Hecate doesnt often appear in Greek art and writing until the 5th century BCE. Hecate is usually depicted with a burning torch in her hand and with a dog laying at her feet, its head raised. Your IP: Well send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out. First 6 Months for 1.99 with Monthly Student and Teacher Plans Dismiss, 2022 Learning Mole. Lagina was one of the most important Carian sanctuaries.Hecate also has a strong connection with Georgia as well as throughout Italy. Other writers claim her as the daughter ofZeusandDemeter, Aristaion. They claim she originated in Caria, a region in southern Anatolia on the Mediterranean, and was adopted into the Greek pantheon. the Jinn or Genie-good, bad or simply Goetic spirits of another name? Contrary to popular current belief she wasnt originally a matron for women but for all who fit the above categories. A: This Greek Goddess is often considered to be capable of both good and evil. These statues took on a distinctive appearance. Hesiod describes the goddess in the following glowing terms: Zeus, Cronus son, honoured [Hecate] above all others: he gave her splendid gifts to have a share of the earth and of the barren sea, and from the starry sky as well she has a share in honour, and is honoured most of all by the immortal gods. Due to her dark attributes, this deity has often been associated with the Underworld. Origin and Family Persis and Asteria, two Titans from the generation of deities prior to the Olympians, are the legendary parents of Hecate. To find out more about LearningMole please visit our about us page or visit more of our topics available. On the other hand, Euripides says that Leto is her mother. One of Hecates frequent animal companions, and the one that shes most often depicted with, was a black dog. Several modern devotees already adapted the tradition of giving food offerings to Hekate- these are sacred meals, that are bought on the dark moon ( This is the last visible crescent of a waningMoon. The Greek three-headed hound of Hades, Cerberus, may have been an earlier version of Hecate. There might not be any figure in Greek mythology that is as misunderstood as Hecate. A: In Greek Mythology, Hecate was the Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Hecate acted as a veil between the world of the mortals and the supernatural. And during these times Hecate was also very much connected to other portals- such as doors, entrances, thresholds and