God
Hera
Queen of the Olympian gods, goddess of marriage and childbirth.
Hera is the queen of the Olympian gods and the wife and sister of Zeus in Greek mythology. As goddess of marriage and the protector of women, she is one of the twelve Olympians. Daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, she was swallowed by Cronus at birth and later freed when Zeus forced their father to disgorge his children. Hera is recorded prominently in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and in Hesiod's Theogony.
Quick facts
- Pantheon
- Greek
- Figure type
- God
- Period
- Attested from at least the 8th century BCE; Linear B tablets confirm Di-wi-ja (her consort) c. 1400 BCE
- Primary sources
- Hesiod Theogony 453–456; Homer Iliad 1.540–569; Apollodorus Bibliotheca 1.3.1
- Related figures
- zeus, poseidon, demeter, athena, ares, hephaestus, heracles
Mythology and cult
Hera was one of the six children of Cronus and Rhea swallowed at birth and later freed. She became the consort of Zeus after a lengthy courtship described in the Iliad (14.295–296). Her primary sanctuaries were the Heraion of Samos and the Heraion of Argos, the latter among the oldest Greek temples. As goddess of marriage, Hera presided over the sacred union between husband and wife. The peacock and the cow were her sacred animals, and the pomegranate her sacred fruit.
Role in the Trojan War
In Homer's Iliad, Hera is a staunch supporter of the Greek forces against Troy, her enmity toward the Trojans stemming from the Judgment of Paris, in which the Trojan prince awarded the golden apple 'to the fairest' to Aphrodite rather than to Hera or Athena. Hera repeatedly intervenes in the war, often in conflict with Zeus, who favors the Trojans. She famously seduces Zeus on Mount Ida to distract him from the battlefield (Iliad 14.159–360).
Sources & further reading (2)
- primary-source — accessed 2026-05-06
- encyclopedia — accessed 2026-05-06
Frequently asked questions
What is Hera the goddess of?
Hera is the goddess of marriage, women, and the family in ancient Greek religion. She is also associated with childbirth and queenship. As the wife of Zeus and queen of Olympus, she holds the highest rank among the Olympian goddesses. Her cult was particularly strong in Argos and Samos, where the earliest monumental Greek temples were built in her honour.
Who are the children of Hera?
According to Hesiod's Theogony, Hera bore Ares (god of war), Hephaestus (god of the forge), Eileithyia (goddess of childbirth), and Hebe (goddess of youth) with Zeus. Hesiod also states that Hera bore Hephaestus parthenogenetically (without a father), in parallel to Zeus's parthenogenetic birth of Athena (Theogony 927–929).
