January 12: Wedding Month

Contrary to what the movie wants us to believe, supreme goddess Hera hated the hero Herakles. She went out of her way to make his life miserable, as he was the son of Zeus and the mortal princess Alkmene. Herakles was raised far away from the Olympos, but when he met Megara, the woman of his dreams, and founded a family, Hera got track of him. She struck him with madness, and in a daze of insanity, he slaughtered not only Megara, but also his children. His “twelve labours” are a penitence for this atrocious act. He later would remarry, to the princess Deianeira, but could never commit like he did to Megara. Still, it was Herakles who rescued her when she was assaulted by a wild centaur. In his dying moment, the beast tricked Deianeira into spilling some drops of his blood on a coat, telling her it would make Herakles love her forevermore. But the blood was poisonous, and it lead to Herakles’ quite horrific death. After which he ascended to the Olympos after all, and got Hebe, goddess of youth, as yet another wife.