(urth) Junie Moon (Again)

[James Wynn]

> There's something that doesn't compute here...
>Greco-Roman myth (Juno and Hercules are the Roman names) had Juno as the 
>enemy of Hercules, not his employer. Hercules being the issue of yet 
>another of Jove's  infidelities, she sent serpents to kill him at birth and 
>others at various later times. Meanwhile, Herc's usual "employer" was 
>Augeas (the 12 labors).

Well, as with so many things about the myths it is not entirely clear that 
Hercules was originally understood as Hera's enemy. His Greek name, 
HERACLES, means "Glory of Hera". Still, his *ultimate* employer is usually 
seen as King Eurystheus. His employment to Eurystheus was assigned to him by 
the Oracle at Delphi (which originally belonged to Hera) because Hera drove 
Heracles mad and had him murder his family.

So it is perfectly reasonable --in a Lupine sense-- that Hercules would be 
employed by Juno, although one should be suspicious of her motives in 
employing him.

[Aside] The concept of a *seemingly* hostile divine patron is not unheard of 
even in Christianity. This messianic text is assigned by Christians to 
Jesus:

"Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased JHVH to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: 
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he 
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the JHVH shall prosper in his 
hand."



> I suppose a maiden could be a priestess of Juno, who is a goddess of 
> fidelity as well as marriage, but after being raped or seduced by Jove 
> (accounts differ), she would hardly be a maiden thereafter, unless the 
> cloudy guise of Jove allows the same dodge around defloweration that the 
> ray of light shining through Mary's goblet without/breaking it does in 
> Christian iconography.
>
The logical inconsistency of being a "virgin" and having had intercourse is 
an issue that was taken up by the Jewish polemics regarding Jesus's claimed 
virgin birth. However, a few Talmudic scholars acknowledged the physical 
possibility. It is possible, though rare, for a woman to become pregnant 
without completely breaking equipment. But it doesn't really matter in these 
examples since Mary's pregnancy was a miracle (not a physical event): "The 
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall 
overshadow thee" (Luke 1: 35).  One presumes Zeus did not have a human form 
unless he wanted to, and could have had intercourse with Io without one 
(whatever would be meant by Zeus's divine lust).

J