HeraHḗrā; Ἥρη, Hḗrē in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus, and daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Hera
Zeus and Metis
His first and favorite lover was Metis, a Titan goddess and mother of Athena.
Hera is Zeus wife and sister. She was raised by the Titans Ocean and Tethys. She is the protector of marrage and takes special care of married women. Hera's marriage was founded in strife with Zeus and continued in strife.
Metis, an Oceanid or sea-nymph, was Zeus's first wife. Wise and prudent, she was endowed with the gift of prophecy. In their early years together, she was Zeus's closest ally and aide, helping him win the battle against Cronus.
As the sky god Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and took full advantage of it. Also, his power as a supreme god made him difficult to resist. Prior to his marrage to Hera he was married first to Metis, then Themis.
II.
Aphrodite later and of her own volition had an affair with Zeus, but his jealous wife Hera laid her hands upon the belly of the goddess and cursed their offspring with malformity. Their child was the ugly god Priapos.
Suffice it to say that Zeus was constantly involved in extramarital affairs. Throughout the various and sometimes contradictory myths composed by Greek authors, there are at least 20 divine figures with whom he consorted, and about twice as many mortals.
Perhaps partly because of the strange circumstances of her birth, Athena is often cited as Zeus's favourite child. He also greatly admired her strength of character and fighting spirit. Some believe Athena was Zeus's first born child, which might, somewhat unfairly, suggest why he chose her as his favourite.
Impregnation by Zeus
Nonnus classifies Zeus's affair with Semele as one in a set of twelve, the other eleven women on whom he begot children being Io, Europa, Plouto, Danaë, Aigina, Antiope, Leda, Dia, Alcmene, Laodameia, the mother of Sarpedon, and Olympias.
Who did Zeus marry? His sister Hera was the first and only to whom he was married, but that didn't stop him from fathering children with all and sundry, willing or not. Hera, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, constantly fought with Zeus throughout their marriage.
Zeus had seven immortal wives, whose names were Metis, Themis, Eurynome, Demeter, Mnemosyne, Leto, and Hera. METIS, his first wife, was one of the Oceanides or sea-nymphs.
Zeus finally became enamored of the goddess who was to become his permanent wife — Hera. After courting her unsuccessfully he changed himself into a disheveled cuckoo. When Hera took pity on the bird and held it to her breast, Zeus resumed his true form and ravished her.
According to Hesiod, Zeus had seven wives. His first wife was the Oceanid Metis, whom he swallowed on the advice of Gaia and Uranus, so that no son of his by Metis would overthrow him, as had been foretold. Later, their daughter Athena would be born from the forehead of Zeus.
Hera was worshipped throughout the Greek world and played an important part in Greek literature, appearing most frequently as the jealous and rancorous wife of Zeus and pursuing with vindictive hatred the heroines who were beloved by him.
Zeus' wife Hera was the mother of some of his offspring, and, as one might expect, her jealousy was legendary. It's not uncommon to read about her acts of revenge, not only against Zeus and his lovers, but also against the children who came from these relationships.
In some versions of Greek mythology, Zeus ate his wife Metis because it was known that their second child would be more powerful than him. After Metis's demise, their first child Athena was born when Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's head open and the goddess of war emerged, fully grown and armed.
Hebe was the youngest daughter to Zeus and his wife Hera. Her name came from the Greek word for 'youth', and it was thought she had the power to temporarily restore youth in a chosen few.
She may not have been described as a virgin originally, but virginity was attributed to her very early and was the basis for the interpretation of her epithets Pallas and Parthenos. As a war goddess Athena could not be dominated by other goddesses, such as Aphrodite, and as a palace goddess she could not be violated.
Once the festivities came to an end, Zeus and Hera had a glorious wedding night that lasted a staggering 300 years. Together, the two love birds had three children: Ares the god of war, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth and Hebe, the goddess of youth.
Ganymede (or Ganymedes) was a young man from Troy. His beauty was unparalleled and for that reason, Zeus abducted and brought him to Olympus to serve as his cupbearer and lover. Ganymede's myth is an important step in the history of homosexuality.
Heracles – Son of Zeus and Alcmene
He possessed superhuman strength and courage. Because he was a reminder of Zeus's unfaithfulness, Hera made it her mission to make his life miserable. At one point, she drove him to madness and he killed his own children. To atone for his sins, he went through his famous “Labors”.
As punishment for her attempt to overthrow him, Zeus seized Hera and hung her in the sky by golden chains. Hera wailed in pain all night, but no one would help her out of fear of Zeus.
Under the name of Callithyia, Io was regarded as the first priestess of Hera, the wife of Zeus. Zeus fell in love with her and, to protect her from the wrath of Hera, changed her into a white heifer. Hera persuaded Zeus to give her the heifer and sent Argus Panoptes (“the All-Seeing”) to watch her.
It is commonly thought that Nyx is the only goddess that Zeus is truly afraid of because she is older and more powerful than him. This traces back to one story in which Hera, Zeus' wife and goddess of marriage and childbirth, works together with Hypnos, the god of sleep, to trick Zeus.
Seven wives of Zeus
His first wife was the Oceanid Metis, whom he swallowed on the advice of Gaia and Uranus, so that no son of his by Metis would overthrow him, as had been foretold. Later, their daughter Athena would be born from the forehead of Zeus.