Hera, a real jelous goddess or just an misunderstood soul

For discussion and questions about Gods and Goddesses.
LUNAAMOR
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:27 pm

Hera, a real jelous goddess or just an misunderstood soul

Postby LUNAAMOR » Fri May 02, 2008 5:26 pm

ok i had been doing some research on Hera the sister/wife of zeus.
so my question is why do myths portray her so badly. when i read about zeus affairs i think that she has every right of react however wants to.
i had only see very few things that say she was a loving goddess.
so what are your opinions towards her .
mines is that she is a very loving goddess, but her downfall its zeus fault for being so playboy men. and having many, many affairs. so dont blame her for trying to protect her man. blame zeus for being such a ......(i dont think i can say what i want to say ) so fill the blank :wink: :D
"Light up the Darkness" Bob Marley

watershield
Banned Member
Posts: 166
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:37 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Victoria, B.C. Canada

Postby watershield » Fri May 02, 2008 5:52 pm

I think you will find that she was jelous and vengful against Zeus and his many iligitamate children.
There are several stories about her getting peeved at a few mortal men who choose other women over her, but not many.
By all accounts, she is a loving and caring spirit.

I think it's a matter of history as well as the place of women in society in those days. As Gods go, Zeus was a "mans man" while his wife did what all wives do. Complain and throw things, but stick with their man come hell or high water.
The Greeks humanized these gods and told stories of them in the same light as what they would themselves expect to experience if they were in the others shoes.
The mind is a window to the universe, but for many the window is closed
Truth is unique, it seldom has meaning for anyone other than the one who speaks it.
My opinion is my own. I am willing to share it, though you are not required to accept it.

LUNAAMOR
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:27 pm

Postby LUNAAMOR » Sat May 03, 2008 9:53 am

yes WS all that you said its true she was really mean to her husbands , lovers and childs. and i also found out that she was first worshiped before zeus came and took his place as her husband. ok so i also agree with you of how things were on those days. so i wanted to see how can i include her in my path ??
i also see her as my goddes because she also went (i read it in some myths) thru her maiden mother and crone. im a going truh the right way or i just got everything mixed up :?: :?
"Light up the Darkness" Bob Marley

watershield
Banned Member
Posts: 166
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:37 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Victoria, B.C. Canada

Postby watershield » Sat May 03, 2008 12:04 pm

The easiest way of involving her is to call upon her and talk to her.
The mind is a window to the universe, but for many the window is closed
Truth is unique, it seldom has meaning for anyone other than the one who speaks it.
My opinion is my own. I am willing to share it, though you are not required to accept it.

LaFiamma
Banned Member
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 12:35 pm
Gender: Female
Location: MD, US

Re: Hera, a real jelous goddess or just an misunderstood sou

Postby LaFiamma » Sun May 04, 2008 7:49 pm

ok i had been doing some research on Hera the sister/wife of zeus.
so my question is why do myths portray her so badly. when i read about zeus affairs i think that she has every right of react however wants to.
i had only see very few things that say she was a loving goddess.
so what are your opinions towards her .
mines is that she is a very loving goddess, but her downfall its zeus fault for being so playboy men. and having many, many affairs. so dont blame her for trying to protect her man. blame zeus for being such a ......(i dont think i can say what i want to say ) so fill the blank :wink: :D
Look into the actual ancient Greek religion and you will find that the view of the gods in the religion was generally very different from the view of the gods in the mythology.

In many ways, the Greek myths are like the earliest soap operas. The stories were not written by the priests, but by poets and playwrites, sometimes specifically in effort to undermine the religion and portray the gods in a negative light.

Hera was a jealous shrew in mythology, waiting in the dark kitchen to smack Zeus on the head with the frying pan at 4am when he came in from Mt Olympus Tavern.

In the religion, Hera is among other things, a regal queen, equal to Zeus; together they preside over and protect marriage.

If you're into a somewhat scholarly and dence, but absolutely fascinating source, Walter Burkert's book Greek Religion has an excellent discussion of Hera in religion and all of the symbolism that points to her being Zeus's equal partner.

