Hera

"Giving you answers would make those answers invalid, that is the way of the Fates. You must forge your own path for it to mean anything. Already, you three have surprised me. I would not have thought it possible ..."

- Hera

Hera  is the Greek goddess of familial love, marriage, motherhood, and women. She is the elder sister and wife of Zeus, therefore making her Queen of Olympus. She is one of the daughters of Rhea and Kronos. Her Roman counterpart is Juno. Hera is portrayed by Erica Cerra in the film version of The Lightning Thief.

History
Hera was born to the Titans Kronos and Rhea. She and her four older siblings were devoured by Kronos after he had learned that he was destined to be overthrown by his children. Zeus, the youngest child, rescued her and her siblings by making Kronos regurgitate them. After the First Titanomachy ended, Hera caught the attention of Zeus, but she rejected his advances. Zeus consequently transformed himself into an injured bird, and as soon as Hera took him in her arms, he assumed his true form. Though upset at Zeus’s deception, Hera eventually married him and became the Queen of the Gods.

On accepting Zeus, Gaea gave Hera the golden apples of immortality as a wedding gift, which she placed in her garden at the western edge of the world. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she put a one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named the Garden of the Hesperides.

Over time, Zeus became unfaithful to her, and had many children with mortal women. This, understandably, frustrated Hera to no end, and she devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of his mistresses and illegitimate children miserable.

Her hatred is most evident in the story of Hercules, whom she tried to kill repetitively, and who, after his deification, later ended up as her son-in-law by her daughter Hebe.

Hera gave birth to Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths, fire and the forge without the aid of any man as she was jealous that Zeus had borne Athena by himself. However, when Hera saw the unsightly appearance of her son, she threw him from Olympus, crippling him forever. This act of cruelty haunted Hephaestus, and caused him to be bitter with life and to prefer the company of his many inventions to his family.

Other versions of the myth say that Zeus was the one who cast him off Olympus, but Hephaestus himself seems to believe that Hera only blames Zeus to make her seem more likable. Later in life, Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to leave. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused their pleas until Dionysus, the god of wine, and another son of Zeus allowed him to be intoxicated and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite, the goddess of love, as his wife.

When Eris, goddess of strife, threw the Apple of Discord into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, bearing the inscription “For the Fairest”, Hera was one of the candidates to claim it. Paris, the prince of Troy, was chosen to judge between the three most beautiful goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered Paris the choice to become master of all Asia and Europe. She lost, however, to Aphrodite, for the goddess of love had offered Paris the love of the most beautiful woman in Greece, Helen. Enraged, Hera, along with Athena, sided with the Greeks in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris..

The Titan's Curse
Hera is present at the Winter Solstice with the other Olympians. She votes for Percy and Thalia to live.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
She aids Annabeth and her group in their quest multiple times; by providing for them, by postponing the time of Annabeth’s critical decision, by giving the group a free pass through the Triple G Ranch, and by guiding Percy’s arrow as it pierced Geryon’s hearts.

However, at the end of the book Annabeth accuses Hera of only wanting a perfect family, after hearing Hephaestus tell the story of how Hera threw him from Olympus. Annabeth also claims that Hera does not think much of her older brother Hades and his family and is very dismissive of Nico di Angelo and his problems. Hera responds with rage and states that Annabeth will regret being so disrespectful towards her. She proceeds to curse Annabeth with her sacred animals, causing cows to bother her all year by having them defecate everywhere.

When Hera had provided for them, she claims that her jealous behavior is all in the past now and that she and Zeus have received some excellent marriage counseling. Nevertheless, when Percy mentions Thalia, Hera casts a dangerous look and refers to the daughter of Zeus with a sneer. Interestingly, when Hera mentions the last time her husband had a child with another woman, this would have been a reference to Jason Grace as he was born after Thalia. However, since Jason was given to Hera from Zeus as a peace offering, she might have excused Jason and had only been referring to Thalia, whom she has a great deal of spite for.

