User:Queen Rhana/Sandbox/Archives/May 2009
This page is an archive. Do not edit the contents of this page. Please direct any additional comments to the current main page. |
Name
"The name of Hera, the Queen of the gods, admits a variety of mutually exclusive etymologies; one possibility is to connect it with hora, season, and to interpret it as ripe for marriage." So begins the section on Hera in Walter Burkert's Greek Mythology.[1] In a note, he records other scholars' arguments "for the meaning Mistress as a feminine to Heros, Master." John Chadwick, a decipherer of Linear B, remarks ""her name may be connected with hērōs 'hero', but that is no help, since it too is etymologically obscure."[2] A.J. van Windekens,[3] offers "young cow, heifer", which is consonant with Hera's common epithet βοώπις (boôpis, cow-eyed). E-ra appears in Mycenaean tablets.
The cult of Hera
Hera was especially worshipped as "Argive Hera" (Hera Argeia) at her sanctuary that stood between the former Mycenaean city-states of
Greek altars of classical times were always under the open sky. Hera may have been the first to whom an enclosed roofed temple sanctuary was dedicated, at Samos about 800 BC. (It was replaced later by the Heraion, one of the largest Greek temples anywhere.) There were many temples built on this site so evidence is somewhat confusing and archaeological dates are uncertain. We know that the temple created by the Rhoecus sculptors and architects was destroyed between 570- 60 BC. This was replaced by the Polycratean temple 540-530 BC. In one of these temples we see a forest of 155 columns. There is also no evidence of tiles on this temple suggesting either the temple was never finished or that the temple was open to the sky.
Earlier sanctuaries, whose dedication to Hera is less secure, were of the Mycenaean type called "house sanctuaries".[6] Samos excavations have revealed votive offerings, many of them late 8th and 7th centuries BC, which reveal that Hera at Samos was not merely a local Greek goddess of the Aegean: the museum there contains figures of gods and suppliants and other votive offerings from Armenia, Babylon, Iran, Assyria, Egypt, testimony to the reputation which this sanctuary of Hera enjoyed and to the large influx of pilgrims. Compared to this mighty goddess, who also possessed the earliest temple at Olympia and two of the great fifth and sixth century temples of Paestum, the termagant of Homer and the myths is an "almost...comic figure" according to Burkert.[7]
In Euboea the festival of the Great Daedala, sacred to Hera, was celebrated on a sixty-year cycle.
Hera's early importance
Both Hera and Demeter had many characteristic attributes of the former
Hera's importance in the early archaic period is attested by the large building projects undertaken in her honor. The temples of Hera in the two main centers of her
The
At Olympia, Hera's seated cult figure was older than the warrior figure of Zeus that accompanied it. Homer expressed her relationship with Zeus delicately in the Iliad, in which she declares to Zeus, "I am Cronus' eldest daughter, and am honourable not on this ground only, but also because I am your wife, and you are king of the gods."[10] Though Zeus is often called Zeus Heraios ("Zeus, consort of Hera"), Homer's treatment of Hera is less than respectful, and in late anecdotal versions of the myths (see below) she appeared to spend most of her time plotting revenge on the nymphs seduced by her Consort, for Hera upheld all the old right rules of Hellene society and sorority.
Matriarchy?
There has been considerable scholarship, reaching back to
Emblems of the presence of Hera
In Hellenistic imagery, Hera's wagon was pulled by peacocks, birds not known to Greeks before the conquests of Alexander. Alexander's tutor, Aristotle, refers to it as "the Persian bird." The peacock motif was revived in the Renaissance iconography that unified Hera and Juno, and which European painters focused on.[13] A bird that had been associated with Hera on an archaic level, where most of the Aegean goddesses were associated with "their" bird, was the cuckoo, which appears in mythic fragments concerning the first wooing of a virginal Hera by Zeus.
Her archaic association was primarily with cattle, as a Cow Goddess, who was especially venerated in "cattle-rich"
The
Epithets
Aside from the aforementioned Boôpis, Hera bore several other epithets in the mythological tradition. One was Aegophagus, "goat-eater", under which she was worshipped by the
Hera and her children
Hera presides over the right arrangements of the marriage and is the archetype of the union in the marriage bed, but she is not notable as a mother. The legitimate offspring of her union with Zeus are Ares, Hebe, Eris (the goddess of discord) and Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth). Hera was jealous of Zeus' giving birth to Athena without recourse to her (actually with Metis), so she gave birth to Hephaestus without him. Hera was then disgusted with Hephaestus' ugliness and threw him from Mount Olympus. As another alternative version, Hera gave birth to all of the children usually accredited to her and Zeus together, alone by beating her hand on the Earth, a solemnizing action for the Greeks.
Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne which, when she sat on, did not allow her to leave. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused. Dionysus got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite as his wife. [citation needed]
Hera, the enemy of Heracles
Hera was the stepmother and enemy of Heracles, who was named "Hera-famous"[15] in her honor; Heracles is the hero who, more than even Perseus, Cadmus or Theseus, introduced the Olympian ways in Greece.[16] When Alcmene was pregnant with Heracles, Hera tried to prevent the birth from occurring by tying Alcmene's legs in knots. She was foiled by Galanthis, her servant, who told Hera that she had already delivered the baby. Hera turned her into a weasel.
While Heracles was still an infant, Hera sent two
One account of the origin of the Milky Way is that Zeus had tricked Hera into nursing the infant Heracles: discovering who he was, she pulled him from her breast, and a spurt of her milk formed the smear across the sky that can be seen to this day. The Etruscans pictured a full-grown bearded Heracles at Hera's breast: however, this may refer to his adoption by her when he became an Immortal. He had previously wounded her severely in the breast.
Some myths state that Hera befriended Heracles for saving her from a giant who tried to rape her, and that she even gave her daughter
The Twelve Labors
Hera assigned Heracles to labor for King Eurystheus at Mycenae. She attempted to make almost each of Heracles' twelve labors more difficult.
When he fought the
Eurystheus also wanted to sacrifice the
The young Hera
Hera was most known as the matron goddess, Hera Teleia; but she presided over weddings as well. In myth and cult, fragmentary references and archaic practices remain of the
Hera was also worshipped as a virgin: There was a tradition in
Echo
For a long time, a
Leto and Artemis/Apollo
When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Zeus was the father, she banned Leto from giving birth on "terra-firma", or the mainland, or any island at sea. Leto found the floating island of Delos, which was surrounded by swans. The island was neither mainland nor a real island, and Leto was able to give birth to her children on the island. As a gesture of gratitude, Delos was secured with four pillars. The island later became sacred to Apollo. Alternatively, Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the Goddess of Childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods forced Hera to let her go. Either way, Artemis was born first and then assisted with the birth of Apollo. Some versions say Artemis helped her mother give birth to Apollo for nine days. Another variation states that Artemis was born one day before Apollo, on the island of Ortygia and that she helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo.[26]
Callisto and Arcas
Hera also figures in the myth of Callisto and Arcas.
A follower of Artemis, Callisto took a
Another alternate version: Artemis killed Callisto in bear form, deliberately.
Semele and Dionysus
When Hera learned that Semele, daughter of Cadmus King of Thebes, was pregnant by Zeus, she disguised herself as Semele's nurse and persuaded the princess to insist that Zeus show himself to her in his true form. When he was compelled to do so, his thunder and lightning blasted her. Zeus took the child and completed its gestation sewn into his own thigh. Another variation is when Hera persuades Semele to force Zeus to show himself in his real form. Unfortunately, he must do what the princess wants, having sworn by Styx.[20] In another version, Dionysus was originally the son of Zeus by either Demeter or Persephone. Hera sent her Titans to rip the baby apart, from which he was called Zagreus ("Torn in Pieces"). Zeus rescued the heart and gave it to Semele to impregnate her; or, the heart was saved, variously, by Athena, Rhea, or Demeter.[27] Zeus used the heart to recreate Dionysus and implant him in the womb of Semele--hence Dionysus became known as "the twice-born". Certain versions imply that Zeus gave Semele the heart to eat to impregnate her. Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to show his true form, which killed her. But Dionysus managed to rescue her from the underworld and have her live on Mount Olympus.
See also Dionysus' birth for other variations.
Io
Hera almost caught Zeus with a mistress named Io, a fate avoided by Zeus turning Io into a beautiful white heifer. However, Hera was not completely fooled and demanded that Zeus give her the heifer as a present.
Once Io was given to Hera, she placed her in the charge of
Lamia
Gerana
Other stories involving Hera
Cydippe
This honor bestowed upon the children was later used by Solon as a proof while trying to convince Croesus that it is impossible to judge a person's happiness until they have died a fruitful death after a joyous life.[29]
Tiresias
The Iliad
According to the Iliad, during the Trojan War, Diomedes fought Hector and saw Ares fighting on the Trojans' side. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera, Ares' mother, saw Ares' interference and asked Zeus, Ares' father, for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares and he threw his spear at the god. Athena drove the spear into Ares' body, and he bellowed in pain and fled to Mt. Olympus, forcing the Trojans to fall back.
The Golden Fleece
Hera played an important role during the Quest of the Golden Fleece. She was troubled at the dangers the Argonauts faced and asked Aphrodite's for her help.[20] Aphrodite, surprised by Hera's visit, willingly agreed. Together, the two goddesses decided that Eros would make the princess Medea, daughter of the Colchian King, fall in love with Jason.
