January 11: Wedding Month

Every family has its struggles, but the relationship of Zeus and Hera was a particularly stormy one. Zeus never quite grabbed the concept of monogamy, putting Hera through all stages of fury, yelling, crying, and taking revenge – on the mistresses and their offspring. She even orchestrated a revolt once, but nothing made him change his ways. And one morning, she had had enough, left Olympos and vanished into thin air. Now, Zeus hated losing face. And besides, he had gotten kind of used to being someone she loved. So he planned a scheme to get her back. With the help of a friend in Plataia, he dressed a statue as a bride, had a portrait made and spread the news he was going to remarry – again. A furious Hera immediately showed up, but oddly enough, when she discovered it had been a trick, she felt… flattered. And to Zeus’ satisfaction, she showed it generously. And they lived happily ever after? Well, they lived ever after, let’s keep it at that.