The Last Olympian
Hera joins the gods in the battle against Typhon. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, as Olympus begins to crumble, a statue of Hera almost falls on top of Annabeth. Thalia pushes Annabeth out of the way in time, but the statue lands on her legs, effectively incapacitating her. Annabeth assumes that Hera was trying to kill her, but this could just be an overreaction based on the argument they had in The Battle of the Labyrinth. After the battle is over, Hera, though somewhat disdainfully, congratulates the heroes on their triumph. She seems to force Ares to thank them as well, showing that she is grateful to them despite her general dislike of demigods.

The Lost Hero
Before the book begins, the goddess Khione lures her into a trap where she is ensnared in a cage that utilizes her power to awaken Porphyrion, and consequently, Gaea. She mostly appears in dreams and visions to convince Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez to free her.

Later in the book, Leo realizes that Juno is imprisoned in the Wolf House, the same place where Jason's mother abandoned him to try and appease Juno, and where he grew up and met Lupa. Thalia Grace and the Hunters of Artemis travel there to fight off Lycaon's pack of werewolves and Khione long enough before Jason, Leo and Piper arrive.

When Jason, Leo and Piper arrive, Juno is weakened and the earth is rising around her as Porphyrion grows. She warns them that he will awake at sundown, when the monsters will also be at their strongest. Juno cannot intervene as the demigods battle Khione, Lycaon's wolves and the Earthborn as Khione had silenced her by encasing the cage in ice.

Piper uses her Charmspeak to lull Gaea to sleep, making it easier for Leo to cut through Gaea’s connection to the cage. Meanwhile, Porphyrion awakens and battles Jason, but not before greeting Hera. Leo and Piper manage to free Hera, and she orders the demigods to shut their eyes as she transforms into her true divine form, unleashing her power which kills the monsters, restores the Wolf House to its previous state, and revives the Hunters from their frozen state. However, Jason does not close his eyes in time and nearly dies, but Piper manages to bring him back by using her Charmspeak and ordering him to wake up. The reason for Jason’s return to life, though, could probably be the imprisonment of Death.

Thalia and Hera have a short argument, but Piper intervenes. Hera transports the three campers back to Camp Half Blood. Later, Hera explains to Jason that he and Thalia had to be separated as their situation ― a child of Greece and Rome born into the same family ― is both dangerous and previously unknown of. She admits to Jason that she is so bitter towards heroes because she does not have any of her own demigod children, and her own godly sons, Ares and Hephaestus, are both disappointments. She also confesses to often never understanding Zeus' moods, but that his current actions are baffling even to her, bordering on paranoia. She becomes Jason's patron goddess, whether Jason likes it or not.

The Son of Neptune
Hera, in her Roman aspect of Juno, appears to Percy in the form of an old hippie woman calling herself 'June'. She tells Percy, who at the time is running away from Medusa's two sisters, that he has a choice. He could continue to the ocean where he would be safe from the snake women and live in safety, but doing so would leave her at their mercy; or he could carry her to the entrance of Camp Jupiter, and live a life of pain and possibility but regain his memory. Percy picks her up and carries her to the entrance before using his power over water to destroy the Gorgons.

June introduces him to the campers as Percy Jackson, a son of Neptune, and shows her godly form to everyone in camp. The campers bow in respect with the exception of Percy, who didn't feel she deserved his respect because he had to carry her for so long, almost getting killed along the way. Percy asks her for his life and memory back, but she declines saying he has to succeed at camp before handing him over to the Roman campers and disappearing in a shimmer of light.

She reappears in Percy's dream to talk with him and answer a few of his questions with no ill will, despite Percy's aggressiveness. She warns him Annabeth will be the one who will cause the most trouble in the future.

The Mark of Athena
Because of the fighting between the Roman and Greek demigods of Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood respectively, the gods become furious with Hera and she flees Olympus.

Personality
Hera seems to be a motherly goddess, likely because she is the goddess of women, marriage, and children. She is, however, very proud and jealous when provoked, insulted or shown unfaithfulness. When cross, even Zeus can be afraid of his wife. She has huge dislike towards Annabeth Chase as she stated some facts about her true nature and other demigods, especially the demigods of her husband. There is an exception as she does not show this dislike to Jason, probably because she is his protector. According to Hephaestus, she only likes "perfect families," and her throwing him off of Olympus has made him very, very bitter towards his mother.

Hera carries great loathing for the illegitimate children and mistresses of Zeus, though for good reason as she is the goddess of marriage. Therefore, she is often portrayed as being extremely jealous of Zeus' mistresses and hates the other offspring. She is seen as often aware of Zeus' various affairs, many times thwarting them and tricking him into getting what she wants. Though perhaps her anger should be more keyed toward her husband, Hera seems to gain revenge by punishing the women involved as well as the children that result from his affairs, though this may be because Zeus is the more powerful than her. As goddess of marriage, Hera is "used to perseverance," and is always reconciled with Zeus despite his frequent infidelity. She expresses sadness over the loss of faith seen in the minor gods, and reminds Percy's group to always look at the big picture.

Although she often seems very proud and yet bitter, in The Lost Hero, it is strongly implied that Hera knows her duties as queen of the Olympian family and takes them seriously, going against her husband's will and devising a plan to unite Greek and Roman demigods whom she personally dislikes. She is ready to overcome her own wishes in order to save the gods and Olympus and thus, the Western civilization.

She also admits to Jason that she secretly envies the demigod children of the other gods, claiming that they help them connect with the mortal world in ways she can't. She will never have any of her own, however, because as goddess of marriage it is "not in her nature to be faithless." It is this part of her, though, that allows her to be merciful where the other gods cannot, as demonstrated by her favoring of the pure mortal Jason, who had no divine parent to guide him.

In The Son of Neptune, she is far more patient with Percy than before, visiting in a dream, but only complaining when Percy tried to attack her and never showing any signs of anger.

Appearance
Hera normally has long, chocolate brown hair woven into a braid with gold ribbons (although it is said to be silver in The Titan's Curse) and wears a simple white dress that ripples like oil on water when she moves. She has brown eyes and she is tall, graceful, very beautiful, and looks like an average Mom, according to Percy. Hera is supposedly a very intimidating sight with eyes glazed with power.

Abilities

 * She has the standard powers of a goddess.
 * She is able to conjure food as shown in the Labyrinth.
 * She is able to make things clean and orderly like a mother.
 * As the goddess of home and family, all things related to home and family relationships are under her power.

Romance
Although she is a matron goddess, Hera is known to regain her virginity every year by a sacred bath so she can celebrate her hierogamy (sacred marriage) to Zeus. She is one of the most beautiful goddesses on Olympus and was often desired by others. Despite his many infidelities, Zeus was very jealous and punished anyone who dared to approach her, such as King Ixion of Thessaly and Porphyrion of the giants.

Children

 * Ares
 * Eileithyia
 * Enyo
 * Hebe
 * Hephaestus
 * Eris (occasionally, as she is also said to be a child of Nyx)

Symbols
Some of Hera's symbols are:
 * The peacock (bird)
 * The cow (animal)
 * Pomegranate (fruit)
 * Lotus staff (symbol)

The Lightning Thief
Hera is played by Erica Cerra. She makes a brief appearance near the end of the movie, attending the Olympian Council.

Trivia

 * Hera's name is an anagram of her mother's name, Rhea.
 * Hera is derived from ἥρως or heros which means "defender, protector" in Ancient Greek.
 * The month of the year is named after Hera's Roman counterpart which is incidentally when many women choose to get married.
 * Juno was called Moneta, meaning "Warner" in Latin, which is proably why she warned Camp Jupiter, at the beginning of The Son of Neptune.
 * Hera is called the goddess of home, yet Hestia is the goddess of the Hearth and home.