| Hebe | |
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Other Names |
Hebe, Juventas |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
Hebe in ancient Greek religion and mythology, often given the epithet Ganymeda (meaning "Gladdening Princess"), is the goddess of youth or of the prime of life. She functioned as the cup-bearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia. People of Sicyon also worshiped her as the goddess of forgiveness or of mercy.
Hebe is a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and the divine wife of Heracles. She had influence over eternal youth and the ability to restore youth to mortals, a power that appears exclusive to her, as in Ovid's Metamorphoses, some gods lament the aging of their favoured mortals. According to Philostratus the Elder, Hebe was the youngest of the gods and the one responsible for keeping them eternally young, and thus was the most revered by them. Her role of ensuring the eternal youth of the other gods is appropriate to her role of serving as cup-bearer, as the word ambrosia has been linked to a possible Proto-Indo-European translation related to immortality, undying, and life-force. In art, she is typically depicted with her father in the guise of an eagle, often offering a cup to him. Her equivalent Roman goddess is Juventas.
A fragment by Callimachus describes Hera holding a feast to celebrate the seventh day after her daughter Hebe's birth. The gods have a friendly argument over who will give the best gift, with Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, and Hephaestus specifically mentioned as presenting toys or, as in Apollo's case, songs. Callimachus, who composed a poem for the celebration of the seventh day after the birth of a daughter to his friend Leon, used Apollo's gift of a song as a divine prototype for his own gift. In some traditions that were recorded by Servius, her father Zeus gifted her two doves with human voices, and one flew to where the Oracle of Dodona would be established.
Hebe was initially seen in myth as a diligent daughter performing domestic tasks that were typical of high ranking, unmarried girls in ancient Greece. In the Iliad, she did tasks around the household such as drawing baths for her brother Ares and helping Hera enter her chariot. Additionally, Hebe was often connected to Aphrodite, whom she was described dancing with and acting as her herald or attendant, linking the Classical association between beauty and "the bloom of youth".
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of Hebe from before January 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- The Iliad
- Walden
- Theogony
- Bibliotheca
- Dionysiaca
- The Odyssey
- Metamorphoses