Plato was Socrates' student and one of the most influential philosophers in Western civilization. Born to a politically active and wealthy noble Athenian family, (Plato's mother was descended from Solon, the famous lawgiver credited with major democratic reforms that paved the way for Athen's Golden Age) Plato grew up during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), a conflict that arose among Athens, Sparta, and their allies. This civil war was the beginning of the end of the Athenian Golden Age, and created an opening for later conquest by Philip of Macedon. The principles of democracy in Athens were lost, as was much of the cultural wealth of both city states.
HERA was the OLYMPIAN Queen of the Gods and the goddess of women and marriage.
She was usually depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown and holding a royal staff.
Zeus, god of thunder and lightening, and the king of the gods, was the son of the Titan queen and king, Rhea and Cronos. His grandmother, Mother Earth, (Gaea) first bore the Cyclopes, and then the Titans, to her consort Father Heaven. Father Heaven thought that the Cyclopes were ugly as well as fearsome, and he trapped them under the earth. Gaea was greatly angered by this, and she sent the Titans to slay Father Heaven, and to bring back her children. Cronos, the strongest of the Titans, wounded Father Heaven badly, enabling the Cyclopes to escape. The Titans made Cronos the ruler, and Rhea, his sister, became his wife and queen. With his power came corruption, and Cronos imprisioned the Cyclopes once again. Gaea was even angrier than before, but she hid it this time, for she knew that Rhea's child would grow up to overthrow his father.