Argive Heraion: The Great Sanctuary of Hera in the Argolid

The Story of the Argive Heraion

The plain of Argos is one of the oldest inhabited landscapes in Greece, home to the legendary cities of Argos, Mycenae and Tiryns. Above it, on the lower slopes of a mountain, the people of the region honored the goddess who was said to love this land above all others. Hera, queen of the gods and wife of Zeus, was the great patron of the Argolid, and her sanctuary here, known as the Argive Heraion, was among the most important in Greece.

In Homer's Iliad, Hera names Argos among the cities dearest to her, and the Argives took pride in this special bond. The sanctuary grew on a series of terraces climbing the hillside, with views across the plain to the sea. Its first great temple was built in the Archaic period, and over time it was surrounded by stoas, dining halls and other buildings for the crowds who came to the goddess's festival.

The Heraion is linked to a famous story told by the historian Herodotus. When the priestess of Hera needed to reach the sanctuary for a festival, the oxen that should have pulled her cart did not arrive in time. Her sons, Cleobis and Biton, harnessed themselves to the cart and pulled their mother all the way to the temple. Proud of them, she prayed to Hera to give her sons the best gift a mortal could receive. That night, after the feast, the young men lay down in the temple and never woke again. The Greeks took this as a sign that a peaceful death at the height of glory was the greatest blessing.

The old temple met a dramatic end. The historian Thucydides records that in 423 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the priestess Chrysis placed a burning lamp near the sacred garlands and fell asleep. The temple caught fire and burned to the ground. Chrysis fled to the city of Phlius in fear of punishment, and the Argives appointed a new priestess.

A new temple was soon built on a lower terrace, designed by the Argive architect Eupolemus. Inside stood a great gold and ivory statue of Hera by Polykleitos, one of the most famous sculptors of the classical age. According to the travel writer Pausanias, the goddess was shown seated on a throne, holding a pomegranate in one hand and a scepter topped with a cuckoo in the other. The cuckoo recalled the myth that Zeus had first approached Hera disguised as that bird.

With the decline of the old religion, the Heraion was gradually abandoned and its buildings fell into ruin. The site was excavated by American archaeologists at the end of the 19th century, who uncovered the terraces, the foundations of the temples and many offerings. Finds from the sanctuary, including fine sculptures and votive objects, can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and in museums of the Argolid.

Today the Argive Heraion is a peaceful and little visited site, a short drive from both Argos and Mycenae. You can climb from terrace to terrace among the foundations of the stoas and temples, and enjoy wide views across the plain. It is easy to combine with a visit to Mycenae, and standing here you can imagine Cleobis and Biton arriving with their mother's cart, in a place that Hera herself was said to cherish.