Although Hera was universally acknowledged as the Queen of Heaven, she was actually Zeus's seventh wife.
As Georgiana drifted down the river and watched the Baroque palace draw nearer, she could not help thinking of the Palace of Louis XIV she had seen in Brussels. On the exterior of that palace, where he had never lived for even a single day, was a gilded relief of Apollo driving a chariot.
Apollo and Artemis were born to Zeus and his sixth wife, Leto. In fact, Leto had been with Zeus before Hera, but once Hera learned of Leto's existence, she flew into a rage and forced Leto into hiding from place to place.
Only after great difficulty did Leto give birth to Artemis and Apollo on a floating island, yet Hera sent a giant serpent to assassinate them.
Poseidon discovered the giant serpent as it crossed the sea, so the Earth-Shaker stirred up winds and waves, blocking its path and sparing Leto and her children from harm.
Yet even Leto's fate was far better than that of Zeus's first wife.
After hearing a prophecy that he would be overthrown by his own child, Zeus's father Kronos swallowed every one of his children the moment they were born.
With Gaia's help, Zeus escaped disaster. Once he had grown up, he indeed overthrew Kronos and the Titan gods he led, rescuing his brothers and sisters.
Metis was a sea goddess and the primordial goddess of wisdom. Hesiod called her the wisest among all gods and men. After she married Zeus, Zeus too heard a prophecy that Metis would bear a child stronger than himself, so he swallowed her.
By then, she was already carrying Athena. Zeus gave birth to Athena from his head, while Metis remained within Zeus's belly.
His second wife, Themis,