Category: Deities

About the Goddess of the Month, Hera

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About the Goddess of the Month, Hera

Hera 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.

Occupation:
Goddess

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.

Author

N.S. Gill, Ancient/Classical History Expert
Article published on & owned by About.com

Deity of the Day for May 11 is Artemis

Deity of the Day

Artemis

The Greek Goddess

Areas of Influence: Artemis the Greek Goddess of the hunt, nature and birth.

The descriptions of this Goddess include. Goddess of the night, Lady of the Beast, Woodland Goddess and Pheobe which translates as the bright one.

Several of this Goddesses roles may appear incompatible in nature. An example of this is that she is associated both with death, brought swiftly through her arrows and healing. She is also both Goddess of the hunt and the protector of wild animals. These contradictions are in reality just a reflection of the cycles of life, death and rebirth.

Artemis is also a bird Goddess as she is linked to  several wild birds including guinea fowl, buzzards and an unidentified sea bird.

She was also known as a moon Goddess. Where she represents the new moon. As such Artemis is an important archetypal figure for young independent and unmarried woman in the form of the maiden goddess.

Birth and Genealogy: Born to Leto and Zeus, she is also the twin sister to Apollo, whom according to myth, she helped her mother to deliver. This is why she was traditionally called upon by woman to ease the pains of childbirth.

Strengths: Independence, courage, confidence and physical strength.

When this Goddess is only three years old she asks her father, Zeus for her own bow and arrow.

Her independence and free spirited nature is not appreciated however by all the Goddesses.  Aphrodite  has no control over her as she is not interested in love. The Queen of the Gods,  Hera  is also forced into confronting her when Artemis sides with the Trojans during the war.

Weaknesses: Vengeful, impulsive and aloof.

Like many of the Greek Goddesses she does not like to be beaten. When Agamemnon kills a stag and boasts that she could not have done it better, she is swift in seeking her revenge, holding back the winds and preventing his fleet from sailing.

Roman Equivalent   Diana

Artemis’s Symbolism

Symbolism: Her bow and arrow that were a present from Zeus.

She is often drawn wearing a short functional tunic. One of the oldest representations of her  also depicts her as a winged Goddess holding a stag and a leopard or lion.

Other works of art illustrate her riding a chariot drawn by four stags.

Sacred Animals: Deer, bears and hunting dogs.

Sacred Birds: Guinea fowl and Buzzards were associated with this bird Goddess.

Sacred Plants: Cypress, almond, fir, walnut and willow trees. Amaranth, daisy, wormwood. Like her brother she was also associated with laurels.

Artemis’s Archetypes

The Child of Nature :

This stereotype feels most at home outside bonding and communicating with the forces of nature. The Child of Nature is often emotionally very sensitive and prefers solace and the company of animals to being with people. They are often independent and physically fit.

The shadow aspect abuses animals and destroys the environment around them.

Artemis embodies this role as she is the Goddess of wild animals. As the huntress she becomes the shadow attribute of this stereotype, killing the animals and attacking anyone who tries to take away her dignity.

The Virgin :

This Archetype represents the desire to remain sexually pure and uncorrupted, maintaining your energy for other projects. It can also symbolize a deep desire to create brand new ideas and methods of working.

The shadow virgin, resists her sexuality due to fear and revolution of sex and the loss of innocence it symbolizes.

This Goddess is a prime example of this chaste Archetype as she asked her father, Zeus to grant her eternal virginity. All her companions were also virgins and she was extremely protective of her purity. When a hunter saw the Goddess and her nymphs bathing, one myth says she turned him into a stag and set his dogs upon him.

 

How To Work With These Archetypes

The Child of Nature:

To have this particular Archetype you need more than a love of nature. Your health and well-being is affected if you are unable to spend time outside working with animals, plants and other nature spirits. Your idea of hell is likely to be working in a busy office in the center of town.

People who possess the shadow aspect are cruel to animals and have no interest in preserving the natural world.

The Virgin:

The Virgin is one of your main Archetypes, if you are continually preserving your vital energies, for spiritual pursuits. The Virgin may also represent a desire to explore virgin territory; inventing refreshing, new ideas and ways of doing things.

On the shadow side, fear and disgust caused by bad past experiences could be preventing you from exploring your sexuality.

 

Source:

Goddess-guide.com