Hera’s protective strength manifests itself not only in her relationship with her husband but in her relationship to the community. Hera is a queen and the wider realm of things is as much her province as her family. Her attempt to make communities both of Olympos and the earth is an expression of the passionate concern she embodies for the communal life, for the whole. Aphrodite’s passions may move us more readily in their intensity and surrender to the moment, but societies cannot survive without Hera’s steadfast commitment to the values and institutions on which they are founded.