Hera

* Elysium
* Classic

*Hera is a serious and scornful goddess. She loves her children to no end, often plotting cruel revenge upon any who would threaten or slight her children. Hera does not enjoy being queen but seeks the power that comes with it, and is more than willing to oversee the daily operations of Olympus for her carousing husband. Though spiteful of Zeus' escapades and often jealous, she does care for Zeus on some level.*

 History

### Early Life

As the Titans' influence and power grew, as mortals began to spread their legend across the land, the Titans no longer wished to spend time among the mortals and wished to dwell in the 'Haven', the impressive transdimensional residence and research station that Ouranos and Gaia had built for themselves atop Mt. Othrys. So to this end, the Titan Rhea discovered a way to extract the essence of the most powerful Titan, Kronos, and bestow that essence upon six of Kronos' most loyal mortal followers: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, and Hestia.

Hera is said to have been a skilled mediator before the Titans chose to pluck her from obscurity and make her their fifth divine servant. Gifting her with the essence that capitalized on her skills of perception and manipulation, Hera became a trusted adviser to her Titanic masters.

In a sense, these six were now Kronos and Rhea's children and though unrelated in their mortal life, they were spiritual siblings, connected by the essence of their 'father'. These six were then sent out to further the legend of the Titans and to handle the Titans' interest in the mortal world, leaving the Titans able to spend more time in their Haven on Othrys.

However, one by one, the six began to realize that their physical existence and metaphysical empowerment gave them the potential that exceeded the Titans' own power.

Hera was tasked to travel among the mortals in secret, learning of their secrets and alerting her overseers to the presence of any possible uprisings. Her position was so vital that even when Kronos had become his most paranoid, he resisted locking up Hera long after he had locked up most of her kin.

In Tartarus, Hera had nearly managed to orchestrate her own release from the prison when Zeus chose to liberate her instead. Always one to capitalize on an opportunity, Hera decided to throw her support in with Zeus and convinced many undecided siblings to do the same, forming the alliance known as the Quorum of Six.

As the war raged on, Hera convinced Zeus to join her powers with his through intimacy and sworn marriage. From their union, two great sons were created: Ares and Hephaestus. Hera loved her children very much and at first, their existence helped ease Hera’s pain as she discovered Zeus had continued his philandering ways.

As tensions escalated at home and with the Titans, Hera decided that open war might not be needed. She sought to negotiate with the Titans, in secret, wanting a more stable existence for her two sons. She arranged to talk with Rhea on neutral ground, but when she went to the meeting with Ares and Hephaestus accompanying her, she found Kronos himself waiting there instead of Rhea. Ambushed, Hera's sons did their best to defend their mother, but in the melee, Kronos nearly crippled Hephaestus and almost did the same to Ares. Hera used her powers to compel Ares to retrieve Hephaestus and flee, sacrificing herself to be captured to spare her sons.

Ares returned to the cave with Hephaestus and word of Hera's capture. After hearing of this, Zeus decided that the time they had been waiting for was now. And so, to rescue Hera, the gods rallied their allies and made an assault on the Haven on Mount Othrys.

In the melee, a great deal of ichor and blood was shed. There were gods whose names were lost to history that died on that battlefield, but in the end, the three brothers of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades took down their creator.

Hera’s capture was the catalyzing event that led to the Titans being overthrown as Zeus came to the rescue of his wife. This act managed to convince Hera that Zeus did love her... for a time. Also, by remaining the wife of Zeus, Hera became queen of Olympus.

### Rise of the New Gods

Eventually, Hera filled with resentment once more and became quite jealous and vindictive of her husband’s lovers and often chose to scheme against them as a pastime. She and Zeus also had another child, a daughter named Hebe.

Hera took her role as Queen of the Gods very seriously, though she often acted out of spite. This was seen when she conspired with Apollo to reject Artemis' request of reincarnating Callisto, who, she had tricked Artemis into killing after catching Callisto with Zeus.

### Elysium

In Elysium, Hera has moved beyond her husband’s indiscretions and has chosen to carry on a number of casual affairs herself, but not as an act of retribution or pleasure-seeking, but simply as a means to consolidate power to support her various machinations and further other various agendas. Recently, Hera has shown a lot of bias toward the expansion of Ares’ New Spartan Empire: which has irked Zeus and his daughter, Athena, to no small measure.

