Zeus and Hera LECTURE

The 12 Olympians

1. Zeus (Jupiter)

2. Hera (Juno)

3. Poseidon (Neptune)

4. Hades (Pluto)* - omitted since he rules the underworld and does not live on Mt. Olympus

5. Hestia (Vesta)** - gives up her spot on Mr. Olympus; Dionysus takes her place

6. Hephaestus (Vulcan)

7. Ares (Mars)

8. Apollo

9. Artemis (Diana)

10. Demeter (Ceres)

11. Aphrodite (Venus)

12. Athena (Minerva)

13. Hermes (Mercury)

14. Dionysus (Bacchus)

Zeus

• Supreme god, ultimate progenitor

  • Diverse Character” of Zeus

• God of lightning, thunder, justice, morality

• Son of Cronos and Rhea; husband of Hera

• Epithets:

  • “cloud gatherer”

  • Zeus Olympios (Olympian)

  • Zeus Panhellenios (“all Hellenes”)

  • Zeus Herkeios (Guardian of the House)

  • Zeus Xenios (Patron of hospitality and guests– remember Lycaon myth)

  • Zeus Horkios (Keeper of oaths)

  • Zeus Agoraios (Agora)

  • Zeus Meilichios (Weather)

• Attributes:

  • lightning bolt, bearded, aegis

• Sacred animal:

  • eagle

• Sacred plant:

  • oak

• Major town of worship:

  • olympia

• Roman Name:

  • Jupiter

Images of Zeus

• The Protector

  • Aeschylus’ Suppliants (470 BCE)

  • Divine vengeance and justice; rightful authority, protector of man

• The Destroyer

  • Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound (430 BCE)

  • Cruel, hardhearted, tyrannical; hater of mankind

• How can one author have multiple views of the role of Zeus?

  • “Evolutionary theory”?

  • Too complicated for man to understand?

  • Zeus of the city vs. Zeus of nature?

Panhellenic Games

• Agonistic society (focused on competition, struggle, contests)

• 4 major Panhellenic Games:

  • Olympics: Olympia, Zeus, 776 BCE

  • Pythian Games: Delphi, Apollo, musical contests

  • Isthmian Games: Isthmia, hero Melicertes, 582 BCE

  • Nemean Games: Nemea, ZEUS, 573 BCE

• Religious value: sacred truce, possessions, sacrifices, oaths, and games

• Contests: foot race, wrestling, long jump, discus and javelin throwing, chariot races, race of armed warriors

Hera

• The jealous wife

• Goddess of marriage, women, childbirth

• Daughter of Cronos and Rhea; wife of Zeus

  • Epithets:

    • “ox-eyed”

  • Attributes:

    • golden crown, on throne, “veiling motion” (not exclusive)

  • Sacred animals:

    • peacock

  • Major town of worship:

    • Argos'

  • Roman name:

    • Juno

  • Despised heroes:

    • Heracles, Aeneas

  • Favored heroes:

    • Jason

The Marriage of Zeus and Hera

• Hieros Gamos

  • between earth goddess and sky god

• Kids:

  • Hebe - goddess of youth, youthful bloom; last wife of Heracles

  • Ares

  • Eileithyia - goddess of childbirth

Hera seduces Zeus

• Iliad Book 14

  • Hera

  • Zeus

  • Aphrodite

  • Sleep (Hypnos)

Zeus’ Affairs

• Goddesses

  • Hera (Ares, Hebe, Eileithyia)

  • Metis (Athena)

  • Leto (Apollo, Artemis)

  • Dione (Aphrodite)

  • Maia (Hermes)

  • Asteria (Hecate)

  • Selene (Erse)

  • Eurynome (Charites)

  • Electra (Harmione)

  • Themis (The Fates, The Hours)

  • Iphianassa (Endymion

  • Elara (Tityus)

  • Mnemosyne (The Muses)

• Mortals

  • Pyrrah (Hellen) - Hellenes

  • Pandora (Graecus) - Graceoi

  • Phthia (Achaeus) - Archaeoi

  • Alcmene (Heracles) - Heraclidae

  • Ida (Curites, Cres) - Cretans

  • Europa (Minos, Rhadamanthus)

  • Crete (Car) – Carians

  • Laodameia (Sarpedon) - Lycians

  • Thrace (Bithynus) - Bithynians

  • Io (Epaphus)

  • Thyia (Macedon) - Macedonians

  • Electra (Dardanus)

  • Moira (Locrus) - Locrians

  • Eurynome (Asopos) - Beotiens

  • Iodama (Thebe) - Thebans

  • Danae (Perseus)

  • Leda (Helen, Castor & Pollux)

Zeus and Io

• Io: priestess of Hera

• Argus: 100-eyed creature guards Io

• Hermes: Zeus’ messenger, trickster

  • slayer of Argus

• The gadly

The theme of Rape and Pursuit

• Rape = rapio “to seize”

• Two characters:

  • Object of pursuit = chastity, compulsory virginity (typically female, mortal)

  • Pursuer = blinded by passion from Eros or Aphrodite (typically male, immortal)

• Persistence of rape culture in antiquity

Sex in Greece

• Expectations for women

  • must be chaste

  • charity = legitimate heirs, obedience, etc.

  • guarded by fathers/husbands

• Expectations for men

  • fertility, dominance

  • evidence: Zeus, the ultimate supreme god, who also has hundreds of offspring

  • affairs are possible, sometimes even condoned (especially Rome)

• Problem:

  • if men are prompted to have a lot of sex … and women are locked away … with whom do you have sex?

    • prostitutes and enslaved individuals

    • lower class, single mistresses

    • men, specifically younger men/boys (for upper-class males in Greece)

Zeus and Ganymede

• Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

  • Ganymede: Trojan prince

  • Transformation: immortal cupbearer for the gods

Male Homosexuality in the Ancient World

• Greece/Athens: pederasty

  • Erastes (older man “Lover”) and Eromenos (younger man “beloved”)

  • Same status (upper class only)

  • Overall purpose: education, political alliances, friendship

  • Still expected to take a wife (marriage as a duty)

• Rome

  • Any age, typically upper class, and dominating the lower class

  • Overall purpose: dominance and subordination

  • Expected to be married

• Examples of homosexual relationships in myth:

  • Zeus and Ganymede

  • Achilles and Patroclus (in later traditions, not Homer!)