HERA THE GODDESS OF MARRIAGE

The goddess of marriage and birth, and queen of Olympus, she was both the wife and sister of Zeus. She is usually seen with a scepter, a diadem, a cow, or peacock. She bore Zeus many children, including Ares, but also was tested by his incessant infidelity. She punished her rivals and their offspring, and even Zeus feared her wrath at times. She represented the ideal of married womanhood, being beautiful, stately, and very clever.

She drove Heracles mad to the point that he killed his own children and those of his brother. After recovering his sanity he sought advice from the Oracle of Delhi for penance to resume a normal life. She instructed him to perform his famous twelve labors. These included killing beasts like the Nemean Lion (which he strangled) and the Hydra, capturing other beasts, and a variety of other quests. With the twelve labors complete, he was allowed to return to Thebes and remarry. Heracles died much later after being treacherously poisoned by a Centaur who had tried to abduct his wife.