Hebe | |
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Cupbearer to the gods Goddess of eternal youth |
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Hebe by Antonio Canova, 1800–05 (Hermitage, St. Petersburg)
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Abode | Mount Olympus |
Symbol | Wine-cup, Eagle, Ivy, Fountain of Youth, and Wings |
Consort | Heracles |
Parents | Zeus and Hera |
Siblings | Aeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Ersa, Helen of Troy, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai |
Children | Alexiares and Anicetus |
Roman equivalent | Juventas |
Hebe (/ˈhiːbi/; Greek: Ἥβη) in ancient Greek religion, is the goddess of youth (Roman equivalent: Juventas). She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles (Roman equivalent: Hercules); her successor was the divine hero Ganymede. Another title of hers, for this reason, is Ganymeda. She also drew baths for her brother Ares and helped Hera enter her chariot.
Hebe was supposed to have the power to give eternal youth, and in art is typically seen with her father in the guise of an eagle, often offering a cup to him. This depiction is seen in classical engraved gems as well as later art and seems to relate to a belief that the eagle (like the phoenix) had the ability to renew itself to a youthful state.
Hebe is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. In an alternative version, her mother became pregnant merely by eating a lettuce plant when dining with Apollo.