Hera
Hera EuropeLiterally, ‘lady’. The earth goddess of Argos, a pre-Greek deity, assimilated as the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, and the sister-wife of Zeus. She was the protectress of marriage, childbirth, and the home. Often her jealousy and quarrelsomeness led to disaster for gods, heroes, and men, when she harried Zeus' mistresses and persecuted their children. Against the baby Heracles, whom Zeus begot on Alcmene, she sent two serpents, but the infant hero strangled them in his cradle. This ancient superman, however, was eventually the victim of Hera's ‘harsh anger’. When Zeus bore Athena without her assistance, Hera gave birth to Typhaon without him. This terrible creature resembled neither gods nor men, and is reminiscent of the monster Typhon, which challenged Zeus on behalf of the original earth goddess Gaia.
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