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In ancient Greek religion, Hera (Ἥρα; Ἥρη in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus, and daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. One of her defining characteristics in myth is her jealous and vengeful nature in dealing with any who offended her, especially Zeus's numerous adulterous lovers and illegitimate offspring.

Her iconography usually presents her as a dignified, matronly figure, upright or enthroned, crowned with a polos or diadem, sometimes veiled as a married woman. She is the patron goddess of lawful marriage. She presides over weddings, blesses and legalises marital unions, and protects women from harm during childbirth. Her sacred animals include the cow, cuckoo, and peacock. She is sometimes shown holding a pomegranate as an emblem of immortality. Her Roman counterpart is Juno.

Etymology
The name Hera (Hēra or Hērē) has several possible and mutually exclusive etymologies. One possibility is to connect it with Greek ὥρα hōra, season, and to interpret it as ripe for marriage and according to Plato ἐρατή eratē, "beloved" as Zeus is said to have married her for love. According to Plutarch, Hera was an allegorical name and an anagram of aēr (ἀήρ, "air"). So begins the section on Hera in Walter Burkert's Greek Religion. In a note, he records other scholars' arguments "for the meaning Mistress as a feminine to Heros, Master ", with uncertain origin. John Chadwick, a decipherer of Linear B, remarks "her name may be connected with hērōs, ἥρως, 'hero', but that is no help since it too is etymologically obscure." A. J. van Windekens, offers "young cow, heifer", which is consonant with Hera's common epithet βοῶπις (boōpis, "cow-eyed"). R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Her name is attested in Mycenaean Greek written in the Linear B syllabic script as e-ra, appearing on tablets found in Pylos and Thebes, as well as in the Cypriotic dialect in the dative e-ra-i. The PIE... could be originally either (a) 'the female who is attached/coupled' or (b) 'the female who attaches herself'... both socially and physically or emotionally."

Many theophoric names such as Heracles, Heraclitus, Herodotus, Herodicus,, derive from Hera.

Epithets
Hera bore several epithets in the mythological tradition and in literature. In the historical times the majority of the Greeks recognized Hera as the consort of Zeus. . Hera is the protector of marriage and of the rights of the married women. . In some cults she has some functions of the earth goddess. She is occasionally related to warfare as tutelary goddess.

Goddess of marriage and bride

 * Γαμήλιος (Gamēlios), 'preciding over marriage'. A sacrifice to Hera ensured a happy married life.
 * Γαμηστόλος (Gamēstόlos), 'leading the troop of marriage'.
 * Νυμφευομένη (Nymphevomenē), 'led as a bride' at Plataea, in relation to her festival Daedala.
 * Νυμφη (Nymphē), 'bride'.
 * Παρθένος (Parthénos) 'Virgin'
 * Παρθενία (Parthenia),
 * Παῖς (Pais) 'Child' (in her role as virgin) at Stymphalus.
 * Συζύγιος (Syzygios) 'patroness of marriage'
 * Τελεία (Teleia) 'bringing the fulfillement of marriage'.
 * Ζυγία (Zygia), 'yoke of marriage'. Her husband Zeus had also the epithet Zygius (Ζυγίος).
 * Χήρα (Chḗrα) 'Widowed' at Stymphalus.

Consort of Zeus

 * Ανασσα, ( Anassa) ,' Queen'.
 * Ἀμμωνία (Ammonìa), at Elis related to Zeus-Ammon
 * Βασίλεια (Basíleia) 'Queen' at Ialysus in Rhodes
 * Βασιλίς (Basilis) 'Queen' at Libadia and Argos.
 * Διώνη (Diōnē) as the consort of Zeus at Dodona.
 * Ηνιόχη (Hēniochē), at Libadia . She was worshipped together with "Zeus-Basileus".
 * Ολυμπία (Olympia) ,with an altar near the altar of Olympian Zeus.
 * Σκηπτούχος (Skēptouchos),'bearing a sceptre' (Queen).

