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===[[Trojan War]]=== |
===[[Trojan War]]=== |
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When [[Eris]] hurled the [[Golden Mango|Apple of Discord]] into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, bearing the inscription “For the fairest”, Hera was one of the candidates who competed for it. The Trojan prince [[Paris of Troy|Paris]] was chosen to judge who was the most beautiful of the three goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered to make Paris the master of all Asia and Europe if he choose her. However, she lost to Aphrodite, for Paris preferred the offer of the goddess of love: the love of [[Helen of Troy|Helen]], the most beautiful woman in the world. |
When [[Eris]] hurled the [[Golden Mango|Apple of Discord]] into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, bearing the inscription “For the fairest”, Hera was one of the candidates who competed for it. The Trojan prince [[Paris of Troy|Paris]] was chosen to judge who was the most beautiful of the three goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered to make Paris the master of all Asia and Europe if he choose her. However, she lost to Aphrodite, for Paris preferred the offer of the goddess of love: the love of [[Helen of Troy|Helen]], the most beautiful woman in the world. |
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An enraged Hera sided with the Greeks along with Athena in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris. According to the ''Iliad'', the war would have ended in peace, but Hera had a vested interest in its outcome and influenced Zeus to either switch sides or remain neutral. |
An enraged Hera sided with the Greeks along with Athena in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris. According to the ''Iliad'', the war would have ended in peace, but Hera had a vested interest in its outcome and influenced Zeus to either switch sides or remain neutral. |
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Revision as of 17:22, 28 January 2020
| Hera | Juno |
| “ | 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, to Jason, Leo, and Piper in The Lost Hero | ||
Hera is the Greek goddess of motherhood, marriage, family, and women. She is the youngest daughter of Rhea and Kronos, as well as the older sister and wife of Zeus, therefore being the Queen of Olympus. Her Roman counterpart is Juno.
History
Birth and Rescue
Hera was the youngest daughter and third child of Kronos, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his wife Rhea. Since she was their most beautiful daughter, Rhea had hoped that Hera wouldn't get swallowed. However, since Hera was a goddess (a member of a more beautiful and powerful race of immortals than the Titans), Kronos feared that Hera would one day overpower him and quickly proceeded to swallow her whole as well. Hera spent her childhood undigested in her father's stomach along with her sisters, and two younger brothers, who were swallowed shortly thereafter. Since they were immortal gods who couldn't truly die, all five of them had grown to their maturity undigested in Kronos' stomach.
However, Rhea soon gave birth to her final child, Zeus, who she secretly raised on Crete far away from Mount Othrys. After growing up, Zeus successfully infiltrated Kronos' Palace on Mount Othrys disguised as the Titan King's royal cup-bearer. Hera was finally released during the final drinking competition that Kronos had with his Titanic brothers and nephews. The Titan King disgorged all of the contents of his stomach in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder (which Rhea put in Zeus' place), then Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and all of them promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, Hera happily reunited with her mother, who tearfully embraced her. Shortly thereafter, Hera and the other gods accepted Zeus as their leader and reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their tyrannical father. However, since the Titans were well-armed, and the gods still had no weapons, Hera agreed to help Zeus release their Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire uncles from Tartarus first.
Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires
Her brother Hades was very skilled in navigating under the earth and lead them all into Tartarus through a network of Underworld tunnels. There, imprisoned in the maximum-security zone were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires. Their guardian, Kampê, was the most ferocious and fearsome monster in all of Tartarus. However, the gods overcame their fear and were able to sneak in. Zeus managed to talk to the Cyclopes Brontes and convinced him to forge powerful weapons for him and his siblings behind Kampê's back. The three Elder Cyclopes forged three incredibly powerful weapons: the Master Bolt (for Zeus), the Trident (for Poseidon), and the Helm of Darkness (for Hades). With these new weapons, Zeus killed Kampê and Poseidon shattered the chains of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, releasing them. Afterward Hades safely guided his siblings and uncles back out of Tartarus. In return, for their release, all six of Hera's uncles agreed to fight on her side in the upcoming war with the Titans.
The First Titanomachy
Shortly after their return from Tartarus, Hera and her siblings officially declared war on Kronos and the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying 11-year-long Titanomachy. The Elder Cyclopes soon forged a mighty golden Lotus staff for Hera, which she bravely wielded in battle against the Titans. The Titans initially had the upper han since they were much more experienced warriors. However, as the years passed, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons and the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed.
