Hera,+The+Rudest+I+Do

= __**Hera: The Rudest I do**__ =

By: Zoe
=== Did you know the goddess of marriage had marriage problems herself? Hera, the goddess of marriage, birth and family, was best known for being the goddess of marriage. She has had several encounters with bad relationships yet many worship her. Hera was said to do many cruel things to Zeus’s other girlfriends and children that were not hers. Although Hera was goddess who was seen as helpful, she had dark moments and caused stress for Zeus, his family, and the world of the gods and goddess around her. (Hera) ===

=== Hera was not a very kind person most of the time. She was always jealous of someone or something some way or another. She was especially jealous of Zeus’s his girlfriends/lovers and his son. Also, she punished them profusely for no apparent reason. Most of the stories concern Hera’s revenge toward Zeus and his lovers. A lot of people believe that Zeus seduced Hera while he was disguised as a cockatoo. Others believe that Zeus found her on an island and he carried her to a cave. Many believe that Hera was married in the Garden of the Hesperides, at the top of Mount Ida in Anatolia, or on the island of Euboea in the Aegean Sea. It is believed that Hera despised Zeus after a while of marriage because of his unfaithfulness with many women. (Hera’s revenge) ===

=== Hera, when she is not with Zeus is a very kind and has a quite gentle disposition. Once she marries Zeus the envy, jealousy, anger and hate begin. Most of her actions were driven by her need for revenge. Hera knew that she could not take her anger out on her husband, Zeus, so instead she took it out on his many wives and his other kids. For example, one of her greatest jealousies and revenge filled stories was one about Heracles. One night Hera was feeling especially mad, for she had just discovered some very disturbing news about her illegitimate “son”. In fact, it was not her son at all. It was the bastard of Zeus and another woman. Hera was very upset about this. So during the night she took it upon herself to sneak into Heracles room and put serpents in his crib while he was sleeping. This was not the last act of cruelty she inflicted upon Heracles, she intentionally decided to force the Amazon against him while he was on an expedition. (Hera’s Revenge) ===

=== Despite all the mean and cruel things Hera did to people, she had a few good things that she had done towards people as well. Hera was not naturally a mean person for she was actually kindhearted before she married Zeus who betrayed her on more than one occasion. Before all of the drama with Zeus happened, she was always found doing something nice for someone. In one instance she helped a young hero named Jason reach the Golden Fleece ship, for if it was not for Hera he would not have reached them. Hera was not married for a short period of time; therefore she had many struggles she had to overcome in the later part of her life. Hera comes off as a rude person, but she had her moments of kindness seldom throughout her life. She had a quarrel with many, but had some good relationships with others, for she was the goddess of marriage. Not only that but she was really nice to those whom she liked and did not make her mad. One wrong move and you could be blind like the prophet Tiresias. If you did something nice for her, she might show you her mercy and your life could be spared. (Hera: The first Greek goddess) ===

=== Zeus and Hera had a really bad relationship. It was full of arguments and disputes. Almost every dispute resulted in the anger of Hera and the satisfaction of Zeus knowing that once again he won that battle. Hera was the second wife of Zeus. To start off, Hera and Zeus were brother and sister. She did not desire to marry him, she was miserable. Hera felt as if Zeus was not the right fit for her for marriage. Hera refused to marry Zeus for 300 years. One day Zeus disguised himself as a cockatoo and seduced her, and then Hera decided it was finally time for them to marry. The marriage of Zeus and Hera was an amazing event, everyone was supposed to attend. One rebel, Chelone, was against the marriage and so she was punished profusely. She was turned into a turtle and she was bound to eternal silence. Zeus was quite upset about how the wedding turned out. Once they were married Zeus never stopped wooing. He continued marrying mortals which got Hera so upset. ===

=== Hera gave off sort of a negative, mean vibe. Almost every person Zeus slept with or married or even had a kid with, was punished severely by her. When Zeus //did// catch her punishing people, he in return would punish her. In a sense she was justified by her actions because Zeus cheated on her on several occasions. Not many people like Hera but many were smart, therefore they kept that to themselves. Hera bore her own child without the help of Zeus. His name was Typhoan who was similar to Typhon. Typhoan did not look as if he were man or god. Hera entered a beauty contest. The judge of this contest was Paris. When Paris chose [|Aphrodite] as the prettiest woman in the land, this angered Hera to an extreme extent. This move made her despise the city of Troy and everything that relates to it. During the Trojan War she sided with the Achaean’s and protected Achilles. Many feared Hera, so in turn they worshiped her to get mercy from her and occasionally people worshiped her for the sake of their marriage. They worshiped her by building temples and praying to her. (Hera’s Revenge) ===

=== Hera had a real problem with being jealous of people. If she ever felt like someone had something better than her or if they had something she did not, then she would make them pay for it. Despite her unpopularity with the people, she will always remain a huge influence in history for all she has done. ===

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//Hera//. New York: Macmillan, 2000. //Hera//. Macmillan. Web. 13 Dec. 2009. .=====

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Wickersham, John M. //Hera//. NewYork: Macmillan, 2000. //Hera//. Macmillan, 2000. Web. 13 Dec. 2009. .=====