HERA & JUNO
Hey, demigods! This week’s battle of the Gods, or should I say the battle of the Goddesses, is full of female power. The first goddesses who we’re going to compare in this series are Hera & Juno. Juno is often been seen as the Roman version of Juno, but is that correct? Ready to find out?
Hera: Hera is the queen of the gods, lady of the skies & goddess of marriage, family & birth. She’s one of the most worshiped goddesses and has a very high temperament. She’s married to her brother Zeus: the king of the gods, lord of the skies & god of lightning, thunder & the sky. Although Hera is the goddess of marriage, is her own marriage not so happy. Zeus is known for his little adventures with other women. Hera doesn’t like that and becomes jealous. She spends most of her time planning and getting revenge on Zeus’ girlfriends and their children. She’s also the mother of the 2 Olympians Ares & Hephaistos. When Hephaistos was born, Hera thought he was so ugly that she threw him from Mount Olympus to Lemnos (a small island in the Aegean sea) and eventually took Hephaistos his revenge on Hera. The cow, peacock & crow are the animals that are dedicated to Hera. Hera can often be seen wearing white, holding a staff with a lotus flower on it, and sometimes wearing a crown.
Juno: Juno or Iuno is the queen of the gods, lady of the skies & goddess of marriage, family & birth. Juno is also the goddess of bright light and the full moon, while Hera doesn’t have to do anything with the moon or light. Juno is one of the most worshiped goddesses. Juno is married to her brother Jupiter: king of the gods, lord of the skies, protector of the Roman Empire & god of the sky, lightning & thunder. Jupiter is known, just like Zeus, for his many adventures with other women. Juno is, instead of Hera, not very jealous and instead of getting revenge on Jupiter’s other lovers and children, she protects them. In the Greek mythology is Herakles named after Hera to protect him from her revenge, in the Roman mythology is he named Hercules because Juno didn’t really want to take revenge. She’s the protector of children & family and is also the protectress of the Roman empire. She’s also the mother of Mars & Vulcanus, the Roman versions of Ares & Hephaistos. Juno has many names, the one that was the most common and the most used in Italy (so also in Rome) is Iuno Lacina. Other names are Iuno Sospita, Iuno Curitus (sometimes also Quritus) Iuno Moneta and there are some more. Juno was so important that the month June, the month where most Romans were getting married, is named after her. Just like Hera’s sacred animals, are Juno’s also the cow, peacock & crow. She can be seen wearing white, a crown, a goatskin & a staff with a lotus flower on top.
As you can read have Hera & Juno many similarities and also a few differences. They are both very important, queen of the gods & lady of the skies. They’re both the goddess of marriage, family & birth, although Juno is also the goddess of the full moon. They also look similar but don’t look exactly the same. Juno’s temperament is lower than Hera’s and she protects Jupiter’s other loves and children, while Hera’s planning and (sometimes) getting revenge on Zeus’ other lovers and children.
If you have suggestions on which god or goddess to compare next, let me know!
