god
Hera
also: Ἤρα
Queen of the gods, consort of Zeus, honored on Lesbos in the island's great shared sanctuary. In the Brothers Poem she is the divinity to petition for a ship's safe return.
Reading notes
- The Brothers Poem and the Kypris Poem §brothers Hera
Queen of the gods, the right divinity for this errand: Lesbos honored her in the island's great shared sanctuary as a protector of seafarers and of the community, and Sappho elsewhere prays to her by name for a safe return. Sending a woman to petition Queen Hera is proper liturgical business, and the poet claims the job for herself.