Hera’s Revenge
Zeus' and Hera's marriage
was anything other than harmonious.
Hera would get infuriated with Zeus
because of his other wives he chose to marry and the children he helped
concieve, all while still being married to Hera. Although Hera,
could not take her revenge out on Zeus, due to his mighty thunderbolts,
she could certainly take it out on his other wives and his children as
you will see.
Semele perishes at the sight of Zeus.
Every night while Hera was sleeping, Zeus quietly left her side to fly
to Olympus to be with a Theban princess, named Semele. One night
Hera woke to find Zeus leaving and followed him to Olympus. As
she discovered the latest young women whom Zeus had married, Hera felt
very jealous. Before Semele was to give birth to Zeus’s child,
Dionysus, Hera visited her disguised as an old nursemaid. While
chatting with Semele, Hera innocently asked Semele about her
husband. Semele proudly reported her husband as being Zeus
himself. As surprisingly as she could pose, Hera asked if Zeus
had given her any proof, as any mere mortal man could claim to be a
god. With no proof given to Semele, Hera urged her for Zeus to
give her proof and let her see him in all of his glory so that she
could be certain of his claim. With that, Hera left Semele alone
with her doubts for the rest of the day.
With Zeus’ return, Semele asked him for a favor. Zeus, not
knowing what it was going to be, agreed, as he loved Semele very
deeply. He swore by the River Styx, an oath that not even a god
of Zeus’ status could break, that he would grant her any wish that she
bequeathed. As she told him of her wish, Zeus begged Semele to
change it, as he knew that any mortal who saw a god’s true appearance
would die. This begging that Zeus did made Semele suspicious and
even more determined to not let Zeus break his oath.
As Zeus could not break his oath, he took off his disguise of a
handsome, rich man, and stood before her in the blinding brilliance of
his true godly form. As the room shook with thunder and lighting
crashed against the walls, the terrified princess burst into flames and
burned to ashes. Zeus was helpless in saving her life, but
managed to rescue their unborn child, who was immortal, like himself.
The Lycian
peasants deny water to Leto and her newborn twins Artemis and Apollo.
One day, Zeus saw and fell in love with a beautiful nymph, named
Leto. Zeus saw that Hera was watching and so he changed both
himself and Leto into quails. However, Hera was far too clever to
fall for this disguise and put a curse on Leto. Hera asked Mother
Earth to keep Leto from resting anywhere.
Hera told the unfortunate nymph that she would be pregnant, but that
she would not be able to give birth to her child in any location where
the sun could shine. After searching for a birthplace, Leto
finally came to a tiny floating island, called Delos. Poseidon
had just created the island of Delos from the sea, and it was so new
that it was not marked on any map. Leto found shelter there,
beneath a palm tree.
Although Leto had found a location, she could still not give
birth. You see Hera had forbidden Ilithya, the goddess of
childbirth, to visit Leto. Fortunately for Leto, the other
goddesses of Olympus felt sorry for her and decided to help.
With a beautiful necklace of amber and gold, they went to Hera.
They offered her the necklace if she would forgive Leto. Feeling
a little guilty at this point, Hera agreed. She accepted the
necklace and allowed Ilithya to go to Leto’s resting place beneath the
palm tree. Soon, Leto gave birth to Zeus’ twins: Artemis and
Apollo.
Image Bibliographies:
Leto and the Lycian Peasants, photo by J.-M. Moreau "le
Jeune" (1741-1814). Websource: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Images/lim/letoOV.jpg
Zeus and Semele, engraving by Bernard Picart
(1673-1733). Websource: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Images/sim/semelezeus3008.jpg
Bibliography:
Asimov, Isaac. Words from the Myths. Houghton Mifflin
Company, Boston: 1961.
Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology, authored by Carlos Parada.
Found at the website: http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Leto.html
"Semele." Encyclopedia Mythica by James Hunter. Found at the website:
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/semele.html
Switzer, Ellen and Costas. Greek Myths: Gods, Heroes, and
Monsters.
Their Sources, Their Stories, and Their Meanings. Atheneum: New York,
1988.
I chose the information from these sources and simplified them into a
child’s lyric.
Email Me, Erika DeLuca
