The Shrine of Hera
Detail of The Toilette of Juno
by Andrea Appiani, 17th century
of the goddesses, the one who holds
the golden staff of sovereignty.
She is the light each child beholds
at birth; she is the mother who gives birth.
At her command girls are made safe
From the labors of childbed, in this way;
An old man sacrifices a male goat,
And from the goatskins, strips are cut;
And those stips are used to strike
The backs of fertile girls, a magic charm
To make them and their children safe.
��from Fasti by Ovid
to dress her sacred beauty. To her hand only
opened the golden lock her son had made,
the doors unfolding like a flower at her touch.
She bathed herself in luxury and fragrant oil,
And the scent of her perfume filled the air
Of heaven so that gods swooned in delight
Just from the fragrance of her bath.
Then Hera dressed her hair, some high
Atop her head, some flowing golden down
Her milky shoulders. And now a robe;
She selects one that Athena made,
Woven with great skill and artistry,
And now some jewels: tiny triple stars
In each her ears, and a golden breastplate
That reveals her rich endowments.
But it is not her jewels and clothing
That make this goddess lovely.
Plain sandals, on her feet, are beautiful,
A plain white veil, upon her head, is beautiful.
��from The Iliad by Homer
Detail of Juno Placing the Eyes of Argos in the Peacock's Tail
by Antonio Balestra, c. 1714
You are ensconced in darksome hollows and airy is your form.
O Hera, queen of all the blessed consort of Zeus
You send soft breezes to mortals such as nourish the soul,
And, O mother of rains, you nurture the winds and give birth to all.
Without you there is neither life nor growth:
And, mixed as you are in the air we venerate, you partake of all
And of all you are queen and mistress.
You toss and turn with the rushing wind.
May you, O blessed goddess and many-named queen of all,
Come with kindness and joy on your lovely face.
��from The Orphic Hymns
Detail of Henri IV Receiving the Portrait of Maria de� Medici
Artist unknown, circa 1620
I sing of golden-throned Hera whom Rhea bare. Queen of the immortals is she, surpassing all in beauty:
she is the sister and the wife of loud-thundering Zeus,
-the glorious one whom all the blessed throughout high Olympus
reverence and honour even as Zeus who delights in thunder.
��from The Homeric Hymns
Detail of a Roman fresco
by Rafael, 1517
Close beside me now as I pray appearing,Lady Hera, gracious in all your majesty,
you whom the Atreidai invoked to help them, glorious princes,
while they were completing their many labors,
first at Ilion, and then on the ocean
sailing for this island: they hadn't power to finish their journey
'til they called on you, on the god of strangers
Zeus, and on Thy�ne's delightful son:
now I too entreat you, O goddess, help me as in the old days.
��Sappho of Lesbos
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