Founder and protector

 * Αρχηγέτις (Archēgetis), 'founder', leader of the settlement at Samos.
 * Ἀκραῖα (Akraìa) '(She) of the Heights (Akropolis)'
 * Βουναία (Bounaia) '(She) of the Mound' (in Corinth )

As an earth and fertility goddess

 * Ἄνθεια (Antheia), meaning flowery at Argos and Miletos.
 * Βοῶπις (Boṓpis) 'Cow-Eyed'. probably a form of the earth-goddess.
 * Γή (Ge), 'Earth' by Plutarch in a passage of Eusebius.
 * Ευεργεσία (Euergesia), 'doing a good service'
 * Ζευξιδία (Ζeuxidia),'yoking the oxen' at Argos.
 * Πάμφοιτος (Pamfοιtos) 'repeatedly coming'. (Pamfoitos Anassa)
 * Φερέσβιος (Pheresbios) 'life giving'. by Empedocles (Plutarch).
 * Ωρόλυτος (Hōrolytos) at Samos as the controller of the seasons and times of the year (Horae)

As goddess of the hymns

 * Εὑκέλαδος (Εukelados), 'well sounding, melodious'.
 * Προσυμναία (Prosymnaia), 'goddess of the hymn' at Argos.

Place of worship

 * Ἀργείη (Argeìē) '(She) of Argos'. Hera was probably the goddess of the palace.
 * 'Ιμβραση (Imbrasē) after the river Imbrasus at Samos.
 * Κανδαρηνή (Kandarēnē) at the city Kandara of Asia-Minor.
 * Κιθαιρωνία (Κithairōnia) 'of the mountain Kithairon' in Boeotia, in relation with her fest Daedala.
 * Λιμανία (Limanìa) ' of the harbour' at Perachora near the Isthmus of Corinth.
 * Πελασγίς (Pelasgis) at Iolcus. A sacrifice was performed to Hera by Pelias.
 * Σαμία (Samia), with a famous temple at Samos.
 * Φαρυγαία (Pharygaia) at the city Pharygae of Locris.

Warlike character

 * Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros) 'Protector of Men' (among the Sicyonians). Her cult was founded by Adrastus.
 * Οπλοσμία (Oplosmia) 'bearing arms or shield' at Elis
 * Προδρομία (Prodromia), 'running forward' at Sikyon.
 * Τροπαία (Tropaia), 'giver of victory'

Local cults

 * Αἰγοφάγος (Aigophágos) 'Goat-Eater' among the Lacedaemonians
 * Εἰλείθυια (Eileithyia) at Argos and Athens as goddess of childbirth. In Theogony Εileithyia is the daughter of Hera.
 * Ἐλεία (Eleía) 'of the marsh' at Cyprus.
 * Θελξινία (Thelxinìa) at Athens.
 * Θεομήτωρ (Theomētōr) 'mother of a god' at Samos.
 * Ἱππία (Hippia), 'of the horse' at Olympia.
 * Λακίνια (Lacinia) at Croton.
 * Λευκώλενος (Leukōlenos) 'White-Armed'
 * Μειλίχιος (Meilichios), 'gentle', like "Zeus-Meilichios" at Selinus.
 * Μηλιχία (Μēlichia) 'gentle, with gentle words' at Hierapetna.
 * Τελχινία (Telchinia): Diodorus Siculus write that she was worshipped by the Ialysians and the Cameirans (both were on the island of Rhodes). She was named thus because according to a legend, Telchines (Τελχῖνες) were the first inhabitants of the island and also the first who created statues of gods.
 * Ὑπερχειρία (Ηypercheiria), 'with the hand above' at Sparta.

Origins
In the historical times the majority of the Greeks recognized Hera as the consort of Zeus. Zeus was the protector of rights and mores and his partner Hera became the protector of the legal marriage and of the rights of the married women. . It seems that Hera emerged from a form of the "Mycenean goddess of the palace" and then she became spouse of Zeus. Modern scolars suggest that Hera is not only the Olympian sky-goddess, but in some cults she may be identified with the earth-goddess. Her ancient connection with the "cow" still existed in the historical times. This propably relates her to Near-Eastern forms of cow-goddesses like Hathor (or Bat). . The Greek earth-goddess Gaia is occasionally identified with Hera. Gaia may be related to the Vedic earth-goddess Prithvi, who was associated with the cow.

Mycenean Greece
An inscription written in Linear B on a tablet found at Pylos mentions offerings "to Zeus-Hera-Drimios".(Drimios is the   son of Zeus). . Hera was the tutelary goddess of Argos and it is possible that she had Mycenean origin. Martin P. Nilsson suggested that Hera is mainly the "Argeiē" (Ἀργείη), a name given by Homer which describes her not as a Greek, but as an Argive goddess. She is the protector of the citadel. . . In literature Argos is called "dōma Hēras" (the house of Hera) and the Argives are called her people by Pindar. Homer in Iliad uses the formula "boōpis potnia Hērē)" (cow-eyed, mistress Hera), which probably relates her to a form of the Mediterranean goddess of nature. Walter Burkert notices that it is difficult to confirm that the epithet "bowpis" corresponds to a Greek belief. . However it is possible that Hera was conceived as a cow in her archaic cults.