While preparing for the final battle of the war, Hera and her siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Orthys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Orthys and finally overwhelmed Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cyclops chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkheires forced them to kneel before the gods. Zeus took their father's Scythe and sliced Kronos into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for Atlas, who was forced to hold the sky). After Calypso was punished for siding with the other titans, Hera gave invisible servants to the Titaness so she would have some company during her imprisioment in Ogygia. The gods chose Olympus as their official residence and the Elder Cyclopes build magnificent palaces there for them all. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the "Olympians".
Living with Oceanus and Tethys
As the most beautiful Olympian goddess in creation (before Aphrodite's birth), Hera was desired by many gods and Titans. However, she had a fierce and infamous temper, would arrogantly rebuking anyone who ever tried to woo her. As a result, her mother decided to send Hera to her uncle Oceanus and aunt Tethys in order learn to tame her temper. Hera spent a number of happy years with them away from Mount Olympus. After seeing how stable and loving Oceanus and Tethys' marriage was, Hera decided to strive for a similar one for herself. While Hera did manage to tame her infamous temper by the time of her return, many gods were still wary of openly flirting with her since she was determined to find a perfect husband for herself.
Marriage to Zeus
Zeus, her husband
Soon after her return, Hera caught the attention of Zeus himself. While Hera had strong feelings for him as well, she refused to be another conquest for the King of the Gods. However, Zeus was just as stubborn and wouldn't be dissuaded. He applied his excellent singing, dancing, and joking skills to woo Hera, but she wouldn't initially give in. Zeus made a bet with Hera that if she would ever confess her love for him, she would become his bride. A few days later, Zeus proceeded to generate a tremendous thunderstorm around Olympus and disguised himself as an injured cuckoo. The cuckoo flew into Hera's chambers just as she was shutting her windows, and proceeded to fall on the marble floor. She took what she thought was a defenseless creature in her arms, dried its feathers, and revived it with some divine nectar. On the next morning, the cuckoo didn't seem inclined to leave, and affectionately rubbed its beak against Hera's finger. Hera admitted having grown quite fond of the bird herself and gently cuddled it in her arms. At that very instant, the cuckoo transformed into Zeus himself. Although she was embarrassed and outraged by her brother's deception, Hera was very impressed at Zeus' cleverness and agreed to become his consort on the condition that he remained loyal to her.
Their wedding was held in a spectacular celebration on Mount Olympus and was attended by many gods and neutral Titans. The couple arrived on a huge golden chariot, steered by Eos (who illuminated them with brilliant rosy light), and the ceremony was lead by the Fates. Through her marriage to Zeus, Hera became the Queen of Mount Olympus and the Olympian gods. Hera received great gifts from all of their wedding guests, but her favorite was a magnificent apple tree (with golden apples) that she received from her grandmother Gaea. Hera had the tree taken far off to the west and planted in a beautiful orchard. She employed the Hesperides to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she put the fierce dragon Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named the Garden of the Hesperides.
The newlyweds enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon and were both very happy with each other for 300 years. They had five divine children together: Ares (the God of War), Enyo (the Goddess of War), Hebe (the Goddess of Youth), and Eileithyia (the Goddess of Childbirth). After marrying Zeus, Hera decided to became the Goddess of Marriage, Motherhood, and Familial Love. However, Zeus eventually became restless and began the first of his many affairs. Hera was infuriated and frustrated to no end by his infidelity. She devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight and making the lives of his mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Her hatred is most evident in the stories of Dionysus and Hercules, whom she tried to kill repetitively.
Birth of Hephaestus
Tired of her husband after several children without her, Hera decided to have children without him as well. Her final son was Hephaestus (God of Blacksmiths). However, when Hera saw the unsightly appearance of her son, she threw him from Olympus in fear of being embarrased by the other gods. Hephaestus landed in the sea, where he was found and raised by the Nereid Thetis. However, Hera's act of cruelty haunted Hephaestus.
After spending nine years under the sea, Hephaestus finally rode back to Mount Olympus. All of the gods (especially Hera) were shocked into silence by his ugliness. However, Hephaestus brought magnificent new thrones for all of the Olympians. Hera's throne was made from shining pure adamantine, making it particularly beautiful. A suspicious Hera finally seated herself and was instantly, tightly bound by invisible and unbreakable chains. The chains grasped Hera so tightly that she couldn't breathe and all of the divine ichor in her veins flowed to her arms and legs. Both Ares and Hermes tried to convince Hephaestus to release his mother, but the latter remained stubborn and inexorable. Dionysus began visiting Hephaestus' forge from time to time and peacefully chatting with him. A week later, Dionysus introduced Hephaestus to wine and finally convinced him to forgive Hera. Hephaestus came back to Mount Olympus, declared his forgiveness of Hera's act of cruelty and releases her. Afterwards, Hephaestus and Hera made peace with each other.
