Changes: Hera

Revision as of 14:01, 14 June 2010

Template:Infobox gods "Bravo. Bravo. Our hero has arrived. Applause for another bastard child of Zeus." - Hera

Greek Mythology

In Greek Mythology, Hera is the goddess of marriage, protector of women, and Queen of Mount Olympus. Wife to Zeus and also one of the original six Olympian siblings, this makes her the sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, and Hestia as well. Her Roman equivalent was Juno.

In the God of War series

God of War

Although Hera does not appear herself, she is mentioned as part of puzzle, where the player has to locate the Necklace of Hera.

God of War: Betrayal

Again without appearing herself, Hera is mentioned when her favorite pet, the giant beast Argos, tries to stop Kratos. After it is killed by an unknown assassin, Kratos is blamed by the Gods for its murder, at the same time being stopped from uncovering the truth.

God of War III

Kratos meets Hera well into his conquest, though by this point she is in a drunken stupor. She despises Kratos for what he is doing to the world, and also expresses her hatred for her husband, Zeus, for having another bastard child. Although she seems to enjoy the prospect of Zeus' death, she tells Kratos that she can't have him going looking for Pandora, and sends out Hercules into the Arena to kill Kratos. Watching as they do battle, she enjoys the very sight of it, laughing intensely.

Sometime later, Kratos catches up to her in her garden, weakened by the plagues that are killing her plants. Again blaming him, this time for her garden's state, she yells to Kratos he is destroying the entire world with his actions, even attempting to ineffectually strike him in the process. After Kratos repels her, she staggers away, declaring that her garden is well-protected, and that Kratos will die in it, an old man, as his feeble mind cannot concuct a way out.

In order for Kratos to reach and extinguish the The Flame of Olympus, he must pass through the marble-walled maze, even taking Hera's Chalice to activate a statue in aiding his passage. As he nears the end of the garden, he comes across Hera once more. She goads Kratos by calling Pandora 'the little whore', causing him to lose control, snapping her neck and killing her instantly. With her death, all flora in her garden and across the land withers and dies.

In death, Hera becomes Kratos' involuntary aid in escaping, as he uses her corpse to weigh down several pressure plates.

Powers

Hera, as a goddess, was immortal and presumably possessed powers teleportation, conjuring, power granting, regeneration, flight, shapeshifting, telekinesis, and super strength. However, the exact abilities Hera may possess are not shown at all, and through her very quick death, it can be concluded that this particular interpretation of the character is one of the weaker Olympians. This version of the character is also made to be the Goddess of plant life, in which, because of her death, all plantlife on Earth dies.

Trivia

Hera is voiced by Adrienne Barbeau.
After her first encounter with Kratos in the gardens, Hera throws away her chalice, leaving it for Kratos to be picked up freely. Due to the role of its embedded jewel in solving the subsequent puzzles, it is the only mandatory Godly Possession in the game.
It would seem that Hera has somewhat of an attraction to emeralds. Both the necklace retrieved by Kratos in Pandora's Temple in God of War, as well as the chalice she is seen drinking from in God of War 3, have a large emerald set in them. Of course, this is all under the assumption that they are indeed emeralds. The necklace holds an emerald, as the description clearly describes it. However, the green gem on her chalice could be a totally different gem altogether.
Based on the murals, as well as her statue in Pandora's Temple, it can be inferred that Hera's aged image is the result of her becoming weaker due to the deaths of the other gods, as well as that of plant life.
Given her constant drinking, the Evil of Pandora's box that infected Hera was most likely Gluttony. Her pompous behavior may also indicate Avarice or Excess.
Strangely, when Kratos kills Hera, all plant life dies, but she is not the god in control of nature. In fact, Demeter is the goddess of plant life, so why vegetation died everywhere upon Hera's death is unknown. A possibility is that since Demeter did not appear in the game, her role as goddess of plants was given to Hera instead, this goes for Dionysus as well.