## Role in NeOlympus

Appearances of Hera

 Abilities

* **Elder Goddess:** The fifth being endowed with Titanic essence and made immortal, Hera was given the ability to sense mortal thoughts and emotions. Using those powers, Hera kept tabs on the mortal subjects of the Titans before she joined her spiritual brothers and sisters in the great usurpation. With her marriage to Zeus, Hera became queen.
* **Queen of the Gods:** By decree of the Six, Hera has the right to rule Olympus in the absence of Zeus and has the authority to speak for all Olympians as their chief diplomat. Due to Hera’s own superior skill at diplomacy, her husband Zeus often leaves many matters that do not interest him for his wife and queen, Hera to oversee.
* **Goddess of Fidelity:** Her first gift from the Titans, Hera is able to sense the intentions, thoughts, and emotions of mortal minds with considerable accuracy and even the weaker-minded of the divine. Hera’s power is especially keen when it comes to the minds of the less-than-scrupulous.
* **Goddess of Sacrifice:** As the goddess of Sacrifice, Hera gets a small portion of worship from all religious sacrifices made to the pantheon. Hera is also able to discern the recent sacrifices a mortal has made (if any).
* **Goddess of Unions:** Elysian tradition holds that contracts, marriages, and agreements are made in Hera’s name. By doing so, Hera can look upon a mortal and know if they are bound by a contract or married, know the name of their partners or spouse, and whether or not any involved partners have been true to the terms of their agreements.
* **The Beautiful Trinity:** Considered to be one of the three most beautiful goddesses, Hera shares the title of ‘Goddess of Beauty’ with Aphrodite and Athena. As a result, Hera receives worship from those wishing for beauty.
* **Keeper of the Diadem:** The Diadem is a relic of the Titans which Hephaestus enhanced. This crown amplifies the mental acuity of its wearer and when worn by a divine being such as Hera, it bestows considerable psionic power.
* **Inheritance and Birthright:** Gods of Olympus will inherit three abilities: One Inheritance from their mother (or matron), one Inheritance from their father (or patron), and one unique ability called the Birthright.
	+ **Maternal Endowment: Fertility Affinity:** Rhea endowed Hera with the power to use essence to enrich organic matter and thereby restore its vigor. With this ability, she can instantly heal minor ailments, cure impotence or infertility over time, and get an overall sense of the general health of all beings in her locality.
	+ **Paternal Endowment: Fidelity Affinity:** Kronos Endowed Her with innate insight into the depravity of all beings and how to use their dark desires agents them. She can sense if anyone is deliberately concealing something from her and can slowly discover what that is through observation, conversation, and unnatural insight.
	+ **Personal Birthright: Command:** Hera can overwrite a sentient being's free will to compel them to do as she desires. This is a brute force magical compulsion and many come with severe consequences for both Hera and her target.

## Relationships

Hera's only significant relationship has been with her husband, Zeus.

* **Zeus:** Hera's husband, whom he fell in love with years after he lost Metis. When the two married and had children, Hera's love shifted to their children, often leaving Zeus out. As a result, Zeus began having affairs once more. Unbeknownst to him, his actions nearly caused Hera to betray the gods to the Titans. The two remained married, still loving one another, but both live their own lives. While Hera carries out her own affairs for political reasons, she is still deeply hurt by the affection he shows those he seduces.
* **Athena:** Hera despises Athena since she is Zeus' oldest child and legitimate through his marriage to Metis (thus making her the heir to Olympus). Hera believes that her children should inherit the throne, not Athena. The two are consistently at odds.
* **Hephaestus and Ares:** Hera's sons (with Ares being the favorite), she's currently supporting Ares in his war against Athena and believes that they should become the next rulers of Olympus.
* **Hebe:** Hera's daughter, Hera has been attempting to persuade her daughter to take Dionysus' place in the Twelve and thus gain an active voice in the Pantheon. Despite Hebe's wishes against this, Hera continuously pressures her.
* **Artemis:** Artemis despises her father's wife, believing their marriage disrespected her mother. Artemis also holds Hera responsible for the death of Callisto.

## Trivia

### General

* Before she was exalted she was a princess from an island south of the center of the Titans' domain. Though Hera was from a matriarchal society and was in line to inherit her mother's throne, when the Titans demanded Hera be given to them as a sacrifice, the queen did not object. The sacrifice was a test of Hera's diplomatic skills. Two others had failed the test before she had, but only Hera managed to impress the Titan. She had not only won her life but also eternal life in the process.

### Mythology

* In Greek Mythology, Hera was the biological child of Kronos and Rhea. She grew up to marry her brother Zeus. In NeOlympus, the incest is avoided by making the Eldest Gods spiritual siblings, so there is no biological relationship, and the affairs with his own children are completely cut out.
* In Mythology, Hera transformed Callisto into a bear in order to trick Artemis into killing her. In NeOlympus, that was just a story made up by Apollo to make Hera look even worse than she already was.

## Gallery

Hera
(Elysium)Juno
(Rome)Hera
(Classic)The Emissary
(Champion of the Titans)
## Links and References

1. ↑ A Beginner's Guide to NeOlympus (W.I.P.)
2. ↑ New-NeO-Hera
3. ↑ NeOlympus Chapter 27