Monday, May 23, 2011

Hera, Protectress of Women

The third symbol for Hera is the pomegranate which she shares with Persephone. She is often depicted holding the pomegranate but there is no reference in her myths to its significant. Ripening late in the year, the leathery-skinned pomegranate, so full of juicy seeds, is a marvelous image for a woman in her late years, her crone years. The deep red juice of this fruit was often likened to blood and in some areas of Greece, was designated as food for the dead, heightening this connection to her crone phase.Hera is the goddess of marriage, women, and birth, and the pomegranate is a symbol of marriage, marital love, and fruitfulness.
Hera's crown is either a diadem - a cloth headband signifying royalty; or a polos - a representation of the starry vault of heaven. I have put a white fleur-de-lis, but may change to or add stars since Hera is credited with forming the milky way from her breast milk.