~ Ring with Greek Inscription to Hera.

Culture: Greek (Argive)

Place of origin: Argolid, Greece

Date: 575 B.C.

Although a significant proportion of the population of Hermione itself was probably engaged in the murex trade, the majority of Hermionians, like the inhabitants of most Greek poleis, were likely peasant farmers; some lived in the country but many probably lived in the city and rode or walked out to their fields in the countryside, and many probably never ventured beyond their city and fields. The fields in question were, as recent GPS research around Hermione has shown, mostly within an hour’s walk, though some were further out. The obvious corollary is that the city was closely integrated with its countryside. It would be easy to link Demeter’s importance in the area with its agricultural nature, but in fact this kind of predominance seems to have been rare for Demeter, and she is not usually the principal deity of a polis. Also worth noting is the contrast between Demeter’s predominance in the chōra of Hermione and in the eastern Argolid by comparison with the central Argolid where Hera is predominant – her great sanctuary at Argos being but one example. Correspondingly, there are comparatively few Demeter cults in the central Argolid, and few Hera cults in the east around Hermione. And Demeter seems to have presided over functions that are the preserve of Hera in the Argolid plain. Similar dedications – terracotta pomegranates, loom weights, and cakes – are found at the two goddesses’ sanctuaries, and they even share the iconography of polos, wreath, and pomegranate.”

This state of affairs created a logical conflict between the mythic, Panhellenic understanding of Zeus as ruler of all the gods and the cultic situation in the Argolid, where the preeminent deity was Hera. Homer and his predecessors were not men of Argos or Mycenae, and they were more concerned with the narrative than the devotional impact of epic song. They responded to the discrepancy between myth and cult by fashioning a theology: Hera, the ferocious partisan of the invading Greeks, comes into constant conflict with Zeus, who sees the bigger picture because he is responsible for the cosmos as a whole. Time and time again, Zeus must bully his deceitful, headstrong wife into submission. He threatens to flog her (Hom. Il. 15.16–33), and reminds her how he once hung her from the sky, her feet weighted with anvils, as punishment for her persecution of Herakles. Homer’s portrait of Hera as a disobedient, shrewish wife is a poetic construct fashioned in the service of Panhellenic epic, which insists on the primacy of Zeus. Epic depicts the gods as members of an Olympian family with Zeus as a patriarchal husband, a narrative strategy which requires that Hera, like Shakespeare’s formidable Katharina, be tamed. The Zeus of the Iliad, however, meets with considerably less success than Petruchio in subduing his wife. Even after the death of Hektor, her anger against the Trojans remains undiminished. The unyielding character of Hera in epic is a product of Homeric artistry, but it also reflects certain characteristics of regional “great goddesses,” such as Argive Hera and Spartan Orthia, who were by turns nurturing and bloodthirsty. …

The comic elements in Homer’s portrait of Hera do not obscure her special relationship to the Greeks at Troy, and especially to Achilles. The goddess’s divine anger seems to fuel the corresponding mortal wrath of Achilles. At Patroklos’ funeral, Zeus comments: You got your way, ox-eyed Lady Hera; You have provoked swift-footed Achilles. Truly, the long-haired Achaians sprang from you. (Hom. Il. 357–9) Homer’s portrait of Hera as a fierce patroness, even a foremother, of Achaian warriors has its origins in her most important regional cult. In the Argolid, Hera seems to have been associated from very early times with the concept of the hero, etymologically, in myth and in worship. Afamous and puzzling example is her intimate yet antagonistic relationship with Herakles, the demigod of Tiryns who undertook his labors as a result of her machinations. Hera and Herakles entertained a mutual hostility, yet the name of this native son of Argolis seems to mean “Glory of Hera.” …

Next we turn to Hera’s annual festival at the Argive Heraion. The Heraion was a regional cult center, in Classical times under the control of Argos (its earlier status is debated). Although most literary sources on the festival are late, they mention a procession led by shield-bearing youths, girls in white dresses, women’s dances, a ritual involving the presentation of a robe to the goddess, and a footrace, again by young men in arms. A shield was the prize in Hera’s games. The legend of Kleobis and Biton illustrates Argive piety toward the goddess: There was a festival of Hera among the Argives, and it was absolutely necessary for their mother to be brought to the temple by a team of oxen. But the oxen had not returned from the fields, and because they were out of time, the youths took the yoke upon their own shoulders. They drew the wagon, with their mother riding on it, and covered forty-five stades to reach the temple.(Hdt. 1.31.2) At the peak of their youth and strength, the brothers lay down in the sanctuary and never woke again, this glorious end being recognized as the reward of Hera. Characteristic is the test of strength which exacts a cruel price from the goddess’s male worshipers. In this story, the two strong youths are assimilated to the fine, unblemished cattle, who became pleasing gifts to the goddess in the festival’s climactic sacrifice.

