HEBE

Daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of eternal youth. She was represented as the handmaiden of the gods, for whom she pours out their nectar, and the consort of Heracles after his apotheosis. She was worshipped with Heracles in Sicyon and Phlius, especially under the name Ganymede or Dia. She was represented as freeing men from chains and bonds, and her rites were celebrated with unrestrained merriment. The Romans identified Hebe with Iuventas, the personification of youthful manhood. As representing the eternal youth of the Roman State, Iuventas had a chapel on the Capitol in the front court of the temple of Minerva, and in later times a temple of her own in the city. It was to Jupiter and Juventas that boys offered prayer on the Capitol when they put on the toga virilis, putting a piece of money into their treasury.