Myths abound about the wrath of Hera in many different fronts. When it comes to
being in a seemingly steady state of pissed off Hera's temper is legendary. But
there are also lesser known tales of Hera that include the passing on of her
wrath that is referred to as "a physical transmission of kholos (anger)" where
after the rage of her breast would feed another. She did it with Achilles in
the Iliad (24.57-610) and there is also the remains of a 3rd century B.C.
Etruscan mirror that depicts Hera nursing Hercules which lends to the physical
transmission from deity and, at the same time, hints at contradiction to the
more common myths surrounding the relationship between Hera and Hercules.
In the Iliad Hera quite literally plays the role of a metaphorical viper
(ekhidna) and Achilles is her Nemean lion and she psychologically nourishes him
until he finally rejects her in part to Thetis. Both the viper and the lion
being extremely important metaphoric personifications worth noting here in Denia
being that both of these symbolic gestures appeared long before Hera herself
did.
In earlier Argolic tradition, this kind of "nursing" from Hera to hero can be
presumed to not be psychological, as later retelling makes it out to be, but
physical as it is described in the Iliad.
A massively and all too common mistake when it comes to the portrayal of Hera
today is the limitation of her being little more than the wife of Zeus even
though there is a huge amount of archeological evidence that suggests that their
actual relationship was anything but a close one and, in the ancient world, Hera
held much more sway with the people than Zeus did. When Hera had temples
peppering the landscape Zeus was only sparingly even referred to and didn't have
a single temple anywhere.
Hera is, in fact, an earth goddess. And as an earth goddess nursing earthlings,
Hera is a natural transmitter of the menos and kholos that both sustain and
bestialize the warrior. The latter being something of a "price" of sorts if one
were to consider mortal perception and opinion. Most, at least in the modern
age, don't like the idea of ever being portrayed or interpreted as a predatory
monster which is a "phase of the transmission". But, then again, most people in
modern paganism never really entertain the wrath of the gods on any level:
psychological, physical, spiritual, or otherwise. Especially when that wrath is
to be embodied in physical form which transcends the boundary of common
acceptability. Which has led us here where the notion is being explored.
This branches off of the first idea of the Gods intervening on behalf of their
chosen by simply acting out or venting their anger on those who came along with
ill intent. The idea being that if you offer offense to the chosen you also
offer it to the God or Goddess the chosen is linked to. The rarity of these
occurrences may be in part to the fact that the majority do not actually have
the relationship to the Gods that they like to think they do. The most common
mistake in the attempt to establish such a relationship is the belief that the
Gods are there to serve the whims and wishes of mortals. People just don't seem
to like to read anymore. And when they do, they read the wrong things.
Much of Hera's transformation is due to the writings of Homer. While Homer did
have her nurturing rage he depicts her as only exercising her power in fleeting
moments and in being far more subservient to Zeus that she actually is. Her
chthonic roar (another noted symbolism in Denia) and firestorms is altered from
actual battles of elemental power to metaphors of pure bravado. Homer depicts
her as a very limited goddess with no power to smite or really punish anyone, a
goddess beneath the will of Zeus and in a role of an annoyed "Stepford Wife"
full of little more than rantings and plots. A perspective that is completely
inaccurate to the pre-Homeric visions and interactions of Hera and the mortal
world as well as a vast majority of archeological evidence.
In my opinion, Homer's approach was done on purpose and reflected the social
climate of the time in which he lived. A time where women in general were being
oppressed and the male began to take dominance over the feminine. A trend that
really held on until the last century. By demeaning Hera and the other Goddesses
he demeaned women in general and set up mythology for a male dominated area of
subject matter.
Times have changed.
Still, there is this, as an example of Hera in this context:
"I'll spread and evil flame and stir up the sea in a fierce blast of Zephyr and
white-clouded Notos to burn the Trojan corpses and their battlegear. Meanwhile,
burn up the trees on the Xanthos banks. Plunge him into fire. Don't let him
divert you with honeyed words or threats. Cease not your rage until I cry out
with a loud voice. Then withhold your fire." (Il. 21.334-41=e)
Still not exactly the description of a Goddess of marriage and birth who views
herself subservient to anyone or limited to a nurturing role while being all but
powerless. Even in the Iliad her rage held sway and was undeniable.
In modern times, Hera at Denia is as undeniable as her influence in ancient myth
with many preludes to her incarnation. The Denian lions, the Roar, the viper,
the defiance of the modern portrayal of pagan identity, the transcendent
philosophies and approaches to all the things that make our lives what they are
and sets them just beyond the normal scope of mundane existence.
Of course, there are countless other facets to explore under the current thread.
But I would be surprised if anyone made it this far into it with such a serious
and more scholarly feel to the subject matter. This is not another colorful tale
of Denian experience. Where I am concerned this is the sum of all things and
something that reaches back to the beginning and, like a child, had to be raised
before being let loose on the world and the minds of men.
There is more.
There is always more...
