The anniversary of the marriage, Theogamia, (gamos) of Zeus Teleios (authority, head of family) and Hera Teleia, giving its name to the month, the 27th Gamelion, the month of marriage (Theogamia for the marriage of the gods). Not much is known about Theogamia other than that it was celebrated with a large festival.
Theogamia, the marriage of Zeus and Hera
Because holy matrimony was commemorated this month, the month became the ideal time to get married, perhaps because of the imminent arrival of spring (Parke 104). It is also possible, but less likely, that the month first was a month of marriage and then became the appropriate date to celebrate the union of Hera and Zeus.
Although Theogamy probably did not commemorate the union of Zeus and Hera as recounted in the Iliad, the epic tale describes how such a divine union might have been imagined by the ancients:
“With this the son of Kronos took his wife in his arms and beneath them now the holy land burst with fresh green grass, crocuses and hyacinths, dew-soaked clover, so thick and soft that it lifted their bodies hard and compacted soil…
Folded deep in this bed they lay, and around them enveloped a wondrous cloud of gold, and showers of sparkling dew rained around them both. And so, deeply at peace, the Father fell asleep on the peak of Gargaron, conquered by Sleep. And strong attacks from Love, his wife locked in his arms. »
—Iliad, 14.413-421, translated by Robert Fagles
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