Greek Mythology

HERA - goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth

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ABAE

Goddess of: Women, marriage, and childbirth

Symbols: Pomegranate, lily, cow, cuckoo, lutus, and peacock
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Children: Ares, Eris, Hebe, Eileithyia, and Hephaestus
Spouse: Zeus (also her brother)
Abode: Mount Olympus
Roman name: Juno

Hera (Roman name: Juno) is the wife of Zeus and queen of the
ancient Greek gods. She represented the ideal woman, was the goddess of
marriage and the family, and protectress of women in childbirth. Although
always faithful herself, Hera was most famous for her jealous and vengeful
nature, principally aimed against the lovers of her husband and their illegitimate
chldren.

In Greek mythology, Hera was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and mother
of Ares (god of war), Hebe (goddess of youth), and Eileithyia (goddess of
childbirth), all with Zeus. Hera also gave birth alone to Hephaistos (god of
metallurgy) in retaliation for Zeus' similarly single-handed birth of Athena.
However, Hera threw Hephaistos from Mount Olympus because of his ugliness,
and crashing to earth, the god became lame. In other accounts, Hephaistos was
thrown from the heavens by Zeus precisely because of his lameness. In any case,
Hephaistos held a grudge against his mother and even imprisoned her in a special
throne. Hera was only released from the device by promising her son the hand
of Aphrodite in marriage.
Hera constantly battled with her husband's infidelity and she often took swift
revenge. Leto was so punished through Hera promising to curse any land that

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gave the pregnant goddess refuge. Only after months of wanderings could Leto
find a place (Delos) to give birth to her son, the god Apollo. Even then, Hera had
her daughter Eileithyia prolong the labour to nine months.

In various versions, a very popular myth

involved Hera, Zeus, and Io. In some
accounts, the queen of the gods turned
Io, who was one her own priestesses and
a former princess of Argos, into a cow to
deter Zeus' advances, but in other
versions, it was Zeus who turned the girl
into a white cow, either to secretly
rendezvous with her or to persuade Hera
that he was not really interested in Io.
However, Hera discovered their
courting, took custody of the cow. and
set the one- hundred-eyed Argos to
guard her. Zeus then
employed Hermes to lull Argos to sleep
and kill him. In memory, Hera then set his
100 eyes on the wings of a bird - the
peacock. Finally, not to be outdone, the
Greek goddess sent a gadfly to
continually pester the unfortunate Io.
MORAL OF THE STORY:

Even though she had many issues with jealousy, Hera did do some good deeds
for the Greek people. As the goddess of life and protector of marriage and
childbirth, Hera is remembered with great honor because of her importance to
the Greeks in their everyday lives

HERA SISON 8 DARWIN

 Greek Mythology
Aphrodite - goddess of love

Source: http://www.greek-mythology-pantheon.com/aphrodite-venus-greek-goddess-of-love-beauty-pleasure-and-
procreation/

Goddess of: Love and beauty

Symbols: Swan, mirror, apple, scallop shell
Parents: Uranus (or Zeus and Dione)
Children: Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Aeneas
Spouse: Hephaestus
Abode: Mount Olympus
Roman name: Venus

It is said that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, was born when
she emerged from the foam and waves of the sea. Her mysterious birth gives her
an air of mystery that she carries with her in her encounters with all people. She
enchants all those who come in contact with her and humans and gods alike all
fall for her charms.
There are, however, some stories about her that stand out more than others. Who
was Aphrodite and what role did she play in Greek Mythology? Here is an
overview of some of the best stories.

Story of Aphrodite’s Birth

There are a few stories that try to explain Aphrodite’s birth. In one story, she was
formed in the sea after Cronus castrated Uranus. Another story says that Zeus, king
of the gods, and his lover, Dione, were her parents. No matter how she was born,
all stories do agree that she was both sensual and beautiful and that she
enchanted everyone she came in contact with.

What Aphrodite Looked Like

Aphrodite is always depicted as being a beautiful, young woman. She has long
hair and a garment that enhances her feminine shape. She is looked at as being
the most beautiful female in the world, and the standard to which all women
compare themselves. Her ultimate symbol is her girdle where it is said much of her

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feminine power lies. Her other symbols include the golden apple, dolphins, roses,
a mirror, and a swan.

Story of the Golden Apple

Three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite,
were in competition wondering which of them
was the most beautiful. So, they enlisted the help
of Paris, who chose Aphrodite as the most
desirable. Each of the goddesses promised Paris
something if they chose her as the most
beautiful.

Because Aphrodite made a promise to Paris to

make her his wife, this gave her a competitive
advantage over the other goddesses, which
made her the victor. Aphrodite’s reward was the
Golden Apple, a symbol of her beauty. When
Paris took Helen as his wife, it wound up causing
the Trojan War.

Goddess of Love Gets Married

Aphrodite’s husband is Hephaestus, a god who, despite his strong profession as a
blacksmith, is painted as being too meek to control her. In fact, once Zeus realized
Aphrodite’s nature, he knew she needed to have a husband who would tolerate
her wild and sensual habits. He chose Hephaestus because he knew it would help
prevent too many people from fighting over her.