Consort of Zeus
Hera exists as a spouse of Zeus and their "sacred marriage" was celebrated in many Greek festivals in a processional ceremony from ancient times. The myth of the premarital approach of Hera by Zeus is early mentioned by Homer. . It is possible that the myth has its origins to an old custom of the European country population, the premarital intercourse of the engaged couple. According to Walter Burkert the "Mediterranean goddess of nature" becomes the bride of the Greek sky-god. He notices that "the disappearance and retrieval of Hera has parallels with other fertility cults". Hera was originally a goddess of fertility in her fest "Toneia" at Samos and at Knossos in Crete. At Samos the image of Hera was hidden bounted in willows and the participants tried to discover it. At Knossos Zeus is mating with the earth goddess (finally named Hera) in a very ancient ritual. In her festival Daedala at Plataia there is an account of Hera's quarell with Zeus and their reconciliation.

Near-Eastern origin
In Crete the bull was associated with religious practices. In the legend of the Minotaur the Queen of Knossos is hidden inside an artificial hollow cow and she is mating with a bull-form god in a sacred ceremony. The hieros gamos indicates a ritual of fertility magic, which was probably introduced from Near East in the Aegean region. . The "hieros gamos" of Zeus with the earth goddess (finally named Hera) was celebrated at Knossos in Crete. . In Near East the solar-deity and the moon-goddess are oftenly represented as a bull and a cow and Roscher proposed that Hera was a moon-goddess. The combination feminine divinity-cow-moon is not unusual in Crete and Near East. The relationship of Hera with the cow still existed in the historical times and this propably relates her to Near-Eastern forms of cow-goddesses like Hathor (or Bat). The Egyptian sky-goddess Hathor is the consort of the sky-god Horus.

Indo-european origin
In the Vedic tradition the earth-goddess Prithvi is the consort of the sky-god Dyaus and she is associated with the cow. Prithvi may be identified with the Greek goddess Gaia. Pherecydes of Syros in his cosmogony describes the mating of two divine principles: The marriage of Zas with Chthonie. Geoffrey Kirk notices that after the marriage "Cthonie" becomes Ge who probably takes charge of the protection of marriage. Hera is occasionally identified with "Ge". In a fragment of Euripides the Aether of Zeus is the sky-god who is the father of men and gods, and the earth-goddess Ge is the mother of all life. It seems that Io the priestess of Hera at Argos and consort of Zeus, was another form of Hera. In a Greek myth "Io" is tranformed into a cow.

Cult
The worship of Hera was sparse in Thessaly, Attica, Phocis and Achaea. In Boeotia she is related to the fest Daedala. The main center of her cult was North-Eastern Peloponnese, especially Argolis. ( Argos, Tiryns, Corinth, Sicyon, Epidaurus and Hermione). She was worshipped at the Arcadian cities Mantineia, Megalopolis, Stymphalus and at Sparta. The oldest temple at Olympia belonged to Hera. In the islands she was worshipped at Samos, Paros, Delos, Amorgos, Thera, Kos, Rhodes and Crete. The island Euboea was considered her holy place. A month was named after Hera at Delphi (Heraios), Olous, Laconia, Tinos (Heraiōn), Pergamos (Heraos). Hera is the Olympia, Queen, Anassa, the Queen of heaven. The royal quality of her was preserved by the monuments of Greek art.

Hera may have been the first deity to whom the Greeks dedicated an enclosed roofed temple sanctuary, at Samos about 800 BCE. It was replaced later by the Heraion of Samos, one of the largest of all Greek temples (altars were in front of the temples under the open sky). There were many temples built on this site, so the evidence is somewhat confusing, and archaeological dates are uncertain.

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The temple created by the Rhoecus sculptors and architects was destroyed between 570 and 560 BCE. This was replaced by the Polycratean temple of 540–530 BCE. In one of these temples, we see a forest of 155 columns. There is also no evidence of tiles on this temple suggesting either the temple was never finished or that the temple was open to the sky.

