Hera was the wife and sister of Zeus, and the queen of the Olympian gods. She was the goddess of marriage, childbirth, and family, and she was deities of the Greek pantheon, presiding over the institution of marriage and the proper relations between men and women. She was also, in myth, one of the most jealous and vengeful of the gods, pursuing the many lovers of Zeus and their children with relentless anger.
Hera is one of the central figures of the Olympian pantheon, but her literary profile is paradoxical: in the Iliad she is the most outspoken of the gods, the consort who quarrels with Zeus and is bound by golden chains, and in tragedy she is the divine figure whose wrath is most often invoked. She is the patroness of marriage, the jealous wife, the protector of Argos and Samos, and the goddess who tried again and again to thwart the heroes of Zeus’s infidelities. The two best ancient sources are the Iliad (where she dominates Books I, IV, V, VIII, XIV, XV, and XXI) and the Homeric Hymn to Hera (a short but rich archaic poem).
The Name and Origins of Hera
The name Hera is thought to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *her- meaning “lady” or “mistress,” a feminine counterpart to the word for “lord” or “master.” This etymology positions her as the original female sovereign, the divine embodiment of feminine authority.
Hera was the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, making her a sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia. She was born, like her siblings, before the Titanomachy, and was swallowed by her father as an infant. She was later disgorged along with her brothers and sisters when Zeus gave Cronus the emetic potion.
The Marriage of Hera and Zeus
According to most traditions, Hera was courted by Zeus before he had achieved supremacy over the cosmos. In one version, Zeus courted her in the form of a cuckoo bird, taking shelter in her lap during a rainstorm, and then resuming his true form. In another, she resisted him for hundreds of years before consenting to the marriage.
The marriage of Zeus and Hera was celebrated on an island called the Blessed Island or the Garden of the Hesperides, where the goddesses of the seasons, the Horae, prepared the wedding feast. The marriage was, by all accounts, stormy. Zeus was notoriously unfaithful, and Hera was jealous and vengeful.
The Symbols of Hera
Hera was associated with several distinctive symbols:
- The Peacock: The peacock, with its hundred-eyed tail (in some traditions derived from the hundred-eyed giant Argus, whom Hera had placed to watch over Io), was the sacred bird of Hera.
- The Cow: Hera was sometimes worshipped in the form of a cow, particularly in Argos, where the goddess was called “Hera Boöpis” (cow-eyed Hera).
- The Pomegranate: The pomegranate, symbol of fertility and the marriage bond, was sacred to Hera.
- The Cuckoo: The cuckoo recalled Zeus’s courtship of Hera in the form of that bird.
- The Diadem and Scepter: As queen of the gods, Hera was often depicted wearing a crown or diadem and holding a scepter.
The Domains of Hera
Hera was primarily the goddess of marriage and the family. She was the protector of legitimate marriage, and she presided over the birth of children and the well-being of married women. She was also the patroness of the city of Argos, which was one of the major centers of her cult.
Hera was also associated with the air, the sky, and the stars. She was sometimes called the “starry” goddess. In some traditions, she was the original owner of the Milky Way.
The Children of Hera
Hera was the mother of several major gods:
- Ares, the god of war
- Hephaestus, the god of the forge
- Hebe, the goddess of youth, who served as the cupbearer of the gods before her marriage to Heracles
- Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth
- Tyche, in some traditions, the goddess of fortune
Hera was also the stepmother of many of Zeus’s children by other women, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, and the hero Heracles. Her treatment of these children was often cruel, particularly toward Heracles, who was the object of her lifelong hatred.
The Jealousy of Hera
Hera was the most jealous of the Olympian gods. She pursued the many lovers of Zeus with relentless fury, often punishing the women themselves, their children, or the men who tried to help them.
- Io: A priestess of Hera, seduced by Zeus, who was turned into a white heifer by Zeus to hide her from his wife. Hera, suspicious, demanded the heifer as a gift and set the hundred-eyed giant Argus to watch over her. When Argus was killed by Hermes, Hera sent a gadfly to torment Io, who wandered the world in madness until she finally reached Egypt and was restored to her human form.
- Callisto: A follower of Artemis, seduced by Zeus in the form of Artemis herself. Pregnant Callisto was discovered, and Artemis turned her into a bear. Hera, or in some versions Artemis, was said to have done this.
- Leto: Pregnant with Apollo and Artemis, Hera forbade any land to give her a place to give birth. The floating island of Delos finally agreed, and the twins were born.
- Semele: A mortal princess pregnant with Dionysus, tricked by Hera into asking Zeus to reveal himself in his divine form. The sight of his full glory burned her to ashes.
- Alcmene: The mother of Heracles, pursued by Hera all his life, including the famous incident in which Hera drove Heracles temporarily mad, causing him to kill his own wife and children.
The Major Myths of Hera
The Trojan War
During the Trojan War, Hera was the chief divine champion of the Greeks. She despised the Trojans because Paris had refused her the golden apple in the Judgment of Paris. She was a constant meddler in the war’s events, even seducing Zeus and putting him to sleep with Aphrodite’s help, in order to give the Greeks an advantage on the battlefield.
The Goddess and the Charioteer
In one myth, Hera challenged a young mortal named Pelops to a chariot race for the hand of Hippodameia, the king’s daughter. Pelops won with the help of Poseidon, who had given him a golden chariot and swift horses. The legend of Pelops gave the Peloponnese its name.
The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
Hera presided over the wedding of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, the parents of Achilles. The wedding was the scene of the original Judgment of Paris, when the goddess Eris threw a golden apple inscribed “to the fairest,” leading to the contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.
The Cuckoo Conspiracy
In one of Hera’s less flattering stories, she conspired with Athena and Aphrodite to overthrow Zeus. They tied him to his throne and threatened to take his power. The sea-god Thetis summoned the hundred-handed Briareus, who untied Zeus and saved him. Zeus punished the three goddesses severely: Hera was hung from the sky in golden chains with anvils tied to her feet, while Athena and Aphrodite were temporarily banned from Olympus.
The Worship of Hera
The major cult centers of Hera were in Argos, Samos, and Olympia.
- Argos: The Heraion of Argos was one of the oldest temples in Greece, with a cult going back to the Mycenaean period.
- Samos: The Heraion of Samos was one of the largest temples of the ancient Greek world, and Herodotus considered it the greatest of all Greek temples.
- Olympia: The Heraion at Olympia was older than the temple of Zeus at the same site. The Heraia, a footrace for women in honor of Hera, was held at Olympia in alternate years to the men’s Olympic Games.
The Romans identified Hera with their own goddess Juno, the queen of the gods and the patroness of marriage. The myths of Hera were largely transferred to Juno in Roman religion, although the Roman Juno was a more martial and political figure than the Greek Hera.
The Legacy of Hera
Hera is a fixture of modern retellings. She is the wronged queen in Mary Renault’s The King Must Die, the central figure of the Percy Jackson novels’ treatment of marriage and jealousy, and a recurring character in the God of War franchise. Her temple at Olympia and her cult at Samos make her a frequent subject in archaeological and historical writing. For the broader modern reception, see our guide to Greek mythology in modern culture.
A Note on Reading This Profile
A note on reading this profile. Hera is one of the most-quoted goddesses in Greek tragedy, and the literature on her is enormous. The Homeric Hera (Iliad I, IV, V, VIII, XIV, XV, XXI) is the consort who is always at war with her husband; the tragic Hera (Euripides’ Ion, the Bacchae) is the figure whose wrath is unsleeping; the political Hera is the patroness of marriage and the protector of legitimate childbirth. The three readings are not contradictory, and the page above tries to give each of them its place.