Meet Hera, the Queen of the Greek Gods

Hera (Juno) is the queen of the gods. She is usually plotting either to favor the Greeks over the Trojans, as in Homer's Iliad, or against one of the females who has caught the roving eye of her philandering husband, Zeus. At other times, Hera is shown plotting mischief against Heracles.

Myths re-told by Thomas Bulfinch about Hera (Juno) include:

• Monsters
• Nisus and Scylla - Echo and Narcissus - Clytie - Hero and Leander
• Juno and Her Rivals
• Hercules—Hebe and Ganymede

Family of Origin

The Greek goddess Hera is one of the daughters of Cronus and Rhea. She is the sister and wife of the king of the gods, Zeus.

Roman Equivalent

The Greek goddess Hera was known as the goddess Juno by the Romans. It is Juno who torments Aeneas on his trip from Troy to Italy to found the Roman race. Of course, this is the same goddess who so vehemently opposed the Trojans in the stories about the Trojan War, so she would try to put obstacles in the path of a Trojan prince who escaped the destruction of her hated city.

In Rome, Juno was part of the Capitoline triad, along with her husband and Minerva. As part of the triad, she is Juno Capitolina. The Romans also worshiped a Juno Lucina, Juno Moneta, Juno Sospita, and Juno Caprotina, among other epithets.

Attributes of Hera

Peacock, cow, crow and pomegranate for fertility. She is described as cow-eyed.

Powers of Hera

Hera is the queen of the gods and the wife of Zeus. She is the goddess of marriage and is one of the childbirth goddesses. She created the Milky Way when she was lactating.

Sources on Hera

Ancient sources for Hera include: Apollodorus, Cicero, Euripides, Hesiod, Homer, Hyginus, and Nonnius.

Children of Hera

Hera was the mother of Hephaestus. Sometimes she is credited with giving birth to him without the input of a male as a response to Zeus' giving birth to Athena from his head. Hera was not pleased with the clubfoot of her son. Either she or her husband threw Hephaestus from Olympus. He fell to earth where he was tended by Thetis, the mother of Achilles, for which reason he created Achilles' great shield.

Hera was also the mother, with Zeus, of Ares and Hebe, the cupbearer of the gods who marries Heracles.