Olympian Riot
Enraged at her husband's abuse of power and infidelity, Hera decided to stage a revolt against Zeus. She managed to gain the support of Poseidon, Athena and Apollo. That evening, Apollo, Athena and Poseidon hid in the hall adjacent to the royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus looked very intimidating. Poseidon attempted to reason with his brother and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agrees. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task. The violent thrashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to not throwing the rioters to Tartarus, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkheire Briares by the sea shore. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting.
Zeus remained true to his word, but he still punished them all. Hera received the severest punishment of all: She was chained right above the terrifying Void of Chaos. Every day, Zeus would visit her, threaten to sever the chains with his Master Bolt, and watch her tumble into the Void. Hephaestus could hear the wails of his mother all the way from Mount Olympus, which infuriated him as he couldn't bear to hear her suffering such a harsh punishment. As a result, Hephaestus set his mother free with his tools. Hera tearfully embraced her son and promised to never to call him ugly ever again.
Trojan War
When Eris hurled the Apple of Discord into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, bearing the inscription “For the fairest”, Hera was one of the candidates who competed for it. The Trojan prince Paris was chosen to judge who was the most beautiful of the three goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered to make Paris the master of all Asia and Europe if he choose her. However, she lost to Aphrodite, for Paris preferred the offer of the goddess of love: the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.
An enraged Hera sided with the Greeks along with Athena in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris. According to the Iliad, the war would have ended in peace, but Hera had a vested interest in its outcome and influenced Zeus to either switch sides or remain neutral.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Titan's Curse
Hera is present at the winter solstice with the other Olympians. She votes for Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace to live.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Hera aids Percy, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood and Tyson in their quest multiple times by providing with food, postponing the time of Annabeth's critical decision, bribing Geryon to allow the group pass freely through the Triple G Ranch (though she removed Nico di Angelo out of the equation despite he helped the group), and guiding Percy’s arrow as it pierced Geryon's hearts.
After hearing Hephaestus tell the story of how Hera threw him from Olympus and realizing how Hera was dismissive of Nico, Annabeth accuses Hera of only wanting a perfect family and claims that the goddess doesn't care about her older brother Hades' side of the family. 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.
Hera 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.
The Last Olympian
Hera joins the gods in the battle against Typhon. Meanwhile, as Olympus begins to crumble, a statue of Hera almost falls on top of Annabeth while she is running with Percy, Grover and Thalia to confront Kronos. Thalia pushes Annabeth out of the way in time, but the statue lands on her legs and incapacitates her. Annabeth assumes that Hera was trying to kill her, but this could just be an overreaction. After the Battle of Manhattan 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 Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
Before the book begins, the goddess Khione lures Hera 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.
The visions Leo sees of her are in the form of his old psychotic babysitter, Tía Callida who tried to kill Leo several times, to prepare him for his destiny as a hero. She put him in a burning fireplace when he was two, let him play with knives when he was three, and when he was four she handed him a rattlesnake. When she babysat him the last time, Leo drew a picture of a boat that was blown away by the wind, to which Tía said, "It isn't time yet, little hero." The ship that he drew was the Argo II, which he later built. Tía Callida was actually Hera.
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 reveals that she is Jason's patron goddess, whether Jason likes it or not.
The Son of Neptune
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.
Hera reappears in Percy's dream to talk with him and answer a few of his questions with no ill will, despite his aggressiveness. She is far more patient with Percy than before only complaining when he tried to attack her and never showing any signs of anger. She warns him that Annabeth will be the one who will cause the most trouble in the future, though the heroine helped greatly in the next battles.
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.
The Blood of Olympus
When Reyna, with the help of six pegasi, finally managed to place the Athena Parthenos on Half-Blood Hill, golden light ripples across the ground, seeping warmth into the bones of both Greek and Roman demigods, and curing all of the Olympians (including Hera) of their split personalities. As a result, Hera promptly arrives in Athens and re-joins her fellow Olympians in the final battle with the Giants, riding a golden chariot pulled by enormous and extremely bright peacocks. After the battle, Hera was seen having what Jason thinks is "an intense discussion" with Demeter and Poseidon.
