Argumentative Essay On Hera

There are many gods and goddesses, but only one can be the queen. Hera, also known as Juno in her Roman form, was the goddess of marriage, women, and birth (Facts, Pg. 2,3). The daughter of Cronus and Rhea, had five siblings: Demeter, Hestia, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus (Facts, Pg. 3 and Olympian Gods, Pg. 2). Hera became the Queen of the Gods after she married her brother, Zeus, who was the ruler of the gods. Together, they had five children: Ares, Eileithyia, Eris, Hebe, and Hephaestus (Hera, Pg. 1,2). Hera’s life was overtaken with her revenge against Zeus and her jealousy towards her husband’s many lovers.

Hera’s relationship with Zeus was not the finest. Zeus had fallen in love with Hera, and after many attempts to court her, he decided to trick her. The god made himself into a cuckoo bird and acted like he was paralyzed by the chilly air. Feeling sorry for the bird, Hera held it to her body in attempts to warm it up. Changing back into his godly form, Zeus came upon Hera and raped her. Wanting to cover up what Zeus had done to her, Hera agreed to marry him. However, she wanted revenge on Zeus, and tried to overthrow his ruling. She and the other gods and

goddesses planned to overthrow Zeus when he had been too cruel to them. They tied him up to a chair while he was unconscious from Hera drugging his drink. While fighting over who would take over as the new ruler of Olympus, Briareus, a Hekatoncheir, found Zeus and untied him. Zeus recovered from his unconsciousness and lashed out at the gods. After they pleaded for forgiveness, Zeus then turned to Hera. He chained Hera by her wrists and hung her from the sky with weights attached to her feet. Zeus freed her under the one condition that she would never attempt to overthrow him again, and she promised him (Hera, Pg. 2,3).
Hera never fully forgave Zeus for wrong doings against her.

Being a very jealous woman, she tortured many of his mistresses for their relationships with him (Hera, Pg. 3). Two of these women were Callisto and Semele. Callisto was a follower of Artemis, and being one of Artemis’ followers requires one to stay a virgin. Knowing she would not accept him as a lover, Zeus came to her in the form of Artemis. Transforming back into himself, Zeus then took advantage of Callisto. Artemis soon kicked Callisto out after discovering she was pregnant with Zeus’ child. Hera took this as her chance to torture Callisto. The goddess turned Callisto into a bear. Callisto, in the form of a bear, died when she was hunted by Artemis. Feeling sorry for Callisto, Zeus turned her into the constellation Ursa Major (Lee, Pg.

1).
Another woman Zeus had fallen in love with was Semele. Hera was unhappy with Semele’s involvement with Zeus. Hera came to Semele in another form, unrecognizable. She told Semele she should not trust Zeus’ claims that he was not mortal, and said that she should ask to see him in his godly form. Semele, falling for Hera’s trick, then asked Zeus if he would give her anything she wanted. After Zeus promised her this, Semele then ordered him to show himself in his godly form. Not wanting to break his promise, the god revealed himself, causing Semele to instantly catch fire and burn to death. Knowing that Semele was pregnant, Zeus took the child and put it in his thigh, where it could grow. The baby, named Dionysus, later became the god of wine and theater (Semele, Pg. 1,2).
Although, Hera did not successfully overthrow her husband, Zeus, she was successful in her attempts to get revenge on his lovers. Sadly, many attempts resulted in death for her victims. Hera was considered a fair goddess, but her actions towards Zeus’ lovers would suggest otherwise (Hera, Pg. 1). Hera’s jealousy against these women consumed her and her ways of living.