Hebe

Hebe was the Greek goddess of youth, a daughter of Zeus and Hera. She served nectar to the gods on Olympus, and when Heracles became a god he married her; their sons were Alexiares and Anicetus. Her name is the Greek word for youthful bloom, and in the myth of Iolaus she restores a man’s youth for a day.

Hebe’s Name and Role

Hesiod says that Hera, last of Zeus’ wives, bore Hebe, Ares and Eileithyia to the king of gods and men (Theogony 921–923). Homer shows Hebe at work among the gods. In the Iliad she pours nectar for the gods as they sit with Zeus on the golden floor and look down on Troy (4.1–4); she fits the curved wheels to the chariot of Hera (5.722–723), and she bathes Ares and dresses him in fresh clothes after Paieon has healed his wound (5.905). In the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Hebe takes part in the dance on Olympus, with the Graces, the Horae, Harmonia and Aphrodite, holding hands with them (194–196).

Wife of Heracles

When Heracles had finished his toils, he made Hebe, the child of Zeus and Hera, his wife on snowy Olympus, and lives untroubled and ageless among the immortals (Hesiod, Theogony 950–955). In the Odyssey the phantom of Heracles is seen in the world of the dead, while he himself delights in the feasts of the gods and has Hebe of the fair ankles as his wife (11.601–604). Apollodorus says that Heracles and Hebe had two sons, Alexiares and Anicetus (Library 2.7.7).

Hebe and Iolaus

When Iolaus, the companion of Heracles, wished to defend the children of Heracles against Eurystheus, he prayed to Hebe and Zeus to become young for a single day and punish his enemies. In Euripides’ Heracleidae, a messenger reports that two stars settled on the yoke of Iolaus’ chariot and hid it in dark cloud; the wise, he says, call the stars Heracles and Hebe, and Iolaus appeared with the form of a young man (Heracleidae 843–858).

Ovid tells a related story in which Hebe, persuaded by her husband’s prayers, gave Iolaus back his youth. She was about to swear that she would give such gifts to no one else, but Themis stopped her, for she foretold the war at Thebes and the deaths and crimes that would come of it, and the coming of other men who would need to be made young (Metamorphoses 9.394–417).

Hebe and Ganymede

Hebe is the cupbearer of the gods in the Iliad, but no ancient source says that she lost the office. Homer tells separately that the gods carried off Ganymede, the most beautiful of mortal men, to pour wine for Zeus and live among the immortals (Iliad 20.232–235).

Cult of Hebe

Pausanias describes a cypress grove and an ancient, especially holy sanctuary of Hebe on the citadel of Phlius. The earliest Phliasians called the goddess Ganymeda, and later writers call her Hebe. The greatest honour paid there was the pardoning of suppliants: all who sought refuge received full forgiveness, and freed prisoners hung their fetters on the trees of the grove (2.13.3–4). At Athens, he saw near Cynosarges altars of Heracles and Hebe, who the Athenians thought was the daughter of Zeus and wife of Heracles (1.19.3).

Hebe Sources

Hesiod, Theogony 921–923 and 950–955; Homer, Iliad 4.1–4, 5.722–723, 5.905 and 20.232–235; Homer, Odyssey 11.601–604; Homeric Hymn to Apollo 194–196; Euripides, Heracleidae 843–858; Apollodorus, Library 2.7.7; Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.394–417; Pausanias 1.19.3 and 2.13.3–4.

See Also: Zeus, Hera, Heracles, Apollo, Themis, Iolaus, Ganymede, Ares