Perfect Example Of Zeus Paranoia Towards Hera example essay topic

Throughout the Greek mythology, Zeus has been involved with many women and has faced many resistances from them. Zeus has faced many hurdles not only on his way to become the 'king of olympians' but also after that with his relationships with women. Hera, Zeus's last wife, has been directly or indirectly involved in placing most of these hurdles. Of Zeus's seven wives, Hera, also known as Judo, has been the most quarrelsome and mistrustful of her husband. She was frequently angry and jealous of Zeus's other relationships. In many instances, she has been the source of hurdles in Zeus's relationships with other women.

Although described as a sacred marriage, one which was intended to symbolize and promote fertility of crops on earth, since the sky, represented as male, must fertilize the earth through rain in order for life to begin there, t hier marriage has never been a smooth one and they have had some bitter fights. In one instance, Zeus hung her out of Olympus with two great weights attached to her feet, and her arms bound by golden chains, as punishment for her having plotted against Hercules. Homer, the author has portrayed the relationship of Zeus and Hera very much like that between a man and a woman. Homer shows how like men and women, even God's lie and and are gull able. In one instance, he shows how, in order to borrow sexual allure from Aphrodite, Hera lies to Aphrodite about going to visit Oceanus and mother Tethys, not telling her original plan of seducing Zeus and making him fall asleep during the war.

Then Hera goes to Sleep and asks her for his help and in return of her daughter Pasi thea. Since Sleep has always been in love with Pesithea, the greed makes him give in to Hera's request. In this episode, Homer has shown that like humans, greed makes the immortals do things they would not have otherwise done. When Hera finally reaches Olympus, she lies to Zeus too and Zeus gets duped and falls into the trap of her seduction, this episode shows how the king of olympians gets and is not able to foresee Hera's plan. In one portrait which shows Zeus's paranoia towards Hera, Zeus is worried about the quarrel with his wife Hera and tries to resist Thetis's plea to help son Achillis and aid Trojans in the war against the greeks. This image shows Zeus in a firm and decisive mode and trying to resist Thetis as Hera looks on and is a perfect example of Zeus paranoia towards Hera.

Another such example is the story of Io, an innocent victim of Zeus's lust. After Zeus has forcibly slept with her, he does not come to protect her from Hera, who has found out about the episode. Zeus, in fair of Hera, does not do anything to protect Io from his wife's fury. Hera sends a stinging drag fly who drives Io insane. In Hed oids Theogony, it was shown how Gaia con pires against her husband Uranus and influences Krunos, her son, to castrate Uranus as a revenge to her sufferings. Rhea also gives rocks, instead of Zeus, to Krunos to swallow so that Zeus lives on and in future takes her revenge from Krunos.

These episodes show how an angry and jealous wife has successfully disabled the husband from becoming the 'father of gods and men'. In order to become the King of Olympians, Zeus must be watchful of Hera and should understand and successfully overcome all the hurdles put in his way by her. In one such instance, Hera tried to chain down Zeus, with the help of Poseidon and Athene, but the arrival of Thetis with the sea giant Aegaeon put paid to their plans. This was a perfect example of Hera's attempt to disable Zeus from taking control. All these instances justify Zeus's paranoia towards his wife Hera and her attempts to have a role in the running of the universe. It is quite evident after reading about the Greek Mythology that Zeus and Hera did not have a smooth.

Though there is only one account described of them making love, Hera is said to bore four children to Zeus, Eileithyia, Hebe, Hephaestus, and Ares, none of whom has a significant role in olympus. Out of them, Ares is believed to be the most hated by his father Zeus. Zeus hates Ares, but accepts responsibility for siring him, telling him that if he were born of any other god, he would have been 'lower than the sons of heaven' long ago. Ares, the God of war, often took his mothers side in wars and other quarrels between Zeus and Hera, which mig th be one of the reasons why he was hated so much by Zeus. In The Iliad it is said that his father, Zeus hates his son because of his perpetual violence and aggression.

Zeus considered his youngest son, Ares, to be worthless, calling him 'hateful' and 'pestilent' and a 'renegade' and considered him to be the reason of war and hatred.