Hera is the wife of Zeus, the Queen of Olympus, and the Olympian goddess of marriage. As such, she is also the deity most associated with family and the welfare of women and children. Her marriage, however, was an unhappy one, since Zeus had numerous affairs. Jealous and vengeful, Hera made sure to give each of his consorts some hard time.

Based on the number of cults, Hera was a very ancient goddess, possibly predating even Zeus. In fact, it’s assumed that we don’t even know her original name. “Hera” is actually a title, which is usually translated as “Lady” or “Mistress.” Hera’s Roman counterpart was Juno, the goddess who gave her name to the month of June, even today, the most popular time for weddings.

Hera was usually portrayed alongside Zeus, as a fully clothed matronly woman of solemn beauty, wearing a cylindrical crown called polos or a wreath and a veil. Sometimes she carries a scepter capped with a pomegranate and a cuckoo – the former a symbol of fertility, the latter a token of the way she was wooed by Zeus. She is also often accompanied by a peacock, one of her sacred animals.

As the guardian of marriage and the spouse of the King of Gods and Men, Hera didn’t have much choice but to be a faithful wife. Even though she was beautiful, not many men – and not one god – dared to lay hands on her. Endymion tried once, but Zeus condemned him to eternal sleep. Ixion fared even worse: Zeus fooled him into making love with a cloud fashioned in Hera’s image, and then ordered Hermes to bind him to a perpetually turning wheel of fire.

By most accounts, Hera gave Zeus four children: Ares, the god of war, Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, Hebe, the goddess of eternal youth, and Hephaestus, the god of fire.