Hera governed the welfare of cattle herds, the most important index of wealth, as well as the maturation of adolescent boys into warriors, and girls into wives and mothers. Terracotta figurines from the Heraion show the goddess in her maternal role as nurturer of youths (kourotrophos), holding a child in her lap. The prominence of cattle in the Argive Hera cult is reflected in a Homeric epithet for the goddess, “ox-eyed” (boōpis). … In the Argive peninsula, then, Hera gave prosperity, progeny and military victory, each equally crucial to the welfare of the community. This picture of a goddess who oversaw the most fundamental needs of her people contrasts with that in most other parts of the Greek world, where Hera received far less attention. Homer’s testimony of her three favored cities suggests an early cult at Sparta, but she was not a major goddess in the Classical city. Again, if our data were confined strictly to evidence from Athens, we would conclude that Hera was a minor goddess, significant mainly for her role as Zeus’ bride, which was celebrated in a festival known as the Hieros Gamos (Sacred Marriage), an auspicious time for weddings."

References to heroes may be found even at the Heraion site itself. Statues of various heroes among whom was Orestes, stood by its entrance. Many images of warriors, battle scenes painted on the jars and abundant images of mounted heroes painted on dedications, all found in the Heraion, show that in the Argive plain Hera was perceived as a war-goddess, a protector of the heroes. One can reasonably assume that these heroes were believed to have lived in the Mycenaean palaces and to have been buried in the Mycenaean burial caves, where they were worshipped together with their patroness, Hera.

The argument finds further support in the etymological associations of Hera’s name. Many attempts have been made to determine the etymological origin of the name ‘Hera’. In the present context I shall content myself with some basic points. It is commonly believed that Ἥρα is related to ἥρως (the common root being 'Her'). The proponents of this interpretation regard Heros as Hera’s ancient companion, or at least as a male correlate of the name ‘Hera’. It is assumed that ‘Hera’ means ‘a mature woman, ready for marriage’. However, scholars disagree on the identity of Hera’s mate. Though many would agree that the belief that Hera was Zeus’ wife arose only at a later date, some think the goddess’s original spouse was Heros and others believe him to have been Heracles. In her recently published book J.V. O’Brien deals thoroughly with the etymological linkage between ‘Hera’ and ‘Heros’. O’Brien argues that in Homeric Greek one can establish a link between the words ‘Hera’, ‘Heros’, ‘Heracles’ and ῶρη (season). O’Brien views one of Hera’s roles in the Argolid as that of the goddess of the seasons, and concludes that Heros is ‘he who belonged to the goddess of the seasons’. According to O’Brien, Hera, as a goddess of the seasons, is responsible for heroes’ birth and early death; Hera is the one who gives the heroes their energy and therefore their glory. I should accept, without committing myself to O’Brien’s specific conclusions in this respect, the general association of Hera with heroes, for this ties in with my hypothesis that for people in the Archaic period Hera represented the continuity with the Mycenaean past and mediated between them and their heroes.

Hera’s image in the Argive plain as a war-goddess, the patroness of the heroes and a privileged mediator with the Mycenaean past gains further corroboration from her cult centered in the Heraion. The main festival celebrated in the Heraion was the Heraia. … The Heraia was characterized primarily by competitions, such as chariot races, wrestling, boxing, and races. According to de Polignac, participation in the competitions re-enacted and ritualized two kinds of aristocratic rivalries — those between aristocracies of various small towns, and those within each aristocratic community, particularly Argos. He suggests a connection between the competition in the Heraion and the appearance of the claim to heroic status at Argos in the 8th century. The appearance of tripod cauldrons that were piled up in the Heraion in the 8th century may thus indicate an increasing desire to compete and to show off on the part of certain aristocracies.

The armed race was probably the main attraction in the festival, and the winner was presented with a bronze shield, perhaps symbolizing the shield used by young Danaos. This bronze shield was the main theme of many laudatory songs composed for the winners in Hera’s festival. According to Arnold the shield was holy to Hera, a local war-goddess, and played an important role in her cult in some regions in Greece. … More evidence for Hera’s association with war can be found in other areas of the Greek world: in Samos the Heraia festival opened with an armed procession, in Plataia an armed race was organized and in Elis Hera’s epithet was Oplosmia."