'youth'), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, often given the epithet Ganymeda (meaning "Gladdening Princess"),[1] is the goddess of youth or of the prime of life.

Although she was not as strongly associated with her father, Hebe was occasionally referred to with the epithet Dia (see Cult), which can be translated to "Daughter of Zeus" or "Heavenly".

[13] In some traditions that were recorded by Servius, her father Zeus gifted her two doves with human voices, and one flew to where the Oracle of Dodona would be established.

[11] In a rare, alternative version of Hebe's conception, her mother Hera became pregnant merely by eating a lettuce plant while dining with her fellow Olympian, Apollo.

[14] Despite these concerns, it was also believed that lettuce benefited menstrual flow and lactation in women, characteristics that may associate the plant with motherhood.

A fragment by Callimachus describes Hera holding a feast to celebrate the seventh day after her daughter Hebe's birth.

[18] In some traditions that were recorded by Servius, her father Zeus gifted her two doves with human voices, and one flew to where the Oracle of Dodona would be established.

[11] Hebe was initially seen in myth as a diligent daughter performing domestic tasks that were typical of high ranking, unmarried girls in ancient Greece.

[20] Additionally, Hebe was often connected to Aphrodite, whom she was described dancing with and acting as her herald or attendant, linking the Classical association between beauty and "the bloom of youth".

[23] In some depictions on vase paintings, such as the Ricci Hydria dated to approximately 525 B.C.E., Hebe drives a chariot and is the one to bring her future husband, Heracles, to Olympus from Earth upon his apotheosis, a role traditionally fulfilled by Athena.

[24][25] A Krator in the Cleveland Museum may depict Hebe in chariot ready to leave Olympus to retrieve her husband in the presence of her mother, Artemis, and Apollo.

[27] Here the couple is presented as one of the paradigms for marriage of Philadelphus and Arsinoe with Heracles retiring to Hebe's chambers in a scene reminiscent of a wedding.

[27] Catullus in Poem 68 makes a positive reference to the legal marriage of Heracles to the virginal goddess Hebe to contrast with the poet's secret affair with a married woman.

[34] The reasoning for Hebe's supposed dismissal was transformed into a moralizing story in the 1500s by the Church of England, where it was stated in a note in an English-Latin dictionary that she fell while in attendance to the gods, causing her dress to become undone, exposing her naked body publicly.

Philostratus the Elder states that she is the reason the other gods are eternally young, and Bacchylides alleges that Hebe, as the princess (basileia), is responsible for immortality.

[5][36] This is another justification for her marriage to Heracles, as it ensures not only his immortality but also eternal youth, which were not viewed as equivalent in myths, such as with the case of Tithonus.

[24] Scholars point to the headless bust of a well-dressed young girl that may have served as the antefix or acroterion of the temple as possibly being a representation of Hebe.

Hebe was also worshipped as a goddess of pardons or forgiveness; freed prisoners would hang their chains in the sacred grove of her sanctuary at Phlius.

Another notable depiction of a winged Hebe is by the Castelgiorgio painter on a cup, who pairs her with her mother and Ganymede analogously with Zeus; Ares stands in the center of the scene indicating familial harmony.

[52] Hebe may have also been depicted on a fragmentary votive relief that was excavated near the Erechtheion, which shows Heracles being crowned by Nike, who places her left arm around another goddess's shoulders.

Her prominent position may be due to her association with feasts, being the patron of brides, or because a mortal man is marrying a goddess, referencing her own marriage to Heracles.

[24] The bride sits in the centre of the scene on a stool and is surrounded by her friends who prepare her for her wedding as her mother, Aphrodite, oversees the process.

In the later period, many depictions were portraits of ladies as Hebe, for which at a minimum the only modifications to a normal costume needed were a flowing white dress, some flowers in the hair and a cup to hold.

[57] An entirely nude depiction by Ignaz Unterberger was a huge success in Vienna in 1795, and bought by Emperor Francis II for a large amount; the artist was also made a court painter.

Hubert Gerhard created an early statue of Hebe in 1590 that is currently on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts, which depicts her naked, holding her dress in one hand and a cup raised above her head in another.

An elaborate marble group with a naked Hebe and the eagle with wings outspread was started in 1852 by the elderly François Rude but unfinished by his death in 1855.