♕ application;
.the mundane;
» Name: Katie
» Journal: prosperinne
» Contact: AIM: loveandrespekt
.the myth;
» God(dess): Hera
» Reference: I, II, III
» Family: {mother & father} Cronus and Rhea {spouse} Zeus {children} Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus (by Zeus), Pasithea (by Dionysus) [Muns who app characters who have Hera listed as their mother should be fine, I'm just stopping the list here]
» Played By: Natalie Portman
» Human Alias: Elizabeth Windsor-Lorraine
» Human Age: 32 (birthdate: november 9, 1978)
» God of...: Women and marriage. Queen of the gods.
» Flair: Those in her presence feel an increased fidelity to their significant other. They suddenly have an urge to spend time with them and might at least temporarily forget any thoughts of straying.
» Flair Type: CONTINUOUS
» Fitting in: CEO of a very popular and successful matchmaking/dating website.
» History:
Hera was born to the Titans Cronus and Rhea and had the misfortune of joining her other siblings (minus Zeus) inside daddy dearest's stomach directly after birth. Later, she was regurgitated back into the world, in tact and all in one piece. At this time, Hera joined up with her siblings to help Zeus overturn the rule of the Titans in the Titanomachy.
Once the Olympians gained rule and the Titans were entrapped in Tartarus, a majority of Hera's myths begin. First and foremost is that of her marriage to husband. After Zeus had gotten over his first consort, Metis, he became enraptured with his beautiful and strong sister. Hera fell for his sweet-talking and irresistible sex appeal and the two were married. Together, they were the King and Queen of the gods and ruled the sky. Their children were Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.
Hephaestus, though he was skilled above all others in the art of crafts, was unfortunately rather ugly and his prideful mother threw him from Olympus-- making him lame. Hephaestus got his revenge when he made her a golden throne that trapped Hera to it as soon as she sat down. It took a very long time and the aid of Dionysus and his special drink to get Hephaestus to release his mother. It was a very cruel trick and as far as Hera is concerned, the two are even-steven now.
Hera is best known for her wrathful behavior toward all of the women with whom her husband procreated. A few to know:
-Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis. Hera prevented Leto from giving birth on any mainland or island.
-Semele, mother of Dionysus. Hera disguised herself as Semele's old nurse and convinced the girl to ask Zeus to come to her in his true form. Unable to break a prior promise, Zeus came to Semele as thunder and lightning and the girl died. Zeus saved the child, Dionysus, however. Who in turn saved his mother and brings Semele to Olympus. So, good job there, Hera.
-Io. She and Zeus were almost caught by Hera, but he turned Io into a heifer. The goddess knew better though and asked for the heifer as a present from her husband. She then put Io under watch of the one-hundred eyed Argus. Hermes, under Zeus' orders, killed Argus and set the girl-heifer free. When Hera learned of this, she sent a gadfly after Io to bother as she wandered far away from Greece.
-Alcmene, mother of Heracles. Hera tried to tie her legs in knots to prevent her from giving birth but it was too late.
These women were not the only ones to suffer Hera's wrath though. There was also Echo, who often entertained and distracted the queen with stories while Zeus was philandering. When Hera found out about this deception, she cursed Echo to only repeat the words of others.
Perhaps most famous was her hatred of Heracles. When he was nothing but a baby, Hera sent two snakes to his crib to kill him, but that the small child throttled the snakes. When he was a man, Hera came after him again. This time she drove him mad to the point that he killed his wife and their children. In order to expiate this crime, Heracles had to undergo twelve impossible tasks. Throughout his labors, Hera tried to sabotage him. During one of his labors, Heracles shot Hera with an arrow in her left breast that was incurable and pained constantly. At the end of his tasks, Heracles became an immortal in his death as promised by Zeus and Hera forgave him. In a peace offering of sorts, her daughter Hebe became the immortal Heracles' wife.
Hera held in favor one mortal man, though, captain of the Argo, Jason. She aided him in his quest for the Golden Fleece by having Aphrodite make the witch Medea (who would be able to help him with his tasks with her mage) fall in love with him and they were married. However, when Jason broke his wedding vows to Medea by getting engaged to another princess he fell out of favor with Hera.
It is to note that while Hera was very against infidelity, as seen in her wrath towards all of Zeus' lovers and his children and even toward Jason, she was a bit hypocritical. On one out of control night, a party on Olympus lead to Hera sleeping with Dionysus. ...We don't like to talk about that too much. From the union came Pasithea, which Hera wed off to Hypnos for her own benefit.
Though not pivotal to the Trojan War, Hera was involved in the judgement of Paris. Her offer to the young prince was complete power and wealth. She ends up supporting the Greeks in the war.
