply needed someone to listen to their fears. Hera was always there for each and every one of them, and she was able to help them remain strong, while their husbands were off having affairs. Hera had become quite an expert on that particular subject, and while she quite unfortunately did not use the proper methods in dealing with her own marital problems, when it came to helping the women who worshipped her, she offered amazingly powerful assistance to them all. Hera actually did so much more then just help women deal with their husbands’ infidelities. She listened to the prayers of each and every married woman, no matter what their problem happened to be. That was the gift that was Hera.
While Hera may be best known for being the Goddess of Marriage, she was actually a whole lot more then that title represents. Even though she was truly wonderful in that particular role, Hera was first and formost a Goddess of all women everywhere, whether they happened to be married or not.
Even though Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, may have each had different parents, there existed an extremely special bond among them, which made it seem as though they were actually sisters; and when they were together, they took on the form of a Triple Goddess trinity.
Hera’s followers frequently held celebrations in her honor. When spring arrived, she was worshipped in the role of the virgin, Hera (Hebe). It was during that particular right of worship that Hera’s followers immersed an image representing her in a bath. In was in that manner that Hera’s worshippers symbolized the annual restoration of her virginity.
When summer arrived, Hera was celebrated as Hera (Teleia), the Fulfilled One. It was then that Hera’s worshippers performed a ritual wedding in her honor. They took a figure, which they then dressed in bridal clothes, as though it was a bride, and placed it upon a couch that was made from the branches of a willow tree, and then they scattered garlands of flowers around her, whenever they happened to be passing by.
When the cold darkness of winter came upon them, Hera’s followers worshipped her as Hera (Theria), the Widow. If we look at these three rituals which honored Hera, it can easily be seen that they take on the form of a singular Triple Goddess, in which Hera plays all three roles: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone.
Every five years, another celebration was also held in Hera’s honor. At Olympia, in Elis, her worshippers would present Hera with a beautifully embroidered mantle. Races and other games were then held after the presentation, and the only contestants allowed to participate were unmarried women and girls.
Hera was one of the most powerful of all the Olympian Goddesses, and as such she was known as the Queen of the Gods. She was also the major divinity, the Great Mother Goddess, of the pre-Hellenic Greeks, who honored her at a variety of festivals.
When the Indo-Europeans invaded Greece, they brought their patriarchal points of view with them. Then, when they had to pick an appropriate mate for their Sky God, Zeus, they required a Goddess who was of equal stature to him. Only one logical choice existed, and that choice just happened to be Hera.
When Hera became a member of the Classical Greek pantheon, she discovered that her life would not be an easy one. In fact, it actually became exceedingly difficult for her. All too often she found herself in situations that were not of her own making, and while she was faced with the task of protecting her home, she also had to protect her marriage from Zeus' constant infidelities. As if that was not enough, Hera also had to protect her own, extremely fragile ego, as well as her many negative feelings of self-worth that were all too often intensified by Zeus' constant humiliation of her. Even though Hera frequently had to deal with problems that were forced upon her by Zeus, she still had enormous strength within her, and she imparted that strength generously, to her many devoted followers. All too often, Hera found herself in situations where she had to fight for everything that she believed was right. Yet, when she acted in a manner that was necessary for her own survival, people automatically assumed the worst. They jumped to the wrong conclusion without ever taking into consideration the various problems that Hera may have had to face.
That is extremely unfortunate and even more unworthy, because Hera actually has many wonderful qualities about her, and she used them unselfishly whenever she was able, so that she could help women everywhere. Deep within Hera lies that great strength which is known as the Divine Feminine. It is through the Divine Feminine that women everywhere are able to discover that same strength within themselves, so that they can stand up for what they believe to be right, even thought there may be others who believe them to be wrong. Hera is an extremely important Goddess of Women. Through her, we are able to see the constant struggle that women everywhere must go through in order for them to gain the respect and equality, which are both inherently theirs. That is extremely difficult, because at the same time that women have to deal with all of these problems, they also must continue to live and survive in a patriarchal world. That challenge has seldom been an easy one, yet it has always been a challenge that Hera, the Goddess of Women, has always been willing to fight for.
Painting by Sandra M. Stanton
Used with Permission