Earlier sanctuaries, whose dedication to Hera is less certain, were of the Mycenaean type called "house sanctuaries". Samos excavations have revealed votive offerings, many of them late 8th and 7th centuries BCE, which show that Hera at Samos was not merely a local Greek goddess of the Aegean. The museum there contains figures of gods and suppliants and other votive offerings from Armenia, Babylon, Iran, Assyria, and Egypt, testimony to the reputation which this sanctuary of Hera enjoyed, and the large influx of pilgrims. Compared to this mighty goddess, who also possessed the earliest temple at Olympia and two of the great fifth and sixth-century temples of Paestum, the termagant of Homer and the myths is an "almost... comic figure," according to Burkert.

Though the greatest and earliest free-standing temple to Hera was the Heraion of Samos, in the Greek mainland Hera was especially worshipped as "Argive Hera" (Hera Argeia) at her sanctuary that stood between the former Mycenaean city-states of Argos and Mycenae, where the festivals in her honor called "Heraia" were celebrated. "The three cities I love best," the ox-eyed Queen of Heaven declares in the Iliad, book iv, "are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets." There were also temples to Hera in Olympia, Corinth, Tiryns, Perachora and the sacred island of Delos. In Magna Graecia, two Doric temples to Hera were constructed at Paestum, about 550 BCE and about 450 BCE. One of them, long called the Temple of Poseidon was identified in the 1950s as a temple of Hera.

The Daedala fire festival on Cithaeron near Plataea, included an account of Hera's quarrel with Zeus and their reconciliation.

Hera's importance in the early archaic period is attested by the large building projects undertaken in her honor. The temples of Hera in the two main centers of her cult, the Heraion of Samos and the Heraion of Argos in the Argolis, were the very earliest monumental Greek temples constructed, in the 8th century BCE. At Argos the Dorian "Heraion" was built on the hill of Prosymna near Mycenean hero-tombs. At Samos the cult activity near the altar begun in late Mycenean period and a big altar was built in the 9th century BC.

Importance
According to Walter Burkert, both Hera and Demeter have many characteristic attributes of Pre-Greek Great Goddesses.

In the same vein, British scholar Charles Francis Keary suggests that Hera had some sort of "Earth Goddess" worship in ancient times, connected to her possible origin as a Pelasgian goddess (as mentioned by Herodotus). In Greece the Mediterranean goddess of nature is the bride of the Greek sky-god. In her fest Daedala Hera is related to the nymph Plataia (consort of Zeus), an old forgotten form of the Greek earth-goddess. Plataia may be related to Gaia who is occasionally identified with Hera.

According to Homeric Hymn II to Delian Apollo, Hera detained Eileithyia to prevent Leto from going into labor with Artemis and Apollo, since the father was Zeus. The other goddesses present at the birthing on Delos sent Iris to bring her. As she stepped upon the island, the divine birth began. In the myth of the birth of Heracles, it is Hera herself who sits at the door, delaying the birth of Heracles until her protégé, Eurystheus, had been born first.

The Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo makes the monster Typhaon the offspring of archaic Hera in her ancient form, produced out of herself, like a monstrous version of Hephaestus, and whelped in a cave in Cilicia. She gave the creature to Python to raise.



In the Temple of Hera, Olympia, Hera's seated cult figure was older than the warrior figure of Zeus that accompanied it. Homer expressed her relationship with Zeus delicately in the Iliad, in which she declares to Zeus, "I am Cronus' eldest daughter, and am honourable not on this ground only, but also because I am your wife, and you are king of the gods."

Matriarchy
There has been considerable scholarship, reaching back to Johann Jakob Bachofen in the mid-nineteenth century, about the possibility that Hera, whose early importance in Greek religion is firmly established, was originally the goddess of a matriarchal people, presumably inhabiting Greece before the Hellenes. In this view, her activity as goddess of marriage established the patriarchal bond of her own subordination: her resistance to the conquests of Zeus is rendered as Hera's "jealousy", the main theme of literary anecdotes that undercut her ancient cult.

However, it remains a controversial claim that an ancient matriarchy or a cultural focus on a monotheistic Great Goddess existed among the ancient Greeks or elsewhere. The claim is generally rejected by modern scholars as insufficiently evidenced. Walter Burkert notices that the ancient Kourotrophos figure is almost absent in Crete, and the nomination Mother Goddess was not the underlying principle in the Minoan religion.

Youth
Hera was most known as the matron goddess, Hera Teleia, but she presided over weddings as well. In myth and cult, fragmentary references and archaic practices remain of the sacred marriage of Hera and Zeus. At Plataea, there was a sculpture of Hera seated as a bride by Callimachus, as well as the matronly standing Hera.

