Similarities and Variations between Hera and Juno

In Greek and Roman mythology, gods, heroes, and goddesses were both admired and despised. This is due to the central and critical roles they performed in holding civilization alive and connected. Hera and Juno were hailed and worshipped as goddesses and heroes who played a significant and pivotal role in the wellbeing of the populace. Hera was the goddess of marriage and the ruler of the Greek gods. Juno was the Roman queen who was bound to both the gods and goddesses. The epoch was dominated by the staunch and strong belief in the divinity of such tutelary deities up to an extent that the gods were always upheld for any good fortune to prevail. Every facet of human life was pegged on the relationship that existed between the people and the deities. The marriage and differences between the roles of Hera and Juno will be determined and then a conclusion drawn (Whitehead, Jane).

Hera and Juno share a good deal in common. This is deduced from the various parts that they played in the lives of the people. Both Juno and Hera were the supreme beings that were regarded as the queens of the celestial realms, goddesses, and the gods. Hera was married to his brother Zeus who was the King of the gods affiliated to the Greeks. She assumed the responsibilities of being a queen courtesy of the marriage with the King. Juno happened to get married to her brother Jupiter who was the King of the gods of Rome. She was embraced as the chief custodian and protector of the marriages, unborn children, and the infants. Both Juno and Hera were hailed and as the great goddesses of delivery and marriage. The married ladies believed that the goddesses helped make their matrimonies successful, enabled them to conceive and also offered divine protection to their children. The Romans and the Greeks held the matrimonial issues in high esteem since the family fabric held the continuity of the generations intact. That was the move that helped sustain the existence of the empires that rose in those ancient times (Day, Peggy L.).

Hera and Juno had gaping differences that distinguished like the land from the sea. Hera is recorded as having been very jealous and grudged over the many girlfriends of Zeus. She always spent the better part of her time devising means on how she could settle scores with them. She kept cursing them. She hatches up plans and plots to ensure that her ulterior motives are achieved in trying to undo the women who are engaged with the King. On the other hand, Juno is portrayed as the calmest and chief guardian of the married women. She is ever charming and fascinating in her activities. Juno is deeply associated with the moon as she is considered the giver of light during moments of the full moon. She is even named after the month of “June” when most matrimonies are said to transpire. Hera is not associated with any aspect of the moon.

Conclusion

Hera and Juno are the goddesses hailing from duo different geographical locations but they share more than they differ. They were the custodians of marriage institutions, young children and the aspects of fertility among women. The major differences emerge when it comes to their individual characters where Hera is seen as schematic and spiteful given the unorthodox and subterranean moves she makes in trying to revenge over the girlfriends of her husband.

































Works Cited

Day, Peggy L. "Hebrew Bible Goddesses And Modern Feminist Scholarship." Religion Compass, vol 6, no. 6, 2012, pp. 298-308. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/j.1749-8171.2012.00356.x.

Whitehead, Jane. "Book Review Of Deliciae Fictiles IV: Architectural Terracottas In Ancient Italy. Images Of Gods, Monsters And Heroes, Edited By Patricia Lulof And Carlo Rescigno." American Journal Of Archaeology, vol 116, no. 3, 2012, Archaeological Institute Of America, doi:10.3764/ajaonline1163.whitehead.