The myth of Hera, the matron of Olympus

The myth of Hera refers to one of the most classic, but also poorest, facets of the female figure.. She represents a matron who is always invaded by jealousy and who does not miss an opportunity to take revenge on her. The systematic infidelity of her husband, Zeus, led her to this position again and again.

For the Greeks, the myth of Hera represented the archetype of the typical woman. She was the goddess of marriage and family life; His thing was to defend both institutions at any price. She was the most important female divinity on Olympus and, one way or another, she almost always managed to get her way.

One of the most striking aspects of the myth of Hera is the fact that for each infidelity of Zeus she displayed revenge. However, The object of her anger was almost never her husband, but rather her lovers. and the children he had with them. This, despite the fact that Zeus took by force, or by trickery, the women with whom he betrayed his wife.

Zeus

The origin of the myth of Hera

Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, therefore, sister of Zeus, who later became her husband. As happened with all of Cronus’s children, he swallowed her when he was born, because the oracle had announced that one of his offspring would dethrone him. Zeus was saved by a trick from his mother and then freed his brothers, including Hera.

The myth of Hera says that Zeus fell in love with her and to possess her he took the form of a bird called a cuckoo. The wedding of the two was a lavish event, held in the Garden of the Hesperides. The two had Ares, god of war, as children; Hebe, goddess of youth; Ilithia, goddess of childbirth; and Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths.

Although the myth of Hera is the myth of marriage and family, this goddess was not actually a good mother.. Proof of this is that he rejected Hephaestus, his son, because he seemed very ugly to her. He expelled him from Olympus and he took revenge by making a magical throne that he gave to him; When she sat on it, she could never stand up. The spell ended when Hephaestus received Aphrodite as his wife.

The feud with Hercules

Hercules, the Greek hero was the result of one of Zeus’s infidelities, so Hera hated him and always fought to destroy him. The hero’s mother, Alcmene, called her son “Hercules” to calm the goddess’s hatred. That name means “the glory of Hera”; However, this did not lessen the fury of the matron of Olympus.

Zeus, who had no limits, tricked Hera into breastfeeding Hercules, whom he mistook for one of his true children. Thus the hero drank divine milk. When Hera discovered the deception, she suddenly removed the child from her arms. This caused a jet of milk to fly into the heavens and from its trail the Milky Way was born..

After, Hera herself punished Hercules with the famous 12 labors and persecuted him throughout his life.. However, Zeus himself and other gods protected the hero in his multiple tasks, frustrating some plans of the queen of Olympus.

Hercules

A superb goddess

The myth of Hera shows that this goddess not only acted out of jealousy, but also did so out of pride on many occasions. It is said that he blinded Tiresias, the prophet, when he did not want to agree with her husband during an argument.. She was also one of the instigators of the famous Trojan War.

On one occasion, he also wanted to carry out an Olympic “coup d’état”. For this he met with Poseidon, Apollo and Athena. The purpose was to dethrone Zeus, who was ignorant of everything. While he slept they chained him to his bed and stripped him of the lightning bolt that gave him power. Then they began to discuss who would be the new god of gods on Olympus.

While they were having the heated discussion, without them noticing Briareus, a giant with a hundred arms, entered the scene. This freed Zeus, who regained control of Olympus. and severely punished the conspirators. They asked for forgiveness and swore loyalty forever. Despite his continuous infidelities and disloyalties, the marriage never ended.

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