Hera
Hera was queen of heaven and of the Olympians. She was also the goddess of marriage and family, which naturally made her the protectress1 of married women and their legal children.
Hera was a daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and the sister—wife of Zeus. She was believed to be the sole2 legal wife to Zeus. There was always strife3 with Zeus, all because of the sky god’s infidelities4. When Zeus be came particularly unbearable, Hera revolted against5 him. She drugged him and bound him to a couch while taking care to tie as many knots as possible. Briareus(the giant with a hundred hands), however, untied Zeus. Zeus sprang from the couch, grasped his thunderbolt, and threatened to strike her with it. Zeus subdued her in no time and hung her up with a gold chain. Later, Hera repented6 of her folly and begged him for mercy. Zeus agreed to set her free on the condition that she would never reble against him again. Ever since then Hera remained obedient to7 her husband, but she vented8 her anger on her husband’s mistresses. In Greek mythology, Hera was the most jealous wife who was an active and perpetual9 persecutor10 of Zeus’s lovers.
Hera was worshiped11 throughout Greece. Her sacred animal was the peacock; her sacred fruits were the apple and the pomegranate12.
注释：
1 protectress n .女保护者，女摄政者
2 sole adj. 惟一的，仅有的
3 strife n. 冲突，争吵，争斗
4 infidelity n （夫妇间的）不忠实，不贞行为
5 revolt vi. ~against 反叛，叛乱
6 repent vt. 悔悟，悔改
7 obedient adj. be…to 服从于……
8 vent vt. 表达，发泄（情感等）
9 perpetual adj. 永久（性）的，长期的
10 persecutor n .迫害者，虐待者
11 worship vt. 崇拜
12 pomegranate n. 石榴，石榴树
赫拉是天后，是奥林匹亚诸神之女王。她还是专司婚姻家庭之女神，因此也是已婚妇女及其合法子女的守护神。
赫拉是巨神之一的克罗诺斯和瑞亚的女儿。因此，她不仅是宙斯的妻子，还是宙斯的亲姐妹。她被认为是宙斯惟一的合法妻子。由于天神的不忠经常使得夫妻两人争吵不断。当宙斯的行为实在令人难以忍受时，赫拉奋起反抗。她用药把宙斯弄晕并把他捆在躺椅上，还打了许许多多的结，把他牢牢捆住。然而百手巨人布里阿柔斯却为宙斯松了绑，宙斯从躺椅上一跃而起，抓起雷电霹雳并威胁要用这件武器惩罚赫拉。很快，宙斯就制服了赫拉，还用金链把她吊起来。后来赫拉忏悔干了蠢事并请求宽恕。宙斯同意释放她，条件是她不可以再次反叛他。自此以后，赫拉一直遵从丈夫，但她把怒气全撒在丈夫的情人身上。在希腊神话中，赫拉是最具嫉妒心的妻子。她始终都在迫害自己的情敌。
在希腊全境赫拉受到人们的普遍崇拜。在那里，她的圣物是孔雀，她的圣果是苹果和石榴。
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