Hera and Zeus had one of the most complicated marriages in mythology. He was the king of the gods, throwing lightning bolts and chasing mortals.
She was the queen, watching with sharp eyes and sharper wit. Zeus may have been powerful, but Hera was clever enough to match him again and again.
Here are ten times Hera managed to turn the tables on the ruler of Olympus.
1. The Great Binding of Zeus
One of Hera’s most famous tricks came when she had enough of Zeus’s arrogance.
Along with Poseidon and Athena, she plotted to overthrow him. They managed to bind him with unbreakable chains while he slept.
The other gods began to whisper about dividing his power, but Zeus eventually broke free thanks to Thetis bringing in the hundred-handed Briareus to help.
Still, the fact that Hera had gotten so far proved she could humble even the king of the gods.
For a moment, Zeus was helpless, and it was his wife who had led the rebellion.
2. The Seduction on Mount Ida
During the Trojan War, Hera wanted to distract Zeus so the Greeks could gain the upper hand.
She went to Aphrodite and asked for her magic girdle, a belt that made its wearer irresistible.
With the girdle hidden beneath her clothes, Hera approached Zeus on Mount Ida. He fell instantly into her spell, forgetting the war, the gods, and everything else.
While he was lost in passion, the other gods took advantage and pushed the battle in favor of the Greeks.
Zeus may have had thunderbolts, but Hera’s charm and planning managed to turn the tide of an entire war.
3. The Trick With Tiresias
There was once a debate between Zeus and Hera about who enjoyed love more, men or women.
Tiresias, who had lived both as a man and a woman, was called in to settle it. Zeus argued that women enjoyed it more.
Hera argued the opposite. When Tiresias sided with Zeus, Hera was furious. But her fury disguised the fact that Zeus had fallen into a trap.
He had gotten the answer he wanted, yet Hera ensured that Tiresias was struck blind for daring to expose such secrets.
Zeus may have gloated, but Hera made sure the outcome still left scars. Her cleverness meant she could twist even his victories into something painful.
4. Sending Clouds to Hide Lovers
Zeus’s infidelity was constant. Whenever he went chasing after mortal women, Hera would often find a way to reveal the truth.
In some stories, she cleverly used clouds to expose him. Zeus thought he could hide his affairs by cloaking himself in mist.
Hera, however, would pull the veil away, revealing him in the act. The mortals he pursued often suffered, but Hera’s quick mind ensured that Zeus never truly escaped her gaze.
Even when he tried to hide in storms, Hera proved that no disguise was strong enough to fool her.
5. Hera’s Golden Throne
Another of Hera’s tricks came when she was furious with Zeus and the other gods. She had Hephaestus, her son, build a golden throne.
It was dazzling and beautiful, a gift fit for a king. But once Zeus sat on it, he found himself trapped.
The throne had invisible bonds that held him fast. No matter how he struggled, he could not rise.
The other gods pleaded with Hephaestus to release him, but the craftsman refused.
Only after Dionysus tricked Hephaestus with wine did he agree to free Zeus.
Still, the episode left Zeus humiliated. His queen had used his own pride to snare him.
6. The Trojan War Manipulations
Hera was one of the key figures in the Trojan War, and she often maneuvered Zeus into positions that served her side.
While Zeus tried to appear neutral, Hera constantly pushed him with subtle words and clever schemes.
At one point, she worked with Athena to tip the scales against the Trojans, using trickery to bypass Zeus’s orders.
Even when he thundered in anger, Hera managed to twist events so that her will had already been carried out.
She showed that the battlefield was not ruled by force alone. Wit, patience, and manipulation could win wars just as easily as weapons.
7. Turning Echo Into a Distraction
Zeus relied on his cleverness to carry out affairs, but Hera often outmaneuvered him. One such moment came with the nymph Echo.
Zeus used Echo to distract Hera with endless chatter while he slipped away to his lovers.
But Hera realized what was happening and turned the situation on its head.
Instead of punishing Zeus, she cursed Echo, making her only able to repeat the last words she heard.
The curse silenced Zeus’s cover and ensured his trick would never work again. Hera’s keen observation and decisive punishment cut his scheme apart at the root.
8. The Monster Typhon
When Zeus and the gods faced Typhon, the monstrous storm giant, it seemed the king of Olympus might be undone.
Yet Hera played a subtle role in the chaos. Some stories suggest that her past plots against Zeus, including the binding attempt, gave Typhon courage to rise.
While Zeus eventually defeated Typhon, Hera’s history of rebellion meant that his enemies always had hope.
She had shown the world that Zeus was not untouchable. In a way, her earlier wit had already weakened the foundation of his rule.
Even the king’s greatest battle carried shadows of Hera’s defiance.
9. Protecting Argos With Clever Watchfulness
Zeus often tried to undermine Hera’s sacred places, but she stood firm. Her city, Argos, became a symbol of loyalty and cunning protection.
When Zeus plotted to weaken its people or turn them against her, Hera always outmaneuvered him with divine guardians and hidden schemes.
She placed Argus, the hundred-eyed giant, as her sentinel. Even Zeus had to act carefully, knowing that Hera’s watch never slept.
Argos remained hers despite his constant attempts to interfere. It was not thunder that kept the city loyal. It was Hera’s unblinking vigilance and her clever use of allies.
10. The Silent Resistance
Perhaps Hera’s greatest trick was not an action at all but her ability to resist Zeus over centuries of betrayal.
She never left him, but she never bowed completely either. Every slight, every affair, every insult was answered with wit, anger, or cunning retaliation.
She undermined him at councils, plotted with other gods, and turned his own desires against him.
While Zeus shouted with thunder, Hera spoke with patience and cutting words.
Her silent resistance was proof that even the king of gods could not fully dominate his queen.
She matched him in will, if not in power, and left her mark on every myth where his arrogance tried to overshadow her.
Sempre senti uma forte ligação com o Divino desde o meu nascimento. Como autora e mentora, a minha missão é ajudar os outros a encontrar o amor, a felicidade e a força interior nos momentos mais sombrios.