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ofbloodandfaith · 4 years

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Day 11 of 30 Days of Hera

Festivals, days, and times sacred to this deity

There are a few different festivals and dates that are sacred to Hera that happens throughout the year. Keep in mind that as the Hellenic (attic) calendar is lunar it can be difficult to work out when the festivals happen, as the attic calendar starts in June/July and each month starts with the new moon.

Gamelia

The month of Gamelia is a celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera

Hieros Gamos (Sacred Marriage) - Theogamia - Gamelia

The month of Gamelion is noted most for the celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera, the Hieros Gamos (Theogamia - Gamelia), on the 27th of Gamelion, beginning at sundown on the 22nd of January for this year.

Gamelion was the month for marriages in ancient Greece as marriage was instituted by Zeus and Hera. It is not only a time for marriage but a time to renew marriage just as the Gamelia is renewed each year. In particular, the Gamelia or Theogamia (marriage of Gods) is a pronouncement of the joint rule of Zeus and Hera as echoed in Homeric Hymn 12 to Hera where Hera is revered and honored no less than Zeus:

Of Hera I sing, the golden-throned, whom Rhea bore to be queen of the immortals, of supreme beauty, sister and wife of Zeus the loud-booming; glorious one, whom all of the blessed ones on long Olympus revere and honor no less than Zeus whose sport is the thunderbolt.

A number of early temples such as the temple to Hera at Olympia were built for Hera and Zeus with separate temples to Zeus built later. In patriarchal ancient Greece, women had powerful goddesses for protection and guidance such as Hera, Hekate and Artemis. Hera is Goddess of Beginnings, Marriages, and Light and especially Queen of the Immortals.

Daedala

Another festival for Hera and Zeus but held every four years

In Ancient Greece, the Daedala (Greek: δαίδαλα) was a festival of reconciliation that was held every few years in honor of Hera, consort of the supreme god Zeus at Plataea, in Boeotia, being one of the major cults of the city.

According to Pausanias, there was a "lesser Daedala" (Δαίδαλα μικρά), celebrated every four years or so exclusively by the Plataeans, and a "greater Daedala" (Δαίδαλα μεγάλα), celebrated by all of Boeotians every fourteen cycles (approx. 60 years).

In the lesser Daedala, the people of Plataea went to an ancient oak grove and exposed pieces of cooked meat to ravens, attentively watching upon which tree any of the birds, after taking a piece of meat, would settle. Out of this tree they carved an image, and having it dressed as a bride, they set it on a bullock cart with a bridesmaid beside it. The image seems then to have been drawn to the bank of the river Asopus and back to the town, attended by a cheering crowd.[1]

Heraean Games

A race with only young girls competing

The Heraea was an ancient Greek festival in which young girls competed in a footrace. The race was held every four years at Olympia, and probably took place around the same time as the ancient Olympic games.[1]

Not much is known about the Heraea, but most of our knowledge comes from Pausanias' Description of Greece.[2] The date that the festival began is uncertain. Pausanias says that the games are αρχαια (archaia, "old")[2] There is evidence for cult activity in Olympia as far back as the tenth century BC, but the earliest cultic activity at the site appears to centre around the cult of Zeus; the cult of Hera was certainly in place by about 600 BC, when the first temple of Hera at Olympia was built.[3] It is uncertain whether the races were an original feature of the festival, or a later addition.[3] One story in Pausanias associates the sixteen women responsible for the Heraea with the conflict between Elis and Pisa after the death of Damophon, tyrant of Pisa around 580 BC. If the festival were already established by this point, there may have been a re-organisation around this time (as there was at other Greek festivals in the late archaic period).[4]

Junonalia

A Roman festival dedicated to Hera’s Roman counterpart Juno

The Iunonalia or Junonalia is a Roman festival in honor of Juno, held on March 7 (the Nones). Among extant Roman calendars, it appears only in the Calendar of Filocalus (354 AD),[1] and was added to the festival calendar after the mid-1st century AD.[2]

The Junonalia is attested also in a fragmentary poem De Iunonalibus, attributed to Claudian.[3] In it, Juno is addressed as mistress of the celestial pole, and the spouse and sister of the king of heaven. Her function as a goddess of marital bonds is also noted. Although the text is conjectural at this point, she may be asked to grant a return.[4]

The Junonalia may have concluded a three-day festival begun March 5 with the Isidis Navigium, the "Sailing of Isis."[5] In the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, Isis is addressed as Queen of Heaven, and by the 2nd century a number of goddesses, including Juno, shared the epithet Caelestis.[6]

As for a day that could be dedicated to Hera, Thursday or Friday would be my best guess. Thursday to be honoured alongside Zeus or Friday as the day belongs to Venus or Aphrodite, and Hera and her share domain over the planet/star venus and some of their jobs and epithets.

Thursday -- Thor's day

Middle English

thur(e)sday

Old English

thursdæg

Old Norse

thorsdagr

"Thor's day"

Old English

thunresdæg

"thunder's day"

Latin

dies Jovis

"day of Jupiter"

Ancient Greek

hemera Dios

"day of Zeus".

Thor is the Norse god of thunder. He is represented as riding a chariot drawn by goats and wielding the hammer Miölnir. He is the defender of the Aesir, destined to kill and be killed by the Midgard Serpent.

Jupiter (Jove) is the supreme Roman god and patron of the Roman state. He is noted for creating thunder and lightning.

Zeus is Greek god of the heavens and the supreme Greek god.

Friday -- Freya's day

Middle English

fridai

Old English

frigedæg

"Freya's day"

composed of

Frige

(genetive singular of

Freo

) +

dæg

"day" (most likely)

or composed of

Frig

"Frigg" +

dæg

"day" (least likely)

Germanic

frije-dagaz

"Freya's (or Frigg's) day"

Latin

dies Veneris

"Venus's day"

Ancient Greek

hemera Aphrodites

"day of Aphrodite"

Freo is identical with freo, meaning free. It is from the Germanic frijaz meaning "beloved, belonging to the loved ones, not in bondage, free".

Freya (Fria) is the Teutonic goddess of love, beauty, and fecundity (prolific procreation). She is identified with the Norse god Freya. She is leader of the Valkyries and one of the Vanir. She is confused in Germany with Frigg.

Frigg (Frigga) is the Teutonic goddess of clouds, the sky, and conjugal (married) love. She is identified with Frigg, the Norse goddess of love and the heavens and the wife of Odin. She is one of the Aesir. She is confused in Germany with Freya.

Venus is the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Aphrodite (Cytherea) is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

#30 days of devotion #30 days of deity devotion #30 days of hera #dodekatheism #hellenic polytheism #hellenismos #hellenic pagan #for the love of apollo #for the love of the dodekatheon #ares is great #Hail King Zeus and Queen Hera #hermes is my god #Hades is great too #Hestia is a sweetheart

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