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Hera Argivacopyright ©1991 Patrick Holloran All Rights Reserved 28" x 22" Acrylic on Canvas previous | thumbnails | next |
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I make no claims to being an expert on Greek mythology. With that in mind, here is the abbreviated story of Hera.
In Greek mythology, she was the queen of the gods. She was the sister and wife of the god, Zeus (the head honcho - the supreme deity of the ancient Greeks). She was also the goddess of women and marriage. Which might explain why she harassed Zeus so much about his philandering. She was a jealous wife and was known for her vindictive nature. She was the mother of Ares, god of war; Hephaestus, god of fire; Hebe, goddess of youth; and Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth. Hera is often identified with the Roman goddess Juno. Hera's main sanctuary was at Argos in the Peloponnesus, Greece, where she was worshipped as the town goddess. Other temples stood in Olympia, Mycene, Sparta, Paestum, Corinth, Tiryns, Perachora, and on the islands of Samos and Delos. My painting depicts the temple at Paestum, an ancient Greek city in Southern Italy. Actually, there are two temples at this location that are now believed to have been dedicated to Hera. The southernmost is the older of the two, dating to the 6th century B.C. It has also been referred to as the Basilica, but generally called Hera I. To the North is the temple that was formerly believed to have been in honor of Poseidon (god of the sea and of horses), but is now considered to have been dedicated to Hera. My painting depicts this second temple, which is called Hera II. It was built between 460 B.C. and 430 B.C. In the painting, on the right, behind Hera, is the floorplan of the temple. Each dot represents a column. And on the left is the facade and cross section showing the double colonnade of the cella. This is a prime example of the classic hexastyle temple. On the main floor there are six columns across the front and back and 14 columns down each side. Each column measures nearly 2 meters (about 7 feet) in diameter at the base and 8.8 meters (about 29 feet) in height. The temple measures 24.31 by 59.93 meters (about 80 by 197 feet). The interior of the cella measures no more than 11 by 28 meters (about 36 by 92 feet). Hera is leaning against a somewhat stylized version of a column. She is more than likely pondering her next act of revenge. For further reading and viewing of actual photographs of the Temples of Hera, link to the Digital Imaging Project by Mary Ann Sullivan. Also, visit the Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, Paestum. For further reading (sorry, no actual photographs) on Hera, link to the Encyclopedia Mythica -- Hera. Also, visit Bonus.com. 
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