Hera, Queen of the Gods

For Hera, I wanted to go for a more quiet, stoic and regal representation. I thought the background Caryatid columns would be a nice nod to her connection to the feminine powers she represents. I'm always trying to organize my visual elements into asymmetric compositions. I find these types of compositions to be more pleasing and dynamic to the eye, and more fun and challenging to create as well. I used her headdress veil to create a triangular shaper to her silhouette which I think works well to give her a distinct and stylized silhouette against the darker sky background.

I am Hera, Zeus’s sister and wife and Queen of the Gods. As Goddess of mothers, marriage, and protector of women in childbirth, I hold my lotus-tipped scepter, and in the other hand, a pomegranate fruit; a symbol of fertility. Being the wife of an adulterer, I am known to seek vengeance against Zues’s consorts. I chase the pregnant Leto, mother to Apollo and Artemis, out of Olympos, and disguised as a maid, convince the princess Semele, pregnant with Dionysos, to force Zeus to reveal his true form; which decimates the princess to dust. I also attempt to kill the offspring of my husband’s infidelities; sending snakes to kill Herakles in his crib as a baby, and, later in life, cursing him with a madness that results in him killing his own wife and children. In retaliation to Zeus's extramarital offspring, I give immaculate birth to the metalsmith God, Hephaestos, but his crippled leg displeases me and I cruelly throw him to earth. Wishing to punish King Pelias, I also appear in the adventure tale Argonautica; assisting Jason and the Argonauts as they quest for the golden fleece.

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