Hera was also worshipped as a virgin: there was a tradition in Stymphalia in Arcadia that there had been a triple shrine to Hera the Girl (Παις [Pais]), the Adult Woman (Τελεια [Teleia]), and the Separated (Χήρη [Chḗrē] 'Widowed' or 'Divorced'). In the region around Argos, the temple of Hera in Hermione near Argos was to Hera the Virgin. At the spring of Kanathos, close to Nauplia, Hera renewed her virginity annually, in rites that were not to be spoken of (arrheton). In her fire-festival Daedala at Plataia the puppet of the goddess was bathed in the river Asopos before the wedding ceremony. In the festival "Toneia" at Samos the image of the goddess was purified, bounted in willows and then probably hanged on a tree. (O'Brian ) Robert Graves interprets this as a representation of the new moon (Hebe), full moon (Hera), and old moon (Hecate), respectively personifying the Virgin (Spring), the Mother (Summer), and the destroying Crone (Autumn).

Emblems
In Hellenistic imagery, Hera's chariot was pulled by peacocks, birds not known to Greeks before the conquests of Alexander. Alexander's tutor, Aristotle, refers to it as "the Persian bird." The peacock motif was revived in the Renaissance iconography that unified Hera and Juno. A bird that had been associated with Hera on an archaic level, when most of the Aegean goddesses were associated with "their" bird, was the cuckoo, which appears in mythic fragments concerning the first wooing of a virginal Hera by Zeus.

Her archaic association of Hera with cattle still existed in the historical times. It seems that the island Euboea (rich in oxen) took its name from the heifer-priestess of Hera Io, who was related to Hera's fest "Hekatombaia" (one hundred oxen) at Argos. In Cyprus, very early archaeological sites contain bull skulls that have been adapted for use as masks. Her familiar strange Homeric epithet Boôpis, is always translated "cow-eyed" and Hera is probably related to the Ancient Egyptian deity Hathor. . Hera absorbed the cult of her heifer-priestess Io and may be related to the Vedic earth-goddess Prithvi.

Scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos." At Argos in a Greek myth the priestess of Hera Phoronis ties her mistress to an aniconic pillar .At Samos Hera's plank was tied on a willow tree to ensure fertility.

Festivals
The marriage of Zeus with Hera is the main theme in most Greek festivals celebrated in honour of the goddess. In the cults of Hera the dances and rites are performed by young married women. These choral dances reenacted early myth and ritual. Burkert notices that "the disappearing and retrieval of Hera in some cults has parallels with other fertility cults". The Greek aetiological myths (aitia) give a reasonable explanation of the ritual and replicate its structural form. This is accurate for "aitia" related to initiation rituals from youth to maturity. Ancient accounts refer to the retirement of Hera after a quarell with Zeus. Hera's wrath may indicate the wrath and jealousy of the Greek wife. Other accounts refer to cultic trees or pillars. and rituals of the goddess of vegetation. Some accounts are related to rituals of the bronze age before the splitting of the "Mistress of the animals" into separate goddesses.


 * Argos. During Hera's famous fest "Hecatombaia"(one hundred oxen) -or Argive "Heraia"-the priestess of Hera was carried on a chart drawn by white-heifers to the sanctuary. The festival included an armed procession of male citizents and the prize of the contest was a bronze shield. The Argive festival was a new year festival and the new male citizents introduced themselves in the community. It is not verified that the festival was originally a wedding processional ceremony. At Argos Hera controlled the seasonal goddesses Horae. . Near the Heraion of Argos there was the stream "Eleutherion" (water of freedom). The priestess of Hera used it for purifications and the sacrifices were kept secret (aporrheta)
 * Plataia in Boeotia. The festival Daedala of Hera was a fire festival. The citizents of Plataia maintained from prehistoric times the processional wedding ceremony. A puppet named Hera was married with Zeus. The puppet was washed in the river Asopos and it was carried on a cow-drawn chart to the top of Kithairon. There the puppet was burned together with other idols. Pausanias in the aetiological myth mentions the retirement of Hera after a quarell with Zeus and their reconciliation. The nymph Plataia, consort of Zeus is an old form of the Greek earth-goddess and she may be related to Gaia.
 * Samos.The name of the island was "Parthenia" in the Carian period. In the Samian festival "Toneia", Hera was originally a goddess of fertility. The festival included initiation rites of girls and probably boys from youth to maturity. At the beggining of the festival a xoanon of Hera was carried on a plank to the sea and then back to the coast. This custom reminds the cult of the Hittite-Hurrian  god of fertility Telepinu. In the aetiological myth of Menedotus the image of Hera was bathed, bounted in willows and finally hidden (or hanged). The participants tried to find it.  Zeus was absent, and the processional wedding ceremonie was introduced later.


