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 (Ήρα in Ancient Greek) is the goddess of marriage and women. She is the wife and sister of Zeus, and therefore Queen of the Gods. She is the youngest daughter of Rhea and Kronos, and was also swallowed by her father Kronos along with all of her other siblings. Zeus alone was spared by their mother, and he later rescued Hera and the others from their father. Her Roman counterpart is Juno. Hera is portrayed by Erica Cerra in The Lightning Thief (film).

History
Hera spent her childhood in her Titan father Kronos' stomach after she was born by Rhea, her Titan mother. Zeus, the youngest child, rescued her and her siblings by making Kronos throw up, and after the First Titan War (also known as the First Titanomachy) ended, she married him and became the Queen of the Gods. After accepting Zeus, Gaia 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 also placed a one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named The Garden of the Hesperides.

Over time, Zeus was very unfaithful to her, and had many children with mortal women such as Jason Grace, Thalia Grace, and Hercules. 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 the mistresses and illegitimate children miserable.

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

Hera gave birth to Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, but when she saw his unsightly appearance, threw him from Olympus, crippling him forever. This act of cruelty haunted Hephaestus, and was a factor in his bitterness with life and the fact that he preferred to work away from his family in his many forges in active volcanoes.

Other versions of the story say that Zeus was the one who cast him off Olympus, but Hephaestus himself seems to believe that Hera only blames him to "make her seem more likeable." 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, who was the god of wine and another son of Zeus, got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite, 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, prince of Troy, was chosen to judge between the three most beautiful goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered Paris a reward if he chose her as the most beautiful, willing to give him rule over Europe and Asia. She lost however, to Aphrodite, because of the bribe the goddess of love had offered Paris (the love of the most beautiful woman in Greece, Helen). Hera engaged along with Athena on the Greek's side in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris for rejecting them.

The Titan's Curse
In 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
In The Battle of the Labyrinth, She helped Percy multiple times; by feeding Annabeth's group, banishing Janus, paying to give the group a free pass through the Triple G ranch, and helping Percy kill Geryon by causing his arrow to fly straight.

However, Annabeth accused Hera of only wanting a "perfect family," after Hephaestus told her the story of how she threw him from Olympus after the goddess says that everything is all right and Percy doesn't agree with her objective. She also doesn't think much of her brother Hades and his family, and is very dismissive of Nico and his problems. Hera responded with rage and said that Annabeth "will be sorry" for being so disrespectful towards her. She proceeds to curse Annabeth with her sacred animals, causing cows to bother her all year.

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

The Last Olympian
In The Last Olympian, Hera joins the gods in the battle against Typhon. A statue of Hera almost falls on top of Annabeth as Mount Olympus begins to crumble. Thalia pushes Annabeth out of the way in time, but the statue lands on Thalia's leg and she is unable to follow Percy and Annabeth as they confront Kronos/Luke. Annabeth assumes that Hera was trying to kill her, but this could just be an over reaction based on an argument they had in The Battle of the Labyrinth. After the battle is over, Hera, 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. Annabeth also says that Hera's sacred animal, the cow, has been bothering her all year.

The Lost Hero
Before the book begins, she is trapped by Khione in a cage that drains her power to awaken Gaia, and bring Porphyrion. She mostly appears in dreams and other messages to get Jason, Piper, and Leo to free her. After she is freed by Leo and Piper, she is trying to kill Porphyrion, and she goes into her Divine Form and Jason sees her in that form. She is very surprised that he was brought back to life by Piper after seeing her in her Divine Form and dying. She went against Zeus' orders when she contacted Jason, even after being saved. Throughout it she reveals more about herself and her view on things. She confesses to often never understanding Zeus' moods, but that his current actions are baffling even to her bordering on paranoia. She admits to Jason that she is so bitter towards heroes because she does not have any of her own demigod children.She also state's that she is disappointed with both of her sons, Ares and Hephaestus. She becomes Jason's patron goddess, whether Jason likes it or not.

Appearance
Hera has long chocolate brown hair woven into a braid with gold ribbons, and wears a simple white dress that ripples like oil on water when she moves. 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.' When first appearing to Percy and his party, he is unsure if he is any better off with Hera than with Janus (as she is known for her dislike of demigods).

Juno
Hera can change her appearance and become her Roman counterpart, Juno. As Juno, she becomes more disciplined, warlike, and militaristic. Juno is described in the series as wearing a black hooded robe with a goatskin cloak over her shoulders. The Greeks envisioned Hera as a proud and vengeful being whereas the Romans envisioned Juno as more protective in order to better assume her role as the patron goddess of Rome. This can be seen in her defiance of Jupiter/Zeus' orders where she stated that as Hera, she might have complied but as Juno, she needed to try and help stop the giants.

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. According to Hephaestus, she only likes "perfect families," and her throwing him off of Olympus has made him very bitter towards his mother. Hera carries great loathing for the illegitimate children and mistresses of Zeus, though for good reason. 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. 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 proud and bitter, in The Lost Hero it is strongly implicated 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.

Powers

 * Hera can conjure stuff as seen in Battle of the Labrinth when she conjured food.
 * She may have the ability of charmspeak, but a much stronger form than anyone else. She may have used this to have all lands shun Leto when she was in labor with Apollo and Artemis and she offered Paris the world if he chose her the most beautiful of the gods
 * She may also be able to bless or curse marriages.

Family
Hera's Children with Zeus: Hera's children through parthenogenesis(she is the only parent):
 * Ares
 * Enyo
 * Hebe
 * Ilithyia
 * Hephaestus
 * Eris (in some myths)
 * Hephaestus (some versions)

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 again. She is one of the most beautiful goddesses in Olympus and she was often desired by other men. Despite his many infidelities, Zeus was very jealous and punished everyone who approached her: the handsome Endymion, the extremely strong brothers the Aloades, the giant Porphyrion are examples. When King Ixion tried to seduce Hera, Zeus sent Nephele, the goddess of clouds, to him under the disguise of Hera. By this union the centaurs were born.

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

 * Her name is an anagram of her mother's name, Rhea.
 * 3 Juno, one of the largest asteroids in the asteroid belt, is named after Hera's Roman counterpart.
 * The 6th month of the year, June, is named after Hera's Roman counterpart.
 * The pearl, the birthstone of June, is said to symbolize happy marriage and grateful children, as Hera is the goddess of marriage and children.
 * It was Hera who convinced Athena to make the prow for the Argo.
 * Hercules' Greek name, Heracles, was a reference to Hera.
 * Juno, the first solar powered spacecraft, is named after her Roman counterpart.
 * Hera hates all of Zeus's illegitimate children with his mistresses except Jason Grace.

Symbols
Some of Hera's symbols are:
 * The peacock (ancient symbol of immortality)
 * The cow
 * The cuckoo (because Zeus was disguised as a cuckoo when he conquered her)
 * A pomegranate (symbol of fertility)
 * The lily
 * Crown