Hera : The Jealous Wife

(c) Alyssa Lola

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The goddess I chose was Hera. She is considered as the Queen of the Gods since she is the beloved other half of Zeus, the King of the Gods. She is one of the Olympian Gods who reside in Mount Olympus. She was an offspring of Cronus and Rhea. The pomegranate, peacock, feather, diadem, cow and lily are her symbols. Her siblings include Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Zeus and Chiron. Yes, she was his brother's spouse. Zeus and Hera's children include Ares, Enyo, Hebe, Eileithyia, Hephaestus and Eris. Her Roman counterpart is Juno.]

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 sacred marriage of Hera and Zeus, and at Plataea, there was a sculpture of Hera seated as a bride by Callimachus, as well as the matronly standing Hera.

Hades : The Lord Beneath the Soles, The Keeper of Our Souls.

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Lord of the dead and ruler of the whole nether world, Hades is one of the most powerful gods of “Ancient Greek Mythology”. Hades is a very interesting god for he possesses the life and death of each and every human being on earth, as believed by the ancient Greeks. Hades, in Greek terms, means “unseen” because he is trapped to rule the underworld, invisible from the surface world.

Hades is the son of Cronus and Rhea. When the three sons of Cronus divided the world among each other, Hades was given the underworld, while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon took the upperworld and the sea respectively. For a while Hades ruled the underworld together with Persephone, whom he had abducted from the upperworld, but Zeus ordered him to release Persephone back into the care of her mother Demeter. However, before she left he gave her a pomegranate and when she ate of it, it bound her to the underworld forever.

Hera : The Queen of the Gods

Wazzup Pilipinas!

There’s something about the Greek Gods and Goddesses that we like.  It may be because of their appearance (Aprhodite), their intelligence (Athena), their courage (Ares), their power (Zeus) and whatever characteristics they may have, they still appeal to us no matter what generation we belong to. And somehow we come to a point where we write something about them.  Just like what I’m doing now.  I’m going to give a tribute to one of the most known Goddesses, the wife of Zeus, Goddess Hera.

Hera is known as Zeus’ wife and I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but she is also a sister of Zeus.  They have the same parents, Kronos and Rhea, but she was raised by the Titans Ocean and Tethys.  She has 6 children namely: Hebe (goddess of youth), Eilithyia (goddess of childbirth and midwifery), Enyo (minor goddess of war), Eris (goddess of discord and strife), Ares (god of war), and Hephaestus (god of metalworking, smithing, sculpture, masonry, fire and volcanoes).  She is a very powerful Goddess not only because she is the queen of the gods, but also because she was the protector of marriage, and married women were under her care.