 * Corinth. Hera-Acraea was the protectress of the castle. The Corinthian "Heraia" was a mourning festival. Hera is related to Medea (the wife of Jason) a foreign goddess who was introduced in Greece. In the myth of the Argonauts Hera is the protectress of Jason. The scholiast of Euripides suggests that the cult of Acraea is related to the cult of Adonis. Every year seven boys and seven girls with shorn hair and wearing black garments were dedicated to the goddess. Annual sacrifices were performed for the killed children of Medea.


 * Stymphalus in Arcadia. Hera was worshipped as goddess of marriage. Three festivals  celebrated the three phases of Hera as "pais" (virgin), "teleia" (fulfilled) and "chera" (widowed). "Pais" may symbolize the arrival of the goddess in spring and "chera" her departure in winter. In the aetiological myth of Pausanias Hera retired after a quarell with Zeus and then she came back. During her retirement people considered that she was divorced and she was worshipped as "chera".


 * Euboea. The island was the holy place of Hera and the goddess was worshipped near Elymnion or on the mountain Dirfi. Coins from Eretria verify that the citizents imitated the wedding of Zeus with Hera.


 * Athens. The "sacred marriage" of Zeus with Hera was celebrated in Athens during the month "Gamelion" (late winter).


 * Hermione in Argolis. Hera was worshipped as "parthenos" (virgin). In a Greek myth Zeus was transformed into a a cuckoo to seduce Hera. There were two temples, one of Zeus on the mountain-Cuckoo and one of Hera on the mountain Pron.


 *  Olympia. In the festival Heraia young girls competed in a footrace. The race was held every four years and only virgin women were allowed to attend the games. The prize was an olive wreath. Traditionally the custom was established by Hipodameia and choral dances were performed in honour of her. A marriage-ceremony was probably part of the festival. The choral dances and the dressing of "parthenoi" indicate that the festival was an initiation ritual from youth to maturity. The relation of Hera with "parthenoi" (virgins) seems to connect her with the goddess of vegetation.


 * Aegina'. Traditionally the festival was introduced from Argos. The image of Hera was carried on a chart drawn by white heifers. The festival included games and sacrifices. There was a contest between young boys for killing a female goat with their spears and they got her as a prize. In the aetiological myth Hera retired to the woods after a quarell with Zeus and her place was discovered by a female goat. Then she was obliged to return.
 * Nauplia in Argolis. Like the bride who took her bride-bath, Hera bathed every year in the spring Kanathos and recovered annually her virginity. This is one of the holy secrets (aporrheta) at the mysteries which they celebrated in honour of Hera.


 * Knossos in Crete. The "hieros gamos" of Zeus with the earth goddess (finally named Hera) was celebrated near the river Theren. The ritual continued unchanged from very ancient times. The original name of the Minoan goddess could be Britomartis, Diktynna or "Hellopis". On a Minoan depiction the goddess seems to arrive on a chariot during spring and she disappears in winter.

Temples of Hera



 * Perachora, Corinth. One from the earliest Greek temples was the temple dedicated to Hera Akraia at Perachora, built in the  9th century BC. The dimensions of the plan were 5,50x8,00m. A teracotta house-temple model indicates that it was an upsidal building with one room. The walls were made fom small stones and dried bricks. Τhere were two pairs of (probably wooden) columns, and the high-peaked roof was covered with straws.


 * Olympia. The Heraion was built in late 7th century BC (620 BC) . It was a Doric style peripteral temple measured 18,75x50,01m at the stylobate. The number of the originally wooden pteron columns was 6x16 (hexastyle). Τhe wooden columns were later replaced with columns from limestone. The temple had pronaos, cella, and the oldest known opisthodomos. The porches were distyle in antis. A colossal head of a woman, is probably a part of a statue dedicated to Hera. It was made from limestone.
 * Corfu. The Archaic temple of Hera was built in 610BC. Large terracotta figures such as lions and gorgoneions decorated the roof of the temple. The temple was completely destroyed by fire in the 5th century BC.
 * Samos. The older Heraion was built in 560 BC. It was a dipteral temple with Ionic order features. It measured 50,50x103,00 m at the stylobate and the number of pteron columns was 10x21. The temple formed a unit with the monumental altar of Hera to the east, which shared its alignment and axis. It was constructed partly of limestone and partly of marble. Herodotus calls Rhoecus of Samos its first architect. It was the first of the massive Ionic temples.