Pelias
Hera hated Pelias for having murdered Sidero, his step-grandmother, in a temple to Hera. She later manipulated Jason and Medea to kill Pelias.
The Metamorphoses
In
See also
Notes
- ^ Burkert, p. 131.
- ^ Chadwick, The Mycenaean World (Cambridge University Press) 1976:87.
- ^ Windekens, in Glotta 36 (1958), pp. 309-11.
- ^ Her name appears, with Zeus and Hermes, in a Linear B inscription (Tn 316) at Mycenean Pylos (John Chadwick, The Mycenaean World [Cambridge University Press] 1976:89).
- ^ P.C. Sestieri, Paestum, the City, the Prehistoric Acropolis in Contrada Gaudo, and the Heraion at the Mouth of the Sele (Rome 1960), p. 11 etc. "It is odd that there was no temple dedicated to Poseidon in a city named for him (Paestum was originally called Poseidonia). Perhaps there was one at Sele, the settlement that preceded Paestum," Sarantis Symeonoglou suggested (Symeonoglou, "The Doric Temples of Paestum" Journal of Aesthetic Education, 19.1, Special Issue: Paestum and Classical Culture: Past and Present [Spring 1985:49-66] p. 50.
- ^ Martin Persson Nilsson, The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in Greek Religion (Lund) 1950 pt. I.ii "House Sanctuaries", pp 77-116; H. W. Catling, "A Late Bronze Age House- or Sanctuary-Model from the Menelaion, Sparta," BSA 84 (1989) 171-175.
- ^ Burkert, p. 132, including quote; Burkert: Orientalizing Revolution.
- Mistress of the Beasts, and Mistress of the Sacrifice, even Hera and Demeter."
- ^ Iliad, ii. 781-783)
- ^ The Iliad by Homer - Project Gutenberg
- ^ Bachofen, Mutterrecht 1861, translated as Mother Right: An Investigation of the Religious and Juridical Character of Matriarchy in the Ancient World. Bachofen was seminal in the writings of Jane Ellen Harrison and other students of Greek myth.
- ^ Slater 1968.
- ^ Seznec, Jean, The Survival of the Pagan Gods : Mythological Tradition in Renaissance Humanism and Art, 1953
- ^ Pausanias, iii. 15. § 7
- Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, s.v. Hera: "Heraberühmte"
- ^ Ruck and Staples
- ^ Noted by Apollonius of Rhodes in Argonautica, i.855; Pindar, Pythian Ode iv, 253
- ^ Kerenyi, The Heroes of the Greeks 1959 p 134.
- ^ Kerenyi, p 131
- ^ a b c d e Hamilton, Edith (1969). "Mythology".
- ^ Farnell, I 191,
- ^ Pausanias, 9.2.7- 9.3.3; Pausanias explains this by telling the myth of the Daedala.
- ^ Farnell, I 194, citing Pausanias 8.22.2' Pindar refers to the "praises of Hera Parthenia [the Maidenly]" Olympian ode 6.88
- ^ S. Casson: "Hera of Kanathos and the Ludovisi Throne" The Journal of Hellenic Studies 40.2 (1920), pp. 137-142, citing Stephanus of Byzantium sub Ernaion.
- ^ Pausanias, 2.38.
- ^ Leto "finally reached Delos and gave birth to Artemis, who thereupon helped her deliver Apollo. Artemis became a practised huntress and remained a virgin." (Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheke 1.21).
- ^ Seyffert Dictionary
- peacock (Greek taos), not native to Greece or Western Asia, was unknown to Hellenes until the time of Alexander the Great.
- ^ Herodotus' History, Book I
- Metamorphoses6.87
Sources
- Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion 1985.
- Burkert, Walter, The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, 1998
- Farnell, Lewis Richard, The cults of the Greek states I: Zeus, Hera Athena Oxford, 1896.
- Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths 1955. Use with caution.
- Kerenyi, Carl, The Gods of the Greeks 1951 (paperback 1980)
- Kerenyi, Karl, 1959. The Heroes of the Greeks Especially Heracles.
- Ruck, Carl A.P., and Danny Staples, The World of Classical Myth 1994
- Seyffert, Oskar. Dictionary of Classical Antiquities 1894. (On-line text)
- Seznec, Jean, The Survival of the Pagan Gods : Mythological Tradition in Renaissance Humanism and Art, 1953
- Slater, Philip E. The Glory of Hera : Greek Mythology and the Greek Family (Boston: Beacon Press) 1968 (Princeton University 1992 ISBN 0-691-00222-3) Concentrating on family structure in 5th-century Athens; some of the crude usage of myth and drama for psychological interpreting of "neuroses" is dated.