Born by the titans Cronus and Rhea, Hera was Zeus' sister and later on became also his wife.
The royal wedding of Zeus and Hera was celebrated with exceptional splendour. The couple gave birth to four children; Eilithyia, the goddess who was protecting the childbirth, Ares, the Olympian god of war, Hebe, the goddess of youth and Hephaestus, the Olympian god of metallurgy. According to some beliefs, Hephaestus was born without the intervention of Zeus.
The peacock and the pomegranate as a symbol of fertility
A beautiful, mature woman wearing an ornate crown and golden sandals
Although Hera was one of the fairest goddesses in Mount Olympus, Zeus was giving Hera plenty of reason to be suspicious and jealous; Hera therefore was used to stay in high places in order to keep an eye on her husband's doings. Many times she was also interfering, causing harm to Zeus' mistresses, since Zeus himself was invincible. Most of all, Hera was in conflict with the semi-god and hero Heracles, since he happened to be the son of her husband Zeus and a mortal woman.
Oddly enough, Hera, besides being a mother, also embodied the eternal virginity, since she was anually renewing her virginity by bathing in the spring of Canathus in Nauplia(Peloponnes). Hera therefore was considered as one of the three virgin goddesses in ancient Greece, next to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and Hestia, the goddess of the hearth.
