Lesser known variants of Zeus and Hera's birth and early life in Crete.
Etym. Magnum s.v. Ἥρα 434.49
Hera, the goddess: so called because she is the same as air. For just as πατὴρ (‘father’) becomes πάτρα (‘fatherland’) and μήτηρ (‘mother’) μήτρα (‘womb’), so too ἀήρ (‘air’) becomes ἥρα (‘hera’) by transposing the letters. Or else because Rhea (ἡ Ῥέα) bore her; for when Kronos became aware of this, he ordered that the child be shown to him. Or else because Rhea, being pursued by Kronos, gave birth to Hera first by chance, while still carrying Zeus in her womb; and when Kronos became aware of this, he came forward and ordered that the child be shown to him. When he saw her, he ordered that she be taken up (ἄραι) and raised. The Cretans pronounce ἄραι as ἦραι (‘herai’), and so they named her Hera.
Ἥρα, ἡ θεός· ὅτι ἡ αὐτὴ τῷ ἀέρι ἐστίν. ὡς γὰρ πατὴρ πάτρα, καὶ μήτηρ μήτρα, οὕτως ἀήρ, καὶ καθ’ ὑπέρθεσιν ἥρα. ἢ ὅτι ἡ Ῥέα αὐτὴν ἔτεκεν· ὡς γὰρ ἥσθετο ὁ Κρόνος, ἐκέλευσε δεῖξαι τὸ παιδίον. ἢ ὅτι παρὰ τοῦ Κρόνου ἡ Ῥέα ἐπιδιωκομένη, ἀπὸ τύχης πρῶτα ἔτικτε τὴν Ἥραν· τὸν δὲ Δία ἔτι ἐν γαστρὶ εἶχεν. ὁ δὲ Κρόνος, ὡς ἥσθετο, παραπορεύεται, καὶ ἐκέλευσε δεῖξαι τὸν παῖδα· ὡς δὲ εἶδεν, ἐκέλευσεν ἄραι καὶ ἐκτρέφειν. οἱ δὲ Κρῆτες τὸ ἄραι ἦραι φασί· καὶ Ἥραν ὠνόμασαν αὐτήν.
Etym. Magnum s.v. Ἀρκέσιον 144.32
Arkesion: the name of a cave on Cretan Ida. They that say it was named by the Kouretes from ἀρκέσαι (‘to succour’), because it gave them succour when they were running away from Kronos, and had descended into it and hidden themselves. So Xenion writes in his On Crete. (cf. Schol. Aratos 30-33bis)
Ἀρκέσιον· οὕτω καλούμενον ἄντρον τῆς Κρητικῆς ῎Ιδης. παρὰ τὸ ἀρκέσαι (τὸ βοηθῆσαι) φασὶν αὐτὸ ὑπὸ Κουρήτων ὀνομασθῆναι, ὅτι τὸν Κρόνον αὐτοῖς φεύγουσι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ καταδυεῖσι καὶ κρυπτομένοις ἐπήρκεσεν. οὕτω Ξενίων ἐν τοῖς Περὶ Κρήτης.
It is also said that the marriage of Zeus and Hera happened in the territory of the Knosians, at a place near the river Theren, where a temple now stands in which the locals offer holy sacrifices annually, and imitate the marriage in the way tradition says it was first performed.
λέγουσι δὲ καὶ τοὺς γάμους τοῦ τε Διὸς καὶ τῆς Ἥρας ἐν τῇ Κνωσίων χώρᾳ γενέσθαι κατά τινα τόπον πλησίον τοῦ Θήρηνος ποταμοῦ, καθ᾽ ὃν νῦν ἱερόν ἐστιν, ἐν ᾧ θυσίας κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἁγίους ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγχωρίων συντελεῖσθαι, καὶ τοὺς γάμους ἀπομιμεῖσθαι, καθάπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενέσθαι παρεδόθησαν.
Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἑρμιών ε277.13
Hermion and Hermione, from the genitive Hermionos, in the same way ‘Kalyke’ derives from ‘kalykos’, ‘Chitone’ from ‘chitonos’, and ‘Hegemone’ from ‘hegemonos’. It was also called Lakereia. Hermion derives its name from when Zeus and Hera, arriving from Crete, anchored (ὁρμισθῆναι) there, with the ‘ο’ changing to an ‘ε’. For this reason there was also a temple of Hera Parthenos there. The ethnic name is Hermioneus, and the feminine form Hermionis. (cf. Eust. ad Il. 2.560)
Ἑρμιών καὶ Ἑρμιόνη, ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑρμιόνος γενικῆς, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς κάλυκος ἡ Καλύκη καὶ τῆς χιτῶνος ἡ Χιτώνη καὶ ἡγεμόνος Ἡγεμόνη. ἐκαλεῖτο δὲ καὶ Λακέρεια, Ἑρμιών δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ τὸν Δία καὶ τὴν Ἥραν ἐνταῦθα ἀπὸ Κρήτης ἀφικομένους ὁρμισθῆναι, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ 'ο' εἰς 'ε', ὅθεν καὶ ἱερὸν Ἥρας παρθένου ἦν ἐν αὐτῇ. τὸ ἐθνικὸν Ἑρμιονεύς, καὶ Ἑρμιονίς τὸ θηλυκόν.
