Hebe (; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, often given the ephitet Ganymeda (meaning "Gladdening Princess"), is the goddess of youth or the prime of life. She was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia. She also was worshipped as the goddess of forgiveness or mercy at Sicyon. Hebe is a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and the divine wife of Heracles (Roman equivalent: Hercules). She had influence over eternal youth and the ability to restore youth to mortals, a power that appears exclusive to her, as in Ovid's Metamorphoses, some gods lament their favoured mortals aging. According to Philostratus the Elder, Hebe was the youngest of the gods and the responsible for keeping them eternally young, and thus was the most revered by them. Her role of ensuring the eternal youth of the other gods is appropriate with her role of serving as cupbearer, as the word ambrosia has been linked to a possible Proto-Indo-European translation related to immortality, undying, and lifeforce. In art, she is typically seen with her father in the guise of an eagle, often offering a cup to him. Eagles were connected with immortality and there was a folklore belief that the eagle (like the phoenix) had the ability to renew itself to a youthful state, making the association with Hebe logical. Her equivalent Roman goddess is Juventas. Etymology The is the inherited word for "youth", from Proto-Indo-European *(H)iēgw-eh2-, "youth, vigour". The name Hebe comes from the Greek word meaning "youth" or "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". Juventus likewise means "youth", as can be seen in such derivatives as juvenile. Mythology Birth Hebe is the daughter of Zeus and his sister-wife Hera. Pindar in Nemean Ode 10 refers to her as the most beautiful of the goddesses, and being by her mother's side in Olympus forever. 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. 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. This version was recorded by