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The Olympian gods were very human in their emotions and behaviors. They too experienced jealousy, envy and were vengeful and were often more irrational and unpredictable than people. A particularly good example of this is the Queen of the Gods Hera, who was vindictive, vengeful and cunning. Her relationship with her husband the King of the Gods, Zeus was turbulent, to say the least.
The King of the Olympian deities was notorious for his many sexual relationships with humans and demi-gods and he . He had many numerous children with his lovers. Hera was constantly betrayed by her husband and he made to look foolish. Hera's hatred of Zeus was justified and she sought revenge against many of his lovers.
====Who is Hera?====
After Zeus destroyed the giants, Hera prayed to Gaia, the Earth Mother, for a son who would be the equal of Zeus. Gaia heard her prayers and enabled her to have a child on her own. Gaia told Hera to Cronus asked her to give him two eggs that had been smeared with his semen. Hera buried them and Typhoon a giant sea monster emerged from them. However, soon after is birth, Hera reconciled with Zeus the King of the Gods and told him about the monster. Later, Zeus battled Typhoon for control of the cosmos and he emerged victorious.<ref> Renehan, p. 113</ref> Zeus did not blame Hera and they continued to be married, even if it was not domestic bliss.
====Hera and Hercules=====
Hercules is one of the greatest heroes of Greek mythology. The tales of his Seven Labors were very popular in the Ancient World. Hercules was a demi-god and the son of Zeus and Alcmene. Alcmene was married when Zeus impregnated her. Hera in nearly every account hated Hercules. Not only was she angered by Zeus’ betrayals’ but she feared that the child would eventually be the heir of the King of the Gods.
In many stories, Hera hates him so much that she attempted to kill Hercules when he was an infant. She sent two snakes to kill the infant in his cradle, but remarkably Hercules managed to kill the snakes. Alcemne was so worried about the wrath of Hera that she abandoned her infant son on a slope, which was a common form of infanticide in the Greek World. However, Athena, his half-sister Athena managed to save him. She deceived Hera into thinking that he was dead. Later when Hercules reached manhood and began his labors, the Queen of the Gods did all in her considerable power to harm the son of Zeus. Later they were reconciled with the King of the Gods and Hercules married her daughter Hebe.<ref>Powell, p. 89</ref>
====Semele and Dionysus====Zeus had an affair with Semele the beautiful daughter of Cadmus, the Theban King. Zeus disguised himself so that he could have an affair with Semele. Hera found out about the affair and she decided to have her revenge. She disguised herself as a nurse and tricked Zeus to show himself in his true form to Semele and when . When he did turned into his true form his thunder and lightning destroyed his beloved. Zeus took killed Semele's unborn child and completed its gestation by sewing it into his own thigh. He later became the god of Dionysus, the deity of wine and all forms of intoxication. It is also claimed in some accounts of this God, that he later retrieved his mother from the realm of the dead. This was probably at a time when Zeus and Hera were on good terms<ref>Powell, p. 89</ref>.
Zeus took Semele's unborn child and completed its gestation by sewing it into his own thigh. He later became the god of Dionysus, the deity of wine and all forms of intoxication. It is also claimed in some accounts of this God, that he later retrieved his mother from the realm of the dead. This was probably at a time when Zeus and Hera were on good terms.<ref>Powell, p. 89</ref> ====Io and Hera====Another one of the more prominent affairs of Zeus was with Io, who was ironically a priestess of Hera. When the Goddess heard about this she was furious, and she turned the unfortunate Io into a white cow. Now Hera knew that Zeus would transform the white heifer back into her old female form and continue the affair. She had a 100 eyed giant Argos, to keep watch on the heifer and to tell her if Zeus tried to change her back to her human form. Zeus, as cunning as ever, sent Hermes and he lulled the 100 eyed monster to sleep and killed it. Io in the form of the white heifer escaped. The Queen of the Gods saw this and she sent a gadfly to torment the heifer. Io in the form of the cow was driven half-mad by the gadfly.<ref>Powell, p. 99</ref>. It was typical of the cruelty of Hera, who was shown in the myths to be given to fits of rage. Later when Hera had become reconciled to Zeus it seems that Io was turned back into her old form by Zeus. It is believed to have She later married a future King of Egypt.
====Conclusion====
Still, she had genuine feelings for her husband. Hera was worshipped in a society that believed in vengeance and its morality was very different from those from the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Hera's cruelty was legendary. However, this would not have shocked the Greeks. Nor would her hatred of Zeus' the lovers be seen as immoral but would have been deemed to be understandable. However, it must be remembered that while Hera often hated Zeus, because of his infidelities, they continued to live together in Olympus.
====Further Reading====Hansen, Randall, and William F. Hansen. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576072266/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1576072266&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=b36bb079c0b18dd10b2365b100d13a26 Handbook of classical mythology]. Abc-clio, 2004. Morford, Mark PO, and Robert J. Lenardon. [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0190851643/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0190851643&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=b928c6051a566b381addfc3ad50fbaf2 Classical mythology]. Oxford University Press, USA, 1999.
