Hera

Abstract

According to myth, Hera was the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea; she became the wife of her youngest sibling Zeus. She was a goddess primarily of marriage and to a lesser extent motherhood. Her lineage was old, and she appears in the Mycenaean tablets (once in connection with Zeus), and already in archaic times she was the object of important cults and myths. One of the twelve Olympian gods, she was a powerful goddess in her own right. Hera's marriage to Zeus did not mean that she was considered only as his wife and consort; indeed one of her titles was "Hera of the Golden Throne" (Hom. 'Il'. 14.153). The goddess had several independent cult centers. Most important of these was the large temple at Argos.