 * Samos. The new Heraion was built in 525 BC and it is called the "Polycrates temple". The temple measured 54,58x111,50m at the stylobate. It was dipteral on the flanks and tripteral at the ends. The outer row had 8x24 columns except that at the back there were nine columns. The forms of the capitals resembled the ones at Ephesus, but the volutes were wider.


 * Selinus. The Doric temple E (intemble of Hera) was built in 490 BC. It measured 25.32x67.82m at the stylobate and the number of pteron columns was 6x15. The porches were distyle in antis


 * Paestum. The first temple of Hera ,the so-called "Basilica", was built in the early 6th century BC. It was an extraordinary building with a central row of inner columns. The Doric style temple measured 24,52x54,30m at the stylobate, and the number of pteron columns was 9x18. There were three columns in antis in its porch.
 * Paestum. A Doric temple dedicated to Hera (the so called temple of Poseidon) was built in the first half of the 5th century BC and is usually placed later than Parthenon. The temple measured 24,3X60,00 m at the stylobate. It was an hexastyle structure and the number of pteron columns was 6X14. The temple was also used to worship Zeus and another deity, whose identity is unknown.


 * Agrigento. The temple of Hera (Juno Lacinia) was a Doric style peripteral building, built in 450 BC. It measured 16,90X38,15m at the stylobate and the cella measured 9.45x28,00m. The number of pteron columns was 6X13.


 * Argos. The predecessor of the Heraion was built in late 7th century BC and has left little traces. The long stoa of the Heraion is dated from the late 7th to 6th century B.C.E.
 * Argos. The new Heraion was built in c.410BC after the burning of its predecessor  in 423BC. It  measured 17,40x38,00m at the stylobate and the dimensions of the cella were c.10,00xc.27,00m. The number of pteron columns cannot be specified.

Marriage with Zeus
Hera is the goddess of marriage and childbirth rather than motherhood, and much of her mythology revolves around her marriage with her brother Zeus. She is charmed by him and she seduces him; he cheats on her and has many children with other goddesses and mortal women; she is intensely jealous and vindictive towards his children and their mothers; he is threatening and violent to her.

In the Iliad, Zeus implies their marriage was some sort of elopement, as they lay secretly from their parents. Pausanias records a tale of how they came to be married in which Zeus transformed into a cuckoo to woo Hera. She caught the bird and kept it as her pet; this is why the cuckoo is seated on her sceptre. According to a scholion on Theocritus' Idylls, when Hera was heading toward Mount Thornax alone, Zeus created a terrible storm and transformed himself into a cuckoo who flew down and sat on her lap. Hera covered him with her cloak. Zeus then transformed back and took hold of her; because she was refusing to sleep with him due to their mother, he promised to marry her.

In one account Hera refused to marry Zeus and hid in a cave to avoid him; an earthborn man named Achilles convinced her to give him a chance, and thus the two had their first sexual intercourse. According to a version attributed to Plutarch, Hera had been reared by a nymph named Macris on the island of Euboea, but Zeus stole her away, where Mt. Cithaeron "afforded them a shady recess." When Macris came to look for her ward, the mountain-god Cithaeron drove her away, saying that Zeus was taking his pleasure there with Leto.

According to Callimachus, their wedding feast lasted three hundred years. The Apples of the Hesperides that Heracles was tasked by Eurystheus to take were a wedding gift by Gaia to the couple.

After a quarrel with Zeus, Hera left him and retreated to Euboea, and no word from Zeus managed to sway her mind. Cithaeron, the local king, then advised Zeus to take a wooden statue of a woman, wrap it up, and pretend to marry it. Zeus did as told, claiming "she" was Plataea, Asopus's daughter. Hera, once she heard the news, disrupted the wedding ceremony and tore away the dress from the figure only to discover it was but a lifeless statue, and not a rival in love. The queen and her king were reconciled, and to commemorate this the people there celebrated a festival called Daedala. During the festival, a re-enactment of the myth was celebrated, where a wooden statue of Hera was chosen, bathed in the river Asopus and then raised on a chariot to lead the procession like a bride, and then ritually burned.

According to Diodorus Siculus, Alcmene, the mother of Heracles, was the very last mortal woman Zeus ever slept with; following the birth of Heracles, he ceased to beget humans altogether.

