_Ludovisi Villa, Rome_]
The bust of Hera, reproduced in our illustration, shows how the Greeks
liked to think of their queen goddess. We at once recognize the features
assigned to her by tradition; the large eyes set somewhat far apart, the
low, broad forehead, the mild expression. The waving hair is parted, and
gathered at the back in a matronly coiffure, and over it is worn the
crown of a queen.
We have seen that in Greek sculpture the artist was not always left to
represent the divinities according to his own imagination. For each one
a certain fixed type had been gradually thought out in very early times,
and this type was handed down from generation to generation. A statue or
bust could always be recognized without any title. No one, for instance,
could ever mistake Zeus for Apollo, or confuse Hera and Athena.
By comparing this head of Hera with that of Athena in our previous
illustration, we can see how perfectly sculpture carried out the
distinctions in the two characters. Hera was less intellectual than
Athena, and had perhaps more distinctly feminine charms. The mouth has
less strength and firmness, the expression more mildness. Her beauty is
naturally of a more matronly type than that of the virgin goddess. The
crown which she wears belongs as distinctly to her as does the helmet to
Athena.
A careful examination of the face suggests that it may have been studied
from actual life. If, as some critics believe, the bust was made in Rome
by some Greek sojourning there after the conquest of his own nation, a
noble Roman matron may have been the model. Be that as it may, this is
Hera as the Greeks worshipped her, and perhaps the best existing
representation of the great goddess.
V