In a message dated 97-07-06 00:12:54 EDT, Deborah Danzeiser writes (in part):

<< I loved the story about the Milky Way/Hera; please, may I have your
reference? ....Heracles [also known as Hercules] was born to a mortal,
Alcmene, after she was tricked by Zeus [also known as Jupiter]. He was named
Heracles....in an attempt to stave [the] fury/jealousy [of Zeus' wife, Hera].
 It didn't work- she sent the goddess of childbirth...to hinder the birth of
Heracles and his twin brother.  When that failed, she sent serpents to kill
the infants and finally set the twelve tasks in front of him hoping to kill
him. I can hardly see her suckling him. But the Milky Way myth must have come
from somewhere- i'm just wondering now who it was?>>

Deborah, try _The Glory of Hera: Greek Mythology and the Greek Family_ by
Philip E. Slater (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1968,
reprinted 1992) pages 344-345:

"There is an old tradition that Hera was tricked into nursing the infant
hero, thus becoming his foster mother...There are two versions of the
involuntary suckling...In both versions, Heracles sucked so hard that Hera
threw him off in agony, causing a spurt of milk to fly either from Hera's
breast or the greedy Heracles' mouth, creating the Milky Way."

Rita