There is a very extensive source of information on Hera in mythology and religious cult here:

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hera.html

LUNAAMOR
Posts: 188
Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:27 pm

Postby LUNAAMOR » Mon May 05, 2008 9:19 am

thanks for the link it was very interesting and a good read about hera. im not sure why but i feel a connection with her maybe because im like her. i dont want my men even to think about cheating on me . so thats why i understand her and i dont think she was a mean spirited woman , for me she is just misunderstood :D :D
"Light up the Darkness" Bob Marley

LaFiamma
Banned Member
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 12:35 pm
Gender: Female
Location: MD, US

Postby LaFiamma » Mon May 05, 2008 2:23 pm

thanks for the link it was very interesting and a good read about hera. im not sure why but i feel a connection with her maybe because im like her. i dont want my men even to think about cheating on me . so thats why i understand her and i dont think she was a mean spirited woman , for me she is just misunderstood :D :D
Very misunderstood in modern times, as I believe many of the Greek gods are, since most folks tend to never look beyond the mythology and assume that that's what the gods are.

It had nothing to do with the place of women in society- the goddesses of ancient Greece were just as respected as the gods, and the gods in mythology were just as humanized as the goddesses.

[SnowRaven]
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:42 am
Gender: Female
Location: Ohio

Postby [SnowRaven] » Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:43 pm

I always try to remember that the Romans conquered the Greeks and then altered the Greek gods and Goddesses to fit the new leaders. Prior to the Roman invasion, Hera was NOT a screaming fish-wife -- that was a role the Roman's assigned her in order to subjugate her worship & power.

A good place to start is this book:

Lost Goddesses of Early Greece: A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Myths
by Charlene Spretnak

LaFiamma
Banned Member
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 12:35 pm
Gender: Female
Location: MD, US

Postby LaFiamma » Wed Dec 31, 2008 9:08 pm

I always try to remember that the Romans conquered the Greeks and then altered the Greek gods and Goddesses to fit the new leaders. Prior to the Roman invasion, Hera was NOT a screaming fish-wife -- that was a role the Roman's assigned her in order to subjugate her worship & power.

A good place to start is this book:

Lost Goddesses of Early Greece: A Collection of Pre-Hellenic Myths
by Charlene Spretnak
Not so much. The Romans were quite enamored with all things Greek, and did not turn Hera into a, er screaming fish-wife (interesting phrase...never heard that one before!) - one need look no further than the epics of Homer and the hymns of Callimachus- both Greek writers- to see that these stories are very Greek in origin. Additionally, the Metamorphoses, which are written by Ovid, a Latin poet, do use the names of the Roman gods, but they are actually telling stories from Greek mythology. There was not a lot in the way of actual Roman myth, most of what is thought of as Roman myth is actually Greek with Roman names.

Juno is actually a native Latin goddess, one of the di indigetes (indigenous deities) and like many of the major di indigetes, Greek myth was adopted onto her, so she takes on the stories of Hera. But she also takes on some of the war-like aspects of Athena.(Minerva was only connected to war in Rome, in other parts of italy, she was not.) Prior to this, she was more of a maiden goddess related to childbirth and midwifery similr to Diana.

Further if you look into ancient Greek and Roman religion, you will find that in the religious cults, Hera is not a jealous vengeful shrew (Nor is Juno)- while the mythologies are very valuable, the caricatured foibles and shortcomings of the gods did not carry over into religious worship.

Looking at the bibliography of that book...I'd suggest looking elsewhere if you're looking for actual historical information on Hera. Karl Kerenyi's Gods ofthe Greeks is a great one, and Walter Burkert's Greek Religion has great information about Hera.

eta: (Just realized I mentioned these books in my previous post above...)

[SnowRaven]
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:42 am
Gender: Female
Location: Ohio

Postby [SnowRaven] » Thu Jan 01, 2009 1:51 am

The romans may have incorporated many aspects of the Greek culture into their lives, but it is important to remember that they were the conquerors - and conquerors rewrite history [myth] to serve themselves. Hera, prior to the patriarchal Romans, did not need a husband to function -- she was powerful all on her own. What I was trying to get across was that with the coming of the Romans, powerful Goddesses were altered and subjugated to male counterparts.