Afterwards, Zeus confronted his wife for what she had done, claiming that her interpretation of the Prophecy of Seven and subsequently taking it into her own hands led to the inevitable conclusion of the war against the Giants. Despite her being clearly frightened by her husband's accusations, he still forgave her on account of his understanding that she had acted with truly good intentions.
The Trials of Apollo
The Hidden Oracle
Apollo mentions Hera when thinking of how she and the other Olympians stood by and watched as Zeus turned him mortal for a third time.
The Tyrant's Tomb
Apollo mentions her when carrying the coffin of Jason Grace to Camp Jupiter, remembering a time when she had him carry a throne around her living room until it was in the spot she wanted it to be.
Personality
As Queen of the Olympian family, Hera is aware of her duties and usually looks at the big picture: In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, she sensed her family was in danger by Aphrodite's arrival due to the arguments over whom should marry her and swiftly resolved any potential tension between all other male Olympians by marrying off Aphrodite to Hephaestus, who no one saw as a romantic rival. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Hera expressed sadness over the lost of faith showed by the minor gods and encouraged Percy's group to rise above the chaos. In The Lost Hero, she defied Zeus' will and devised a plan to unite Greek and Roman demigods despite her dislike for them was common knowledge, releasing her personal feelings in order to save her family and the Western civilization as a whole. However, Hera can be incredibly reckless at times. This is shown when she deliberately tampered with the Second Great Prophecy by exchanging Percy and Jason without warning, which later allowed the Prophecy to unfold by itself and put the future at great risk.
According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera initially had such a fierce and infamous temper that her mother sent her to live with her uncle and aunt for years until she learned to keep her temper under control. She can look extremely intimidating when provoked. Even Zeus himself is afraid of his wife when she is angry about his unfaithfulness. When Percy and Annabeth told Hera off regarding her familial opinions, her eyes "turned dangerously bright" and her sneer was "worse than an Empousa's". She can easily turn against those whom she initially favored, as seen by how she turned against and cursed Annabeth for agree with Percy's assessment of her true nature with regards to family. However, in The Son of Neptune, Hera is far more patient with Percy than before, only complaining when he tried to attack her.
Hera seems to be a caring, polite, and sympathetic goddess, just like a mother should be. She pities lost children and offered to breastfeed them in ancient times, as shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Heros. However, according to her son Hephaestus, Hera only likes "perfect families": She threw her son off Olympus for his deformation and kidnapping her daughter Eileithyia in order to stop the birth of Zeus and Leto's twins are examples of this. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, she greatly dislikes her brother Hades and was very dismissive of his children's problems, claiming they "don't belong" to the family. She bribed Geryon to allow Percy, Annabeth, and their teammates to pass freely, but removed Nico out of the equation. Despite her flaws, Hera has somewhat of a respectable side. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, she tearfully embraced her son Hephaestus and promised him to never call him ugly ever again after he saved her from being chained up over the Void of Chaos. Due to being chained near Chaos, Hera developed certain sympathy to other goddesses on similar conditions, even former enemies as Calypso and divine rivals like Aphrodite.
Due to her belief that marriage should be faithful, Hera has great loathing for the mistresses and illegitimate children of Zeus, since they are all concrete evidence of her husband's infidelities. She mercilessly persecutes them and does everything in her power to make their lives as miserable as possible, even though many of them were coerced into the affair. She casually talked about how she repeatedly tried to kill Hercules and drove him into murdering his own family, constantly pointed out things she did that, in her eyes, deserved credit, displayed in events throughout The Battle of the Labyrinth. Though her anger should perhaps be more directed towards her husband, Hera focuses more on his mistresses and their children because Zeus is more powerful than her.
Hera once admitted to Jason that she secretly envied the other gods for their demigod children, claiming that they help them understand the mortal world better than she ever could. However, she will never have any demigod children of her own because it wasn't in her nature to be faithless, which in turn meant that she won't have any mortal heroes to do her bidding. It is this aspect of Hera that makes her so often bitter towards all demigods, but it is also this aspect that allowed her to be merciful where most gods cannot: She favored the first Jason, a mortal hero with no divine parent to guide him, even though he lost her favor after breaking his vow to Medea.
Appearance
Hera in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
According to Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera is the most beautiful Elder Olympians goddess. She was viewed as the most beautiful goddess in all creation before Aphrodite's birth). She has long licorice-black hair, large, soft brown eyes that one could get lost in, and a face of regal and unapproachable beauty like that of a supermodel. In Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Hera appeared before Psyche in a glowing white gown, a cloak of peacock feathers over her shoulders, and a staff topped with a lotus flower in her hand. When she transformed back into her true shape before Jason, Hera wore a gold crown, a flowing white dress, and a belt of peacock feathers.
