In mythology,
Zeus'favourite son is Heracles, & his favourite daughter is Athena. One thing that these 2 have in common is, neither one of them are Hera's children.
1. Apollo: Zeus' Best-Known Son. Of all the sons Zeus fathered, Apollo is perhaps the best known. Apollo was conceived during an illicit affair between Zeus and Leto (Zeus was married to Hera at the time), along with a twin sister named Artemis.
Zeus never cared much for his two legitimate sons, Ares and Hephaestus. And his two legitimate daughters were almost nonentities. One time Hephaestus interfered in a quarrel between Zeus and Hera, siding with his mother. In a rage Zeus hurled his ugly son down from Olympus to the isle of Lemnos, crippling him forever.
Eileithyia is said to be Hera's favorite child. Though she's not as popular as her brothers Ares and Hephaestus, there were temples built in her honor.
Sometime during her marriage, presumably in retaliation, Hera started an on and off affair with Hades that ended around the "80s." It is unknown if Zeus was ever aware of the affair.
Hera is strong-willed and empathetic; however, she does appear to have a bit of a temper. Her empathetic nature is best seen when she is able to sense that someone is suffering, and she begins to tear up in response.
After Rhea refused to marry him, Zeus turned into a snake and raped her. She had Persephone with Zeus.
After the failed marriage with Metis, Zeus fell in love with his most beautiful sister, Hera. Their wedding was extravagant, with the earth-goddess Gaia giving the married couple golden apples as a wedding present.
Aphrodite later and of her own volition had an affair with Zeus, but his jealous wife Hera laid her hands upon the belly of the goddess and cursed their offspring with malformity. Their child was the ugly god Priapos.
Athena: Goddess of War (And the Most Famous Daughter of Zeus) Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war, is arguably Zeus's most famous daughter. She was born in extraordinary circumstances. Zeus swallowed his pregnant wife Metis, after being told that her child would try to overthrow him.
Poseidon's favorite demigod son, Percy Jackson, was noted to be nearly the spitting image of his father, with the same black hair, sea-green eyes, and brooding look.
Zeus's notable spouse, Hera, holds a significant role as the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth. Intriguingly, Hera is not only Zeus's wife but also his sister. Their union began with Zeus employing a clever ploy—he transformed into an injured bird to elicit Hera's compassion and affection.
In most myths, Athena is the eldest child of Zeus. Athena's mother, Metis, was a powerful Titaness whom Zeus either seduced or raped, depending on the version of the story.
Zeus has four siblings which include Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Hestia. Zeus also had six children which include Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite. Together we will explore and learn about Greek Mythology, Zeus and his family through this beautiful gallery. This is a statue of the God, Zeus.
Amalthaea, in Greek (originally Cretan) mythology, the foster mother of Zeus, king of the gods. She is sometimes represented as the goat that suckled the infant god in a cave in Crete, sometimes as a nymph who fed him the milk of a goat.
Hera Plans to Overthrow Zeus
While Zeus was not the faithful husband he should have been, Hera was not perfect either. Her unloyalty lied in the fact that she wanted to rule over Zeus and devised a plan to do so. In order to overthrow Zeus, Hera decided that she would drug Zeus and make him fall asleep.
Hera's children were Ares (the god of war), Hephaestus (the god of fire and the divine smith), and Hebe (the goddess of youth and the cupbearer to the gods on Mount Olympus). Eileithyia (the goddess of childbirth) was sometimes also considered a child of Hera's.
The Ancient Greeks said that Hera is one of the most beautiful goddess, nearly as pretty as Aphrodite. However, her jealous and vengeful nature make her less so. Zeus is afraid of her when she throws her tantrums. She loves to make Zeus's other children's life a misery.
A while later, he rapes her, she agrees to marry him and they create a family on Mount Olympus, the Deities' new home. Unfortunately, Zeus constantly cheats on Hera and he has done it over a hundred times, but in the end Hera always forgives him.
After Rhea refused to marry him, Zeus turned into a snake and raped her. Rhea became pregnant and gave birth to Persephone. Zeus in the form of a snake would mate with his daughter Persephone, which resulted in the birth of Dionysus.
Zeus cheats on Hera because he's a reflection of the morals of the ancient Greeks. Unlike the Abrahamic god, Zeus was made in the image of man, not the other way around. Ancient Greek men viewed marriage as a necessity and a duty, not a partnership. Women existed to bear children, preferably male children.
Attested by the Greek poet Hesiod, Hera was jealous of Zeus' giving birth to Athena with Metis, so she gave birth to Hephaestus without union with Zeus (though Homer has Hephaestus refer to "father Zeus"). Hera was then disgusted with Hephaestus' ugliness and threw him from Mount Olympus.
Since Hera's husband was Zeus, king not only of gods, but of philanderers, Hera spent a lot of time in Greek mythology angry with Zeus. So Hera is described as jealous and quarrelsome.
Zeus cheated on Hera with many beautiful mortal women and men, and often showed more favor to his illegitimate children than he did to Hera's children by him, which greatly angered her.