LaFiamma
Banned Member
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 12:35 pm
Gender: Female
Location: MD, US

Postby LaFiamma » Thu Jan 01, 2009 3:20 am

The romans may have incorporated many aspects of the Greek culture into their lives, but it is important to remember that they were the conquerors - and conquerors rewrite history [myth] to serve themselves. Hera, prior to the patriarchal Romans, did not need a husband to function -- she was powerful all on her own. What I was trying to get across was that with the coming of the Romans, powerful Goddesses were altered and subjugated to male counterparts.
We still have many, many sources from the Greeks, all of which indicate that 1. Hera was consort of Zeus and 2. she was pretty gosh darned powerful- yes, on her own, as you say. No, the Romans did not pair Hera up. The Greeks did hundreds of years before the Romans existed, and it wasn't a matter of subjugation by the patriarchy. The Romans paired Juno up with Jupiter and gave her Hera's qualities, but still, she was a very powerful goddess, equal to Jupiter, as Hera was equal to Zeus- neither goddess was subjugated. Juno does not get her power from Jupiter, as Hera does not get her power from Zeus.

[SnowRaven]
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:42 am
Gender: Female
Location: Ohio

Postby [SnowRaven] » Thu Jan 01, 2009 7:44 am

The romans may have incorporated many aspects of the Greek culture into their lives, but it is important to remember that they were the conquerors - and conquerors rewrite history [myth] to serve themselves. Hera, prior to the patriarchal Romans, did not need a husband to function -- she was powerful all on her own. What I was trying to get across was that with the coming of the Romans, powerful Goddesses were altered and subjugated to male counterparts.
We still have many, many sources from the Greeks, all of which indicate that 1. Hera was consort of Zeus and 2. she was pretty gosh darned powerful- yes, on her own, as you say. No, the Romans did not pair Hera up. The Greeks did hundreds of years before the Romans existed, and it wasn't a matter of subjugation by the patriarchy. The Romans paired Juno up with Jupiter and gave her Hera's qualities, but still, she was a very powerful goddess, equal to Jupiter, as Hera was equal to Zeus- neither goddess was subjugated. Juno does not get her power from Jupiter, as Hera does not get her power from Zeus.
I don't believe I ever suggested Hera derived her power from Zeus. In none of my reading was it suggested that in the hazy time of Goddess worship in the Pre-Hellenic days did Hera need/want/have a male counterpart at all. I was making the case that Zeus' association came much later and that it was in an effort by those in power, whomever they may have been, to obscure the divine feminine. She wasn't always as she stands now in the Greek/Roman pantheon is my point.

LaFiamma
Banned Member
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 12:35 pm
Gender: Female
Location: MD, US

Postby LaFiamma » Thu Jan 01, 2009 2:21 pm

I don't believe I ever suggested Hera derived her power from Zeus. In none of my reading was it suggested that in the hazy time of Goddess worship in the Pre-Hellenic days did Hera need/want/have a male counterpart at all. I was making the case that Zeus' association came much later and that it was in an effort by those in power, whomever they may have been, to obscure the divine feminine. She wasn't always as she stands now in the Greek/Roman pantheon is my point.
However, you did state twice that it was the Romans who paired Hera up with Zeus in order to subjugate her- which is entirely untrue. My talking about Hera's power being her own was elaboration on the point that she is not subjugated.

As far as there being a "hazy time of goddess worship" with no male deities, that I don't buy. Hera does seem to be one of the few deities who actually originated in Greece, instead of importing form elsewhere, and archaeological evidence does support that she was worshiped on her own well before Zeus, but there were also male deities, and later when the various other gods and goddesses came on the scene, and Hera was then married to Zeus, those goddesses were just as alive and just as well as those gods. Female divinity was equally honored because that was the way it was. To honor a goddess less simply because she was a goddess and not a god was not the way things worked.

[SnowRaven]
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 11:42 am
Gender: Female
Location: Ohio

Postby [SnowRaven] » Thu Jan 01, 2009 4:49 pm

Of course there were male deities during Pre-Hellenic times. My point is simply that Hera was not always paired with Zeus and that her persona altered drastically with as a male dominated society took over.

LaFiamma
Banned Member
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 12:35 pm
Gender: Female
Location: MD, US

Postby LaFiamma » Thu Jan 01, 2009 5:22 pm

Of course there were male deities during Pre-Hellenic times. My point is simply that Hera was not always paired with Zeus and that her persona altered drastically with as a male dominated society took over.
Your mentioning of the "hazy time of goddess worship" made that unclear, thank you for clarifying. As far as anything that happened before the Hellenic times though, everything I've read (and found to be at all credible) indicates that society was pretty much just as male-dominated as it was during the Hellenic eras, so that would not account for Hera's eventually becoming wed to Zeus.


Return to “Gods/Goddesses”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests