L' Hera de Zeus

English summary: In dictionaries of mythology, the goddess Hera is an irascible wife and imperfect mother, confronted with a frivolous Zeus who populates the Greek world with his "bastards." Indeed, since The Iliad, Mount Olympus has resonated with Hera's tantrums: countless narrative traditions spotlight the goddess' fury, the infidelities of her reigning spouse, and the persecutions to which she subjects his illegitimate offspring, including Heracles and Dionysus. Yet how can this...
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English summary: In dictionaries of mythology, the goddess Hera is an irascible wife and imperfect mother, confronted with a frivolous Zeus who populates the Greek world with his "bastards." Indeed, since The Iliad, Mount Olympus has resonated with Hera's tantrums: countless narrative traditions spotlight the goddess' fury, the infidelities of her reigning spouse, and the persecutions to which she subjects his illegitimate offspring, including Heracles and Dionysus. Yet how can this image be reconciled with the cultural influence of the sovereign goddess in her sanctuaries of Argos, Samos, and others? Should this be deemed proof that Greek myths and cults form two heterogeneous and irreconcilable wholes - respectively, imaginary fantasy and earnest practices of the religious life? By tackling such questions, this study of Zeus' Hera provides us new perspectives to better understand the society of gods, the destiny of heroes and the lives of mortals. As spouse and queen, Hera shares the king's throne and bed. As Zeus' intimate enemy, she is also the fierce guardian of the Olympian family's legitimacy and integrity. In refraining from projecting moralizing rhetoric and anachronic categories of interpretation onto the Greek gods' world, the author allows the features of Zeus' Hera to emerge in more subtle and complex detail, thus challenging the concept of power in ancient Greece with all of its tensions, as well as the workings of polytheism. French description: Dans les dictionnaires de mythologie, la deesse Hera est une epouse irascible et une mere imparfaite face a un Zeus frivole, peuplant le monde grec de ses batards . Et, de fait, depuis l'Iliade, l'Olympe retentit des coleres d'Hera : bien des traditions narratives mettent en scene la fureur de la deesse, les infidelites de son royal epoux et les persecutions auxquelles elle soumet ses rejetons illegitimes comme Heracles ou Dionysos. Mais comment rapporter cette image a la dimension cultuelle de la deesse souveraine en ses sanctuaires d'Argos, de Samos ou d'ailleurs ? Faut-il y voir la preuve que les mythes et les cultes grecs forment deux ensembles heterogenes et inconciliables, respectivement la fantaisie de l'imagination et le serieux des actes de la vie religieuse ? En affrontant ces questions, l'enquete sur l'Hera de Zeus ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour comprendre la societe des dieux, le destin des heros et la vie des hommes. Epouse et reine, Hera partage le trone et le lit du roi. Ennemie intime de Zeus, elle est aussi la farouche gardienne de la legitimite et de l'integrite de la famille olympienne. En s'abstenant de projeter sur le monde des dieux grecs des lectures moralisantes et des categories d'interpretation anachroniques, on voit se dessiner l'Hera de Zeus en des traits plus subtils et plus complexes qui donnent a repenser la configuration du pouvoir en Grece ancienne, avec les tensions qui l'habitent, tout autant que le fonctionnement du polytheisme.