Judgment of Paris
A prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father. Possibly for this reason, Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king, Peleus son of Aeacus, either upon Zeus's orders, or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her. All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of Achilles) and brought many gifts. Only Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited and was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus's order. She was annoyed at this, so she threw from the door a gift of her own: a golden apple inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, "To the fairest"). Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.

The goddesses quarreled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. They chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, a Trojan prince. After bathing in the spring of Mount Ida where Troy was situated, they appeared before Paris to have him choose. The goddesses undressed before him, either at his request or for the sake of winning. Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they resorted to bribes. Hera offered Paris political power and control of all of Asia, while Athena offered wisdom, fame, and glory in battle, and Aphrodite offered the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was Helen, who was, unfortunately for Paris, already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. The other two goddesses were enraged by this and through Helen's abduction by Paris, they brought about the Trojan War.

The Iliad
Hera plays a substantial role in The Iliad, appearing in several books throughout the epic poem. She hates the Trojans because of Paris's decision that Aphrodite was the most beautiful goddess, and so supports the Greeks during the war. Throughout the epic, Hera makes many attempts to thwart the Trojan army. In books 1 and 2, Hera declares that the Trojans must be destroyed. Hera persuades Athena to aid the Achaeans in battle and she agrees to assist with interfering on their behalf.

In book 5, Hera and Athena plot to harm Ares, who had been seen by Diomedes in assisting the Trojans. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera, Ares's mother, saw Ares's interference and asked Zeus, Ares's father, for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares and he threw his spear at the god. Athena drove the spear into Ares's body, and he bellowed in pain and fled to Mount Olympus, forcing the Trojans to fall back.

In book 8, Hera tries to persuade Poseidon to disobey Zeus and help the Achaean army. He refuses, saying he doesn't want to go against Zeus. Determined to intervene in the war, Hera and Athena head to the battlefield. However, seeing the two flee, Zeus sent Iris to intercept them and make them return to Mount Olympus or face grave consequences. After prolonged fighting, Hera sees Poseidon aiding the Greeks and giving them the motivation to keep fighting.

In book 14 Hera devises a plan to deceive Zeus. Zeus set a decree that the gods were not allowed to interfere in the mortal war. Hera is on the side of the Achaeans, so she plans a Deception of Zeus where she seduces him, with help from Aphrodite, and tricks him into a deep sleep, with the help of Hypnos, so that the Gods could interfere without the fear of Zeus.

In book 21, Hera continues her interference with the battle as she tells Hephaestus to prevent the river from harming Achilles. Hephaestus sets the battlefield ablaze, causing the river to plead with Hera, promising her he will not help the Trojans if Hephaestus stops his attack. Hephaestus stops his assault and Hera returns to the battlefield where the gods begin to fight amongst themselves. After Apollo declines to battle Poseidon, Artemis eagerly engages Hera for a duel. Hera however treats the challenge as unimportant, easily disarming the haughty rival goddess and beating her with her own weapons. Artemis is left retreating back to Mount Olympus in tears to cry at Zeus's lap.

Temple of Apollo Thermon
The Temple of Apollo Thermios  (Θέρμιος) also known as Thermos (Θέρμος)  is a Greek temple in Thermon of Aetolia in  West Greece. The sanctuary served as the regular meeting place of the Aetolian League. It is considered to be the oldest temple in Greece which was built with elements of the Doric order.

Description
[[File:Doric.JPG|thumb|left|160px|Parts of an Ancient Greek temple of the Doric Order:

1. Tympanum, 2. Acroterium, 3. Sima 4. Cornice 5. Mutules 7. Frieze 8. Triglyph 9. Metope 10. Regula 11. Gutta 12. Taenia 13. Architrave 14. Capital 15. Abacus 16. Echinus 17. Column 18. Fluting 19. Stylobate]] It seems that the temple was built with the aid of the Corinthians who were considered the inventors of the Doric order. The building is considered the earliest Greek temple with Doric elements. The peripteral temple of Apollo Thermios has a remarkable ground plan. It measured 12,13 X38,23 m at the stylobate and the number of pteron columns was 5x15 (angle columns are counted twice). It is considered narrow even for an archaic temple and had a central row of inner columns. The dimensions of cella with porches and adyta were c.4,60X c.32,00 M.

The first of the inner row of columns stood in antis in the the opening between the side walls of the cella and the gaps on each side of it were closed by wooden doors. There was an opisthodomus, of double the usual depth,with a single column in antis, and one more column behind it. It seems that the columns were originally of wood, which was gradually replaced with stone. (Robertson)