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2. Hera (Juno).

The natural signification of Hera appears to have quickly disappeared among the Greeks, and she seems to have been chiefly honoured as the guardian of the marriage tie. The nobleness of the woman who preserves inviolate the sanctity of this bond finds in her its most sublime expression. As the special patroness of marriage, she was supposed to watch over its sanctity, to vouchsafe the blessing of children, and to protect women in childbirth.

Fig. 6.—Barberini Juno. Vatican Museum.

The worship of Hera was originally not very extensive. The cradle of her worship was Argos, on which account she is often termed Argive. Argos, Mycenæ, and Sparta are pointed out in the time of Homer as her favourite towns. Her worship naturally extended as her new character of goddess of marriage became more prominent. In Bœotia and Eubœa her worship was very ancient, but her chief shrine was the Heræum, between Argos and Mycenæ. Here was a most magnificent statue of the goddess, made of ivory and gold, the work of the Sicyonian artist, Polycletus.^[2]