Juno was the Roman goddess who protected the nation as a whole but also kept special watch over all aspects of women's lives. She is often thought of as the Roman version of the Greek goddess of love and marriage, Hera. Juno was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the chief Roman god, and the two of them were worshipped along with the goddess Minerva on the Quirinal in Rome.

After a long series of wars with Macedonia, the Roman army conquered the Greek peninsula, and as a consequence, Hellenic culture - art, literature, and philosophy - infiltrated much of Roman life. This infiltration included Roman religion. While their names did not change, the Roman gods began to become more closely associated with their Greek counterparts: Venus became more like Aphrodite, Pluto became Hades, Neptune became Poseidon, and lastly, Jupiter became Zeus.

The myths and legends of Roman mythology gradually grew distorted, and many Roman gods began to lose their identity and their individuality. However, one soon forgets that the Roman gods existed long before the arrival of the Greeks, before they lost their uniqueness. And this loss can best seen with Jupiter’s wife and sister, Juno, who is not to be confused with her Greek counterpart Hera. In every aspect, Juno was a goddess in her own right.

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