Hera

HERA was the Queen of the gods, and goddess of the sky, women and marriage.

Hera was the jealous sister & wife of Zeus (king of all gods). she is a godess and patron of marriage and childbirth. in several myths she was vindictive to those who Zeus fell in love with.

Stories including Hera

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 4. 4 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The Samians themselves hold that the goddess [Hera] was born in the island by the side of the river Imbrasos under the willow that even in my time grew in the Heraion (temple of Hera)."

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

She was also known to turn her anger towards mortals who crossed her as well – for example, Paris, who chose Aphrodite over Hera as the most beautiful goddess at the marriage of the sea-nymph Thetis to a mortal called Peleus.

In images and statues, Hera is portrayed as being majestic and solemn, crowned with the polos – a high cylindrical crown worn by many of the Great Goddesses.

Facts about Hera

• Hera was Queen of the Olympian gods.
• She was the wife and sister of Zeus.
• Hera was a jealous wife, and she fought with Zeus frequently over his extramarital affairs and illegitimate children. For this reason, Hera was known for punishing offending husbands.
• She was the protector of women, presiding over marriages and births.
• While Hera was worshipped in all parts of Greece, temples were erected in her honor at Argos and Salmos.
• The peacock was sacred to her.
• Hera had few, if any, redeeming qualities. She never forgot an injury.
• The Titans Ocean and Tethys brought her up.
• Hera is often described as “cow-faced,” although she was also called the chief among the immortals in beauty.
• Though she may have been physically attractive, her vindictive personality makes her less so.
• The Trojan War would have ended in peace, but Hera had a vested interest in its outcome and influenced Zeus to either switch sides or remain neutral.
• Hera had no concept of justice when angry or jealous; she could not forgive the women with whom Zeus had sexual relations—even if they were innocent of wrongdoing.
• Ilithyia, a daughter of Hera’s, assisted women in childbirth.
• In the story of the Quest of the Golden Fleece, Hera was a gracious protector of the heroes.
• Paris awarded Aphrodite the Golden Apple over Athena and Hera.
• Hera punished one of Zeus’s love interests, Io, by putting her in the charge of Argus. Argus had a hundred eyes and kept vigilant watch over her so that Zeus could not come to her aid.
• Hera turned Callisto into a bear because Zeus fell in love with her.
• Hera arranged the death of Semele, another of Zeus’s mortal conquests, although she did not directly cause it.
• Hera never forgave Hercules for being Zeus’s son, but when Hercules died and was taken to heaven, he and Hera reconciled. While in heaven, Hercules married Hera’s daughter Hebe.
• In some stories, it was at Hera’s orders that Dionysus was torn to pieces. He was brought back to life, and it is this resurrection that was celebrated in theatres.

http://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/hera/