February 17: Love Month

One of the most coveted scenes in Homer’s account of the Trojan war, is when Hera ventures to distract Zeus’ attention from the battle field, in order to give the Greeks some respite. Most gods favoured one side or the other, and she hated the Trojans, because the Trojan prince Paris had denied her the title of “fairest goddess”. (She wasn’t known for her graciousness in defeat.) Zeus – almighty or not – was defenseless to the one power she had at her disposal. She lent Aphrodite’s love belt, though she hardly needed it. Isn’t it primarily self confidence that makes a woman irresistible? And irresistible she was. She diverted Zeus in the most pleasant way, giving the Greeks the chance to regroup. It’s a remarkable episode in Homer’s Iliad, and a coveted subject for artists. And plagiarists, like Nonnus of Panopolis, whose novel contains exactly the same scene, in a very different war. With Zeus just as eager before their encounter, and just as aggrieved afterwards. And with Hera shrugging: “All is fair in love and war.”

Zeus and Hera on mount Ida, Antoine Coypel, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes, France

Jupiter and Juno, Antonio Carracci, Galleria Borghese, Roma, Italy