Hera is taken from modern times.
» Personality:
Hera is, by all rights and characteristics, a queen to her very bones. Everything in her mien screams regality and queenliness. The way she talks, the way she walks, the way she holds herself, everything. She recognized this in herself from a young age and was more than happy to join her brother upon the throne. It was where she was born to be. This regality gives her a sense of entitlement, superiority and also justice. She's very apt to be haughty to those who displease her in any way and would not think twice about how it might hurt or offend the addressed party. As far as she's concerned, she is well within her rights to address others with a superiority and as queen of the gods it's probably best just to let her do as much.
It goes without saying after a perusal of her history that Hera's greatest flaw is her jealousy. Her husband is hers and she is the goddess of marriage itself. Her husband's infidelity is twice a sting to her heart because of this. Her godly temper (a trait most notable in the sexy six, excepting Hestia) is put well to use when she is jealous and hurt. Even stripped of her power, you should bet upon Hera coming up with a way to exact revenge and put those that have gotten out of line right back in their spot, if not below it. Besides, what woman wouldn't be angry at their husband cheating?
Her jealousy when it comes to her husband also has much to do with her deep-seeded insecurities. A woman who has been cheated on so many times over is bound to have some self-esteem issues. Even a goddess as powerful as Hera. She is thought to be one of the fairest on Olympus, rivaled only by Aphrodite and Athena (as told in the story of the judgement of Paris). Hera knows this and would like to think her husband knows this, but she is prone to self-doubt when her husband is off chasing skirts. Know that she would have no one know of her insecurities about her own looks or personality and if anyone did find out or it started to seep through she would deny it vehemently.
As a mother, Hera is not as fit for the role as she is for that of a queen and a wife. She loves her children deeply, yes, even those not of Zeus' lineage. But those insecurities of hers have gotten in the way in the past. With Hephaestus, she was so afraid of the embarrassment that she would suffer because of his looks that she threw him from the skies themselves. Not exactly the best kind of mothering. She is selfish, it is her way, but after Hephaestus came back and locked her in the throne she built for her she feels they're even. Her dealings with Pasithea, marrying her off to Hypnos for her own gain, are another example of her less-than stellar parenting and selfishness. At least she didn't try to fuck with Ares and Hebe?
Seen with her children, she loves them and feels bad when she harms them, she wants only to please them and her husband as well. But she is stubborn as can be. If Hera thinks she's right, she thinks she's right. Good luck trying to convince her otherwise. Even when she knows she's made a mistake, she's more than likely going to stick with it to try and save face rather than own up to it. And if you don't like it? Well, she's the motherfucking queen and she'll do as she pleases, thank you very much.
These instances of covering things up and harsh reactions in her in her marriage, with her children and when she makes a mistake are all part of Hera's need to keep up an appearance. A queen, a goddess, should have little to no personal problems. Her image is of great importance of her. She does not like to be mocked or humiliated and does not take kindly to being subjected to ridicule.
Hera is not necessarily a hard woman to befriend. If you are a mortal or god who has not messed about with her husband or has not displeased her in some way and have some certain charm, ambition or are entertaining she might be very inclined to like you. If she can be befriended, then she will be very loyal and helpful where she can be, quite like she was with Jason until he displeased her and broke her trust. And even then, if she does hate you, there's hope still because she later forgave and befriended Heracles himself. And that's really saying something. Somewhere, deep down, is some kind of a heart. It's just easier to be a bitch so you don't get hurt though.
» Sample Roleplay:
Oh, this would not do at all. She had been noticing the gods going away one after another after another, but it was not until Zeus himself had been ripped away from his place did the matter hold any poignancy with her.
First there was the initial shock of having the king of the gods himself removed from his immortal throne. There was some line that had been severely crossed in this act and whereas before Hera did not think for a moment that she should suffer the fate that her fellow gods had been subjected to, her number seemed to be up for the call at any moment.
Then there was the surge of power of being the only royal in Olympus, the sole reigning authority. The queen was without the king. Her say was the say all. She was a smart woman, a clever woman, doing the ruling on her own would not be difficult. She was meant for this sort of thing.
That power lost its charm quickly though, when the loneliness set in. Who was she to talk to? To confide in? To go to when she needed advice? Certainly the marriage was not perfect (not that she would ever utter that sentence aloud), but Zeus was not just her husband, her brother, her lover, but her best friend. She needed him in all sense of the word. She was most inconsolable, but she would probably never say so.
Now, she was suffering again the shock. The shock of mortality itself. Power sucked from the very marrow of her bones. Ailments, elements, all such sensations were felt in full. No, this would not do at all.