Though she had a husband, Aphrodite did have many lovers. Among these were
Ares, Hermes, Poseidon, Adonis, and Dionysius. She also had several children, most
with different paternity. Among these were Eros, whose Roman equivalent is
Cupid. We understand Cupid as shooting an arrow, which compels us to love
whomever we see.

As you can see, Aphrodite is a great symbol of love and beauty. The Ancient
Greeks were fond of depicting her as a beautiful, young maiden. She was known
for being a sensual goddess who had many lovers. Though she was hard to
control, she did have an important place in ancient mythology.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

The lesson of Aphrodite is that love is healthy and necessary for life. To live a life
without love is a dead thing.

HERA SISON 8 DARWIN

 Greek Mythology
Artemis – Goddess of Hunting

SOURCE: http://www.greek-mythology-pantheon.com/?s=ARTEMIS

Artemis Facts

 Artemis came from a powerful family. Her father was Zeus, the king of the
gods. Her mother, Leto, was a Titan. Apollo, the god of music, was her twin
brother.
 Artemis was the goddess of hunting, nature, and the moon. She carried a
silver bow and hunted with a pack of dogs.
 Artemis was also closely linked to women. She protected girls, pregnant
women, and those in childbirth.
 Young women who were preparing to get married gave some of their old
toys as a gift to Artemis before the wedding. This gift was a rite of passage
from child to woman.
 Artemis used her power to help humans she liked, such as the hero Aeneas.
In contrast, Artemis punished those who angered her, like the human
Actaeon.
 The ancient Greeks worshipped Artemis by building temples and
sanctuaries. One of her most famous temples was the Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus. It was one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World.

Artemis was the daughter of Leto and Zeus, and the twin of Apollo. She is the
goddess of the wilderness, the hunt and wild animals, and fertility. She is the
helpers of midwives as a goddess of birth.
In one legend, Artemis was born one day before her brother Apollo. Her mother
gave birth to her on the island of Ortygia, then, almost immediately after her birth,
she helped her mother to cross the straits over to Delos, where she then delivered
Apollo. This was the beginning of her role as guardian of young children and
patron of women in childbirth. Being a goddess of contradictions, she was the
protectors of women in labor, but it was said that the arrows of Artemis brought
them sudden death while giving birth. As was her brother, Apollo, Artemis was a

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divinity of healing, but also brought and spread diseases such as leprosy, rabies
and even gout.
Artemis with her twin brother, Apollo, put
to death the children of Niobe. The
reason being that Niobe, a mere mortal,
had boasted to Leto, the mother of the
divine twins, that she had bore more
children, which must make her superior
to Leto. Apollo being outraged at such
an insult on his mother, informed
Artemis. The twin gods hunted them
down and shot them with their bows
and arrows; Apollo killed the male
children and Artemis the girls.
Artemis was worshiped in most Greek
cities but only as a secondary deity.
However, to the Greeks in Asia Minor
(modern day Turkey) she was a
prominent deity. In Ephesus, a principal
city of Asia Minor, a great temple was
built in her honor, which became one of
the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World". But at Ephesus she was worshiped mainly as a fertility goddess, and was
identified with Cybele the mother goddess of eastern lands. The cult statues of
the Ephesian Artemis differ greatly from those of mainland Greece, whereas she
is depicted as a huntress with her bow and arrows. Those found at Ephesus show
her in the eastern style, standing erect with numerous nodes on her chest.

There have been many theories as to what they represent. Some say they are
breasts, others that they are bulls testes which were sacrificed to her. So the true
interpretation remains uncertain, we can say that each represents fertility. She
carried to her own temple on her head as the protector of her own temple. But
on the very night Alexander the Great was born in 356 in Macedonia, she could
not keep her own temple in Ephesus. Because she was helping the birth of the
important person. Later Ephesians understood it. When they told this Alexander
the Great after his conquest of Anatolia, he gave the city special privileges.
Being associated with chastity, Artemis at an early age asked her father Zeus to
grant her eternal virginity. Also, all her companions were virgins. Artemis was very
protective of her purity, and gave grave punishment to any man who attempted
to dishonor her in any form. Actaeon, while out hunting, accidentally came upon
Artemis and her nymphs, who bathing naked in a secluded pool. Seeing them in
all their naked beauty, the stunned Actaeon stopped and gazed at them, but
when Artemis saw him ogling them, she transformed him into a stag. Then,
incensed with disgust, she set his own hounds upon him.
They chased and killed what they thought was another stag, but it was their
master. As with Orion, a giant and a great hunter, there are several legends which
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tell of his death, one involving Artemis. It is said that he tried to rape the virgin
goddess, so killed him with her bow and arrows. Another says she conjured up a
scorpion which killed Orion and his dog. Orion became a constellation in the night
sky, and his dog became Sirius, the dog star. Yet another version says it was the
scorpion which stung him and was transformed into the constellation with Orion,
the later being Scorpio.

MORAL OF THE STORY

 Love your family and it always comes first.

 It is good not to trust many people.
 Sometimes being devious pays off.
 It is sometimes good not to know everything

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