Hera: The Queen of Heaven
Hera depicted on a throne with a peacock. An eagle can be seen in the upper left which likely represents her husband, Zeus.
The Peacock Complaining to Juno (1881), Musée Gustave Moreau
When Hera is mentioned, a visage of a vindictive, jealous wife is conjured to mind. Despite being the Queen of Mount Olympus, and wife to Zeus, she is often depicted through a warped misogynistic lens. Hera is seen as irrationally angry due to her constant scheming and aims to destroy the lives of Zeus’ many lovers and illegitimate children…but was she really so irrational? Hera is the goddess of marriage, of children, of the divine feminine – and her husband is constantly putting her role in jeopardy; flagrantly cheating and spreading his seed at any chance he gets. Let’s dive into Hera’s mythology and see beyond her depictions in myth written by men and discover who Hera is at her core.
Who is the Goddess Hera?
Hera (Juno in Roman mythology) is the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Hera and her other siblings were swallowed by their father Cronus to prevent a prophecy of his downfall from being fulfilled. Eventually, Hera and her siblings were freed by their brother, Zeus. And yes, this is Greek mythology, so it should be no shock that Hera married her brother making her Queen of Mount Olympus.
Hera presides over the realms of marriage, women, childbirth, and family – which explains her strong emotions and sometimes extreme responses to her husband’s compulsive infidelity. At her center, Hera is the embodiment of everything a woman can be: both a nurturer, fierce protector, and confident ruler. Though depicted in a stereotypical fashion, she shows that women are multi-faceted and can be soft and motherly but also firm and powerful. Our Hera fragrance aims to captures this essence.
Aphrodite's Apothecary's
Hera Candle.
Hera is often depicted in amphorae art and sculpture with a lotus-topped staff, so our fragrance opens with delicate floral notes of lotus flower and freesia. These soft florals blend with fresh water and green fig leaves while subtle base notes of creamy matcha, lemongrass, and bamboo ease you into a state of royal relaxation and grounding. This fragrance is inspired Hera's matriarchal power of the divine feminine.
As a goddess, Hera is the epitome of royal power and matriarchal strength. Her role as the goddess of marriage was not to be subservient—her actions show she was anything but—Hera represented the sanctity of a union, the vows and oaths that one took to wed. This provides important context as to why her husband’s adulterous actions angered her as much as they did, despite this behavior being commonplace in Greek mythology. Not only were Zeus's actions cruel, but they flew in the face of everything Hera embodies as a goddess. While Hera represents the beautiful aspects of marriage, when coupled with Zeus, her role expands and takes on deeper meaning. Even the goddess of matrimony was not immune to marriage's thorns. Hera not only symbolizes the love of a marriage; she demonstrates that marriage often comes with pain and it requires strength and grit to endure it.
Now, let's not get too ahead of ourselves -- Hera no doubt was not always the softest goddess. Famously, Hera had her nasty and vengeful moments. Despite what the Disney film would like you to believe, Hera absolutely despised Heracles. She tried to murder him as an infant and eventually drove him to murder his wife and children...which was the reason he had to complete the 12 labors. Hera only warmed to Heracles and ceased trying to kill him after his deification and marriage to her beloved daughter Hebe.
Hera's Association with Peacocks
Hera depicted plucking the eyes of the slain giant Argus to decorate the plumage of her peacocks.
Juno and Argus (c. 1610), Peter Paul Rubens.
Even Hera's association with peacocks was born from her so-called vindictive nature. Zeus had an affair with Io, Hera's own priestesses--and the first, no less (the nerve of that man)! In an attempt to hide his infidelity, Zeus turned Io into a white heifer. However, Hera was no fool and suspected this deception. She hatched a plan and innocently requested the cow as a gift. Not wanting to rouse further suspicion and admit his actions, Zeus gave Io to Hera without question.
Hera enrolled the help of Argus, a 100-eyed giant to keep a close eye on this suspicious cow and prevent her from being rescued. Zeus devised a plan to retrieve Io without his direct involvement and asked Hermes to dispose of the giant. Hermes played the pan-flute and told stories to lull Argus to sleep before slaying him. Hera ended up using the giant's 100 eyes to decorate the feathers of her birds as thanks for his sacrifice. This is how peacocks obtained their iconic (pun intended) "eye" patterning.
After losing her guard, Hera sent a stinging insect, a gadfly, to torment the cow. Io was driven mad and traveled vast distances across Greece and Europe before ending up in Egypt. It was here where Zeus met her and restored her to her human form.
However, Hera was more than just a force of petty vengeance. Hera displayed compassion and grace and offered aid to heroes like Jason. She was also revered across the ancient world; the Heraion at Samos and the sanctuary at Argos were major religious centers of her worship, a testament to the high regard in which she was held.
Redeeming the Goddess
Hera has often been reduced to a stereotype: the scorned wife. But a closer reading of her mythology reveals a goddess of female power, who knows her worth and refuses to be taken advantage of. Hera embodies a powerful archetype of feminine sovereignty—one that protects the integrity of relationships, demands respect, and holds others to account. In a society that often dismisses strong women as "jealous" or "emotional," Hera stands as a reminder that female anger is equal to that of man and is no less dignified. Rather than relegating Hera to the stereotype of a bitter wife, we should honor her as the radiant Queen of Heaven that she is: a goddess of grace and strength who holds the values of loyalty and family above all else.