u/AnthoHeraFan

By well known myth, I mean a myth that every "surface-level" so called myth fan knows, after reading Hesiod, Homer or Ovid, or just Wikipedia pages and Theoi referencing these authors. Not something you can find only in some scholia, Servius' commentary, Vatican Mythographers etc.

Personally I don't like Hephaestus being son of Hera alone, I prefer him being son of Hera and Zeus. Also, Ovid's backstory for Medusa. Not because it's "actually just Roman", but because it was overdone by popculture, and spawned weird, pseudo-feminist hate on Athena

I know polygyny wasn't officially a thing in Ancient Greece. A man legally could only have one wife, and the purpose of the marriage was to have rightful heirs (even if many married men in some social cicles could have mistresses/concubines).

But in the mythology there's case of Zeus, which confuses me. Hesiod's Theogony mentions wives Zeus had before Hera, but doesn't mention any divorces (aside from Metis' case that could technically be considered a divorce Ig). In the Iliad, depending on the translation, Leto is called either wife or bedmate of Zeus. The same thing happens in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter when different translations describe Persephone's status.

So, were goddesses like Leto or Themis other wives of Zeus, with Hera being his favourite wife, or were they just his high-status concubines or even ex-wives?

I haven't sleep enough the past few days

What I mean is, the version of the myths, including the cosmology, written down by Hesiod is so much more known than Homer's, and I'm lowkey annoyed by this lol. I don't mean that Hesiod is bad, just that it's overrated atp in the online spaces (including various discussions or summaries), art or retellings.

I don't want the sea-cum-foam being the origin of Aphrodite so often, I want her being daughter of Zeus and Dione. Dione deserves more attention.

I don't want Hephaestus being son of Hera alone, I want him to be son of Zeus and Hera.

I don't want Kronos swallowing most of his kids, I want them growing up near their parents. I want to see Hera and Zeus sneaking around in their youth and keep their relationship a secret from their family. I want Hera being babysat by Oceanus and Thetys too.

I don't want Zeus having like 6-7 wives and divorces before Hera, I want her to be his only wife and true love (this ✨mommy queen✨ deserves it). While Hera is chill with Leto and Themis, even if they're oficially concubines of Zeus.

And the Iliad suggests Oceanus and Thetys are basically THE primordial gods, instead of Gaia and Uranos.

I fuck with Metis' story though.

Literally the only media I've seen where Zeus is actually concerned about Xenia, AND IT'S FROM A SILLY YOUTUBE PARODY 😭

PJO, Epic, Hades games or Blood of Zeus would never