In The Titan's Curse, Hera was described as a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder. She wore a dress that shimmered with colors like peacock feathers.
In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Hera was described to be tall and graceful, with long chocolate-colored hair, eyes that shone with power, and a sunny smile. Her hair was braided in plaits with gold ribbons. She wore a simple white dress that shimmered with colors like oil on water when she moved.
In The Lost Hero, Hera was described to be both terrible and beautiful in her wrath, glowing in power. A golden crown glowed in her long black hair and her arms were bedecked with golden jewelry. She was dressed in an elegant white gown.
In The Blood of Olympus, Hera assumed her true original Greek form and rode in a chariot pulled by enormous peacocks with rainbow-colored plumage so bright that "it gave the spins".
The inconsistencies in Hera's physical description throughout the novels could be attributed to the fact that, as a goddess, she has the ability to assume any shape she desired, though she always retains her extreme regal beauty and queenly grace no matter what physical manifestation she adopts.
Abilities
Due to her status as an Elder Olympian and Queen of the Gods, Hera is an extremely powerful goddess. Percy Jackson's Greek Gods describes her as being more powerful than her younger Olympians and her older sisters, though not quite as much as her brothers.
- Motherhood: As the Goddess of Motherhood, Hera has absolute and divine authority about raising children and her own fertility. Her powers are most likely superior to those of her male counterpart Hymenaios.
- Self-Impregnation: As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera managed to become pregnant with a divine child all by herself. However, this may explain why Hephaestus was deformed since birth.
- Granting Help: As seen in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Hera can granting powers and help to children. After being breastfed by the goddess, Heracles incredible superhuman strength. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, her power guided Percy’s arrow to Geryon's hearts.
- Domestic Manipulation: As the Goddess of Home and Family, all things related to domestic and familial relationships are under Hera's jurisdiction.
- Olympian Bond: Chiron confirmed in The Lost Hero that Hera was the "glue" that held the Olympian family together. Her absence could unravel the stability of Olympus and shake the foundations of the world itself.
- Mnemokinesis: Hera has the ability to steal and restore memories. She temporary manipulated Percy's and Jason's minds to protect them more easily.
- Food-Conjuration: As shown in The Battle of the Labyrinth, Hera is able to conjure delicious food on a marble table. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera was said to be an excellent cook like her sister Demeter, knowing how to bake delicious bread and brownies.
- Cleanliness Inducement: As shown in The Battle of the Labyrinth, Hera can make things clean and orderly. With just a flick of her finger, she made Annabeth's hair comb itself while all of the dirt and grime disappeared from her face.
- Territorial Juridistion: As the Queen of Olympus, Hera has a great deal of influence over territories and sovereign rule. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, she induced all "rooted lands" to deny sanctuary to Leto and threatened to curse them forever if they disobeyed her. She later promised to make Paris the lord of all Asia and Europe if he claimed her as the fairest of the goddesses.
- Teleportation: As seen in Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, Hera has the power of teleportation, which manifests in "bursts of peacock-colored light". She could also teleport others to their desired location, like she did to Jason, Piper, and Leo Valdez in The Lost Hero.
- Aerokinesis (limited): As the wife of Zeus, Hera can control and manipulate air, though to a lesser extent than her husband's. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, she flew down from Olympus when she discovered a baby Dionysus.
- Nephelokinesis: As shown by Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera can ride golden clouds. She hovered over Thebes and later traveled to it on a golden cloud.
- Madness Induction: Hera has an infamous control and manipulation over madness. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, she drove the demigod Dionysus insane to the point he had to go to Zeus to be cured. Hera later induced Hercules to kill his wife Megara, his children and servants.
- Hypnokinesis: As shown in The Lost Hero, Hera can manipulate and enter the dreams of others. Even when she was consistently drained of her energy, she could maintain communication with Jason through visions.
- Battle Prowess: In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera was shown to have been an eager and capable participant in the First Titanomachy. She later participated in the gods' battle with Typhon for several days in The Last Olympian, and the Seven Heroes of Olympus's final battle with the Giants in The Blood of Olympus.
- Divine Form:Hera's true form was described as an exploding supernova ring of force that vaporized every monster around her instantly. She assumes this form in combat.
- Life Creation: Hera has demonstrated the ability to manipulate reality itself to a considerable extent. She created the one hundred-eyed giant Argus (who shares an emotional link with her) and a cluster of reed plants to speak with Psyche in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.
- Control of Animals: Hera has a high level of control over animals, particularly the cow and the peacock. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, she summoned a massive venomous serpent into the river of Aeacus's island, poisoning his entire water supply. In The Battle of the Labyrinth, she sent a herd of cows after Annabeth, causing the demigod to be constantly careful afterwards about where she stepped since they left dung everywhere.
- Shapeshifting: As seen in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera was quite skilled at changing her form. She has transformed into an eagle while escaping from Kronos' palace, a bat while sneaking into Tartarus' maximum-security zone, and an old woman while visiting Semele. She later transformed into a old woman again to let Jason and Percy prove themselves in The Son of Neptune.
- Possession: Like all gods, Hera is able to possess mortals, such as the current host of the Oracle of Delphini.
Attributes
- Her attributes are a diadem, scepter, Lotus staff (symbol), lity and pomegranate.
- Her sacred animals are the peacock and the cow.
Children
Immortal Children
|
Partner |
Children |
| Zeus | Ares, Enyo, Eileithyia, Hebe |
| - | Hephaestus |
Film
The Lightning Thief
Hera is played by Erica Cerra. She makes a brief appearance near the end of the movie, attending the Olympian Council.
Etimology
Her name is supposedly derived from the Greek word ἥρως (hērōs), meaning “defender, protector”
Relationships
Love Interests
As confirmed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Hera honestly believes that marriage was forever, for better or worse, which was exactly why her husband's numerous infidelities drove her to such raging jealousy towards his mistresses and children. As one of the most beautiful goddesses, she is often desired by others, though her faithfulness is constant. However, Hera and Zeus have a turbulent relationship in which they often clash for their strong tempers. Though she never rebelled again, Hera occasionally interferes with Zeus' affairs and plans, tricking him into getting what she wants.
Trivia
- One of Hera's most common epithets is βοῶπις (boōpis), meaning “cow-faced, ox-eyed”.
- In the series, Hera is known as the Goddess of Home and Family, but her oldest sister Hestia is the official Goddess of the Hearth and Home. It could be theorized that they shared jurisdiction over domesticity.
- As of The Mark of Athena, Hera/Juno is the only major Olympian who has fled from Mount Olympus to escape the wrath of her incapacitated family.
- Although she is the goddess and protector of marriage, it is ironic that Hera's marriageisn't peaceful nor too happy due to Zeus' many infedelities and illegitimate children.
- Though Hera stated that she is jealous for not having heroes to do her bidding, she could have initiated a group of followers like Artemis did (e.g. funding a group of caretakers).
- Hera shares numerous similarities with her mother Rhea:
- Their names are anagrams of each other's names.
- They are among the most beautiful deities (Rhea is the most beautiful Elder Titaness, while Hera is the most beautiful Elder Olympian).
- They are both deities of motherhood.
- They are both married to their brothers (Rhea married her brother Kronos, while Hera married her brother Zeus).
- Despite her immense hatred of Hercules, Hera is actually the source of his name, godlike strength, and last marriage.
- Zeus named his son after Hera in an attempt to placate her rage. Hercules' name meaning “glory of Hera”.
- Athena took an infant Hercules up to Olympus and presented him to Hera, who didn't know it was and took pity on the child. While she nursed him, Hercules suckled so hard that he obtained legendary strength. Hera pushed the baby away in pain, dropping her divine milk across the night sky and forming the Milky Way.
- Upon his ascension, Hercules married one of Hera's daughters, Hebe.
- In myths, Hera regains her virginity every year by a sacred bath so she could celebrate her hierogamy (“sacred marriage”) to Zeus, though she is a matron goddess.
- In the Orphic version of Dionysus' birth, Hera had the infant child torn to pieces and eaten by the Titans upon discovering Zeus' infidelity. However, the then demigod was brought back to life and his resurrection was celebrated in ancient Greek theatres.
- According to the Bibliotheca, Hera raised a storm in an attempt to kill Hercules when he was sailing away from Troy after sacking the city. Zeus became so angry that he seized her, hung hung her from the sky with golden chains, and attached heavy anvils to her feet. She wept in pain all night, but none of the other gods dared to interfere. Hephaestus tried to release his mother from her humiliating position, for which Zeus threw him out of heaven and his leg was broken by the fall. Hera's weeping kept Zeus up, so the following morning, he agreed to release her if she swore never to rebel again. She had little choice but to agree.
- The month of June is named after Hera's Roman counterpart, which is incidentally when many women choose to get married.
- Hera's Norse equivalent would be Frigg.
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