Hera (Here; Juno)
Hera was goddess of marriage, and queen of Olympus, official consort of Zeus, the king of the gods. She was maiden (or debutante if you prefer) in spring, bride in summer, and widow in winter. June, the month of midsummer and the peak month for weddings, was her month and is named after her. She was frequently jealous and vengeful towards Zeus's many mistresses, but not normally towards him. She once borrowed Aphrodite's magic girdle (hip belt with heavy tassles that would swing sexily) to seduce Zeus away from the Trojan war. She had no problems riding into war, either, when it suited her, once boxing Artemis on the ears and sending her off the battlefield in tears.
Modern Heras like men and like marriage. They pursue boys as soon as they're allowed to, and love being in official relationships with men they admire. When they're with someone, they want the whole world to know it, because it's fun. They like the prestige of being singled out and taken seriously by men they admire. While many Heras make powerful career women, they are not willing to do without marriage, and if they can't have both they'll take marriage first. Heras have a knack for power and the social scene, even as children - it comes easily to them. They like a high status lifestyle (relative to their culture/subculture) and appearances are important to them. They like to hang out either with their men and other couples, or with a like-minded group of women (the queen and her ladies-in-waiting) who like to talk about relationships, clothes, The Rules, and other important women's issues.
Themes
the wife/girlfriend; the queen; the matriarch; queen consort/first lady; the socialite; the debutante; the southern belle; Mrs. Establishment
Published works of note
The Rules (book); The Women (stage play/film)
|
Ancient symbols
the sacred cow
the Milky Way
the earth (earth goddess)
Modern symbols
the lioness
the she-eagle
|
Examples
- Royalty and executive class wives: Diana, Princess of Wales*; Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother* (UK); Princess Grace of Monaco*; Princess Margaret* (UK); Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis*; Nancy Reagan (First Lady - USA); Queen Victoria* (UK)
- Career women: Barbara Frum* (journalist); Estée Lauder* (cosmetics); Clare Boothe Luce* (writer/politican); Diana Vreeland* (fashion editor)
- Actresses: Jennifer Aniston; Lauren Bacall*; Joan Collins; Bette Davis; Annette Funicello*; Zsa Zsa Gabor*; Judy Garland*; Greer Garson*; Sarah Michelle Gellar; Rita Hayworth; Catherine Zeta Jones; Vivien Leigh*; Sophia Loren*; Rachel McAdams; Mary Tyler Moore; Molly Ringwald; Jane Seymour; Norma Shearer*; Alicia Silverstone; Elizabeth Taylor*; Shirley Temple*; Kathleen Turner; Lana Turner*; Reese Witherspoon; Natalie Wood*; Renée Zellweger
- Singers: Maria Callas*
- Writers: Barbara Taylor Bradford*; Barbara Cartland*; Judith Krantz*; George Sand*
|
Fictional Heras
Barbie
Buffy and Cordelia on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Mrs. Howell on Gilligan's Island
Jean Gray of the X-Men
Scarlett O'Hara
Draupadi (The Mahabharata)
Medea (Greek myth)
Miss Piggy
|