Did Hera turn a woman into a spider?
792934#7
Among the Olympians, the weaver goddess is Athena, who, despite her role, was bested by her acolyte Arachne, who was turned later into a weaving spider. The daughters of Minyas, Alcithoe, Leuconoe and their sister, defied Dionysus and honored Athena in their weaving instead of joining his festival. A woven peplum, laid upon the knees of the goddess's iconic image, was central to festivals honoring both Athena at Athens, and Hera.
Textiles in mythology and folklore
43446#9
It has also been suggested that Jeremias Gotthelf's nineteenth century novella, "The Black Spider", was heavily influenced by the Arachne story from Ovid's "Metamorphoses". In the novella, a woman is turned into a venomous spider having reneged on a deal with the devil.
Arachne
63610#31
Ancient Greeks believed that the flesh of peafowl did not decay after death, so it became a symbol of immortality. In Hellenistic imagery, the Greek goddess Hera's chariot was pulled by peacocks, birds not known to Greeks before the conquests of Alexander. Alexander's tutor, Aristotle, refers to it as "the Persian bird". One myth states that Hera's servant, the hundred-eyed Argus Panoptes, was instructed to guard the woman-turned-cow, Io. Hera had transformed Io into a cow after learning of Zeus's interest in her. Zeus had the messenger of the gods, Hermes, kill Argus through eternal sleep and free Io. According to Ovid, to commemorate her faithful watchman, Hera had the hundred eyes of Argus preserved forever, in the peacock's tail.
Peafowl
21275580#9
Athena and Cho attempt to gather the other Olympians to confront Hera, but are rejected; meanwhile, Hercules travels to retrieve Hebe, who, after being exiled from the Olympus Group by Hera for her betrayal, ended up working with May Parker in a homeless shelter. May set her up with Peter Parker on a date, something that enrages Hercules. After an extended fight, Hebe breaks it up, and she and Hercules are reconciled. Spider-Man and some of his fellow New Avengers join Hercules and his teammates U.S. Agent, Hank Pym and Quicksilver from the Mighty Avengers to battle Hera. Hera, reveals her plan meanwhile: to erase all existence and replace it with a new universe devoid of human life. She is able to do this by using an invention called "Continuum" which was created by the mortal Pythagoras Dupree. The Avengers trick their way into the Olympus building, but are quickly confronted by Hera's forces who have the upper hand in battle. In alliance with Hephaestus, Delphyne Gorgon uses a special weapon to turn Athena to stone, an act which undoes the Gorgon curse on her. The reborn Zeus convinces Hera to stop her plan only for Typhon to reveal that he is no longer under Hera's control. He slays both Hera and Zeus before Hercules successfully defeats him. Athena then reveals that he must die so that Cho can become the new "Prince of Power". She destroys the Continuum machine with Hercules in the other world, seemingly killing him.
The Incredible Hercules
4449097#6
The episode's secondary plot takes place on "Galactica". The copy of Number Eight that defected from the Cylons gives birth by cesarian section to a baby who she and Karl Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett) call "Hera". However, President Laura Roslin, and her secretary, Tory Foster, and Dr. Cottle conspire to fake Hera's death fearing what would happen if the Cylons knew the child lived. President Roslin also did not want Hera to be raised by her Cylon mother, Sharon, whom she still does not trust. At the end of the episode, the child is given to a woman who believes the child was born on Pegasus, while Helo and Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) scatter the ashes they believe to be Hera's into space.
Downloaded (Battlestar Galactica)
32703921#16
When the civilians who gained spider powers start to turn into half-spider creatures, Spider-Woman is fighting some of them while Mister Fantastic states in the communication that HYDRA once used a corrupted version of her DNA on Alicia Masters as part of their super-soldier experiment. Mister Fantastic then has Spider-Woman look for Alicia Masters.
Spider-Island
38076424#3
In an attempt to get back on Hera, Wonder Woman, with the help of another half-mortal scion of Zeus, Lennox Sandsmark, hatches a plan, in which they try to convince Poseidon and Hades, Zeus' brothers, to collectively rule Olympus in their brother's apparent absence. This deal angers Hera, who comes down and argues that the throne is for her to rule. Due to Hera being present on Earth at that time, Wonder Woman transports to her domain and destroys Hera's pool, which she uses to observe and watch over her enemies, thus making it no longer possible for her to know about Zola's whereabouts. While Poseidon is amused by the fake deal Wonder Woman and her allies made, Hades feels insulted and captures Zola and takes her to hell, saying that he will not release her until Diana fulfils her side of the deal.
Zola (DC Comics)
2866484#36
After the truth about Diana's birth is revealed, Hera, the queen of the Greek gods, appears on Paradise Island to punish Hippolyta (not for having an affair with her husband, but for having been too weak to resist Zeus' seduction). Hippolyta had predicted this, and asks Hera to take her life in exchange of letting Diana live. However, Hera changes her mind at the last second, and instead of killing Hippolyta, turns her into stone and the rest of the Amazons, minus Diana, into snakes, thus destroying Wonder Woman's home and her only family.
Hippolyta (DC Comics)
13815#15
A major factor in the well-known tragedies surrounding Heracles is the hatred that the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, had for him. A full account of Heracles must render it clear why Heracles was so tormented by Hera, when there were many illegitimate offspring sired by Zeus. Heracles was the son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, home early from war (Amphitryon did return later the same night, and Alcmene became pregnant with his son at the same time, a case of heteropaternal superfecundation, where a woman carries twins sired by different fathers). Thus, Heracles' very existence proved at least one of Zeus' many illicit affairs, and Hera often conspired against Zeus' mortal offspring as revenge for her husband's infidelities. His twin mortal brother, son of Amphitryon, was Iphicles, father of Heracles' charioteer Iolaus.
Heracles
38076424#5
Zola's life would again be put to risk later when Apollo begins targeting her baby on the basis of a prophecy, which says that one of Zeus' children will rule Olympus and kill Apollo, who he believes his Zola's baby. Apollo, along with his twin sister Artemis, attack Wonder Woman, Lennox and Hermes, and Apollo manages to capture Zola and take her to Olympus. Hera strikes a deal with Apollo, exchanging Zola for the Throne of Olympus. However, Wonder Woman and Hermes arrive in time to save Zola, and battle the twins again. During the battle, Hera throws Zola off from the edge of the mountain, but is saved by Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman then sends Zola to Earth along with Hermes. There, Zola delivers the baby, but the baby is stolen by the traitorous Hermes and is given to Demeter, leaving her heartbroken. Wonder Woman meanwhile strikes a deal with Apollo, saying that Apollo must leave Zola and her baby alone, or she will personally see to it that the prophecy is fulfilled. However, this is agreed on the condition that if the child referred to in the prophecy turns out to be Zola's baby, Diana must kill the child herself. Returning to Earth, she finds a weeping Zola, and after learning about Hermes' actions, she promises Zola that she will rescue her child and bring Hermes to justice.
Zola (DC Comics)
9713411#19
Within the context of the stories, Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman, had retired from super heroics, and gotten married. She gives birth to a baby boy, Gerry, who was diagnosed with a strange blood-borne disorder due to radiation exposure in the womb. With doctors and medicines unable to help her son, Jessica recreates the experiment that cured her of her radiation poisoning, the experiment that made her Spider-Woman. The experiment imbues Gerry with spider-like powers, but did not cure him. Gerry's illness strains his parents' marriage and leads to their divorce. Feeling responsible for the break-up, Gerry becomes withdrawn. Jessica tries to alleviate his pain by telling him stories from her past, his favorites involving Spider-Man.
Alternative versions of Spider-Man