Juno

"You will feel pain, misery, and loss beyond anything you've ever known. But you might have a chance to save your old friends and family."

- Juno

Juno is Hera's Roman counterpart. While the Greeks envisioned Hera as imperious and proud, the Romans saw her counterpart as the patron goddess of Rome. As Juno, she becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike.

History
Juno is a Roman goddess, the Queen of the Gods, Protectress of Women, Mother of Mars, and wife of Jupiter. She has many epithets and an extensive history of worship in Rome. She was one of the Capitoline Triad, with Jupiter and Minerva, who were considered the three main Deities of Rome; she was widely worshiped among the Romans and her cult was also important among the Etruscans. She was also frequently called Juno Moneta, "the one who warns".

The first days of each Roman month, the kalends, were sacred to Juno, as was the entire month of June, which is still named after her. Five cities in Latium (the region of the Latin tribe) also named a month for her: Aricia, on the Via Appia; Lanuvium, where she was worshiped as Juno Sospita ("Juno the Saviouress"), Praeneste (modern Palestrina), Tibur (modern Tivoli, the resort town of Rome), and Laurentum, located between Lavinium and Ostia on the coast. And as Juno is the Roman goddess of Marriage, it is no coincidence that June is still considered the proper month for weddings.

Juno was believed to watch over and guard the life of every woman from her birth to her death. The principal temples dedicated to her were in Rome, one being erected on the Aventine, and the other on the Capitoline Hill. She had also a temple on the Arx, in which she was worshiped as Juno Moneta, or the warning goddess. Adjacent to this shrine was the public mint. On the first of March, a grand annual festival called the Matronalia was celebrated in her honor by all the married women of Rome. This religious institution was accompanied with much solemnity.

In the Series
Some time before the start of the series, Juno learned of the seven demigods who would be needed to battle the forces of Gaea by the Fates. In response, she started working behind Jupiter's back and began to prepare them for the coming battle.

She appeared to a child of Mars named Frank Zhang and told his mother Emily Zhang, that his life force was tied to one of the sticks in the fire, and once it burned up, he would die. Frank's grandmother quickly took the burned piece of wood from the fire and Emily kept it until she went to war in Afghanistan, upon which Emily gave it to Grandma Zhang to give to Frank if she did not come back. After Emily's death, Frank brought the stick with him to Camp Jupiter.

After the Second Olympian War, she came up with a plan to make Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter work together. However she was captured by Gaea with the help of the snow goddess Khione, and Gaea began to drain Juno's power to raise Porphyrion. Juno managed to save up enough energy to send Jason Grace to Piper McLean and Leo Valdez, where he would be taken to Camp Half-Blood. A few days earlier, she had also transported Percy Jackson away from Camp Half-Blood and put him to sleep until the time was right.

The Lost Hero
After arriving at Camp Half-Blood, Jason is taken to have a private conversation with Chiron. During the conversation, time froze and a woman in goat fur appeared before Jason, introducing herself as his patron and claiming time was short, as her cage grows stronger. Jason misinterpreted this as meaning she was imprisoned and shouldn't help her, but she explained that as long as she was captured, he would never get his memory back. She then vanished shortly after and Jason explained to Chiron what had happened. While the goat skin meant nothing to Annabeth Chase, Chiron explained that goats were sacred to Juno, Hera's Roman form. He then suggested that Jason should see Clovis, son of Hypnos, for help with Jason's memories.

At the same time as Jason's vision, Juno also appeared to both Piper and Leo. She appeared in the form of Leo's old babysitter, Tía Callida, but no one else could see her but Leo. She also sent a message to Piper, speaking through Rachel Elizabeth Dare, telling her not to betray her as letting the Gigantes have their way would result in the end of the world.

While visiting Clovis, Jason learned that the gods have different aspects of themselves and how the gods are both Greek and Roman. He also informed them that only a goddess would have the power to steal memories and that if it was Hera, he hoped that she was in a Hera mood, not a Juno mood due to their differing personalities.

After returning from the quest by saving Hera, Jason is visited by Juno, who promises she is watching over him as his patron and gives him a new gladius to replace his old weapon before Piper comes to bring him to the council meeting of cabin leaders.

The Son of Neptune
Percy stumbled upon an old 'hippie' lady named June who in reality is Juno in disguise. June gives him a choice: he can either carry her to the safety of Camp Jupiter across the highway and Tiber River to regain his memory and, eventually, save the world, or retreat to the safety of the sea and live a long, happy life. Percy eventually chooses to carry her, but is almost killed by the Gorgons along the way.

When Percy arrived at Camp Jupiter, the old woman, being carried to safety by Percy, reveals herself as the goddess Juno. Juno tells the camp that he is a son of Neptune and that Percy had been slumbering for months.

After Percy saved the camp and was elected praetor, she appeared again to Percy in his dream. Percy tried to attack her with water because she stole several months of his life, but she explained that she was working behind Jupiter's back and trying to keep him safe, which would have been harder if he was awake. He needed to be woken at the right time or her plan to combine the two camp's forces wouldn't have worked. She also gave Percy some information about Annabeth, saying she would cause problems when he went to Rome, but Percy didn't believe her and once again tried to attack her, but she simply vanished from his dream.

The Mark of Athena
Neither Juno or Hera are seen or heard from the seven demigods due to the brewing war between the Greeks and Romans. Nemesis states that she fled Olympus to escape the other gods wrath. She is presumably split between her two personalities as of now. Sammy Valdez also mentions that she, disguised as Tìa Callida, informed him that he would not live to see Hazel's great danger. When Piper and Jason meet Hercules they mention that they are on a quest for Hera. Hercules states that he never does anything that helps Hera.

Personality
Much like her Greek aspect, Hera, Juno is very much into the idea of a perfect family and family in general. However, unlike Hera, she is willing to go behind Jupiter's back in order to further her own goals. She is also still bitter toward heroes, mostly because she is still faithful to her husband, meaning she can't have any demigod children, while she calls her own children (Mars and Vulcan), disappointments. As Juno, she is also very sure of herself.

Appearance
In The Lost Hero, Juno appeared mostly in black robes and a goat skin cloak. She also carried a Roman gladius with her before giving it to Jason. While her eyes couldn't be seen, they glowed in the darkness.

When Juno appeared at Camp Jupiter, she stood at about seven feet tall. She was dressed in a blue dress with a cloak made of goat skin, which hung over her shoulders. Her face was stern and stately, while her hand held a staff with a lotus flower on top.

Representation
She is generally pictured like a matron, with a grave and majestic air, sometimes with a scepter in her hand, and a veil on her head: she is represented also with a spear in her hand, and sometimes with a patĕra, as if she were about to sacrifice: on some medals she has a peacock at her feet, and sometimes holds the Palladium. Homer represents her in a chariot adorned with gems, having wheels of ebony, nails of silver, and horses with reins of gold, though more commonly her chariot is drawn by peacocks, her favorite birds. The most obvious and striking character of Juno, and that which we are apt to imbibe the most early of any, from the writings of Homer and Virgil, is that of an imperious and haughty wife. In both of these poets we find her much more often scolding Jupiter than caressing him, and in the tenth Aeneid in particular, even in the council of the gods, we have a remarkable instance of this.

Trivia

 * The month June is named after her, since Juno being the Goddess of Marriage, June is considered to be an appropriate month for weddings.
 * Juno appears as a character in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest.
 * Juno referred to Ares and Hephaestus as her children while talking to Jason. However, she should have called them by their Roman names, Mars and Vulcan respectively. It is possible she did this because Jason was at a Greek Camp, or it could be a simple error.