Juno
Queen of the Roman gods and protector of women and the state, counterpart to the Greek Hera
The Myth of Juno
Juno was one of the Capitoline Triad alongside Jupiter and Minerva, and her worship was central to Roman civic life. As Juno Lucina she presided over childbirth, and as Juno Moneta she guarded the Roman mint — giving us the word "money." Unlike Hera, whose mythology centres on jealous rage, the Roman Juno carried a more dignified civic role, though she inherited many of Hera's stories. The month of June, considered the most auspicious for weddings, takes its name from her. She was honoured at the Matronalia festival on the first of March, when husbands gave gifts to their wives.
Parents
Saturn and Ops
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "money" derives from Juno Moneta, because Rome's mint stood in her temple on the Capitoline
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Hera
⚡ godQueen of the gods and guardian of marriage
The queen of Olympus and goddess of marriage who defended the institution of matrimony with a wrath that shaped half the myths.
Venus
⚡ godLove, beauty, desire, fertility
Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility, identified with the Greek Aphrodite but also revered as ancestress of the Roman people
Hera
⚡ godQueen of the gods, marriage, family, childbirth
Queen of the Olympian gods and goddess of marriage. Known for her jealous rages against Zeus's lovers and their children.
Libera
⚡ godFemale fertility, freedom, wine
Roman goddess of female fertility and freedom, consort of Liber, sometimes identified with Proserpina
Minerva
⚡ godWisdom, strategy, crafts, education
Roman goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and the arts, equated with the Greek Athena
Lucina
⚡ godChildbirth, light, newborns
Roman goddess of childbirth who brought babies into the light, equivalent to the Greek Eileithyia
Demeter Thesmophoros
⚡ godlaw, agriculture
An epithet of Demeter as bringer of divine law and civilised customs, honoured at the Thesmophoria, the most widespread festival in the Greek world.
Hera Teleia
⚡ godmarriage, completion
An epithet of Hera as goddess of marriage and its fulfilment, worshipped as the divine model of the married woman and protector of the wedding ceremony.
Eileithyia
⚡ godGoddess of childbirth
Eileithyia presided over every birth — without her, no child could be born, giving her quiet but absolute power.
Athena
⚡ godGoddess of wisdom, craft, and strategic warfare
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, strategic war, and craftsmanship — born fully armoured from Zeus's head, she was the most respected and feared Olympian after Zeus himself.
Athena
⚡ godGoddess of wisdom and strategic warfare
The warrior-goddess born from Zeus's head who embodied strategic intelligence, craft, and the civilising arts of the city.
Ops
⚡ godAbundance, harvest, earth
Roman goddess of abundance and the harvest, wife of Saturn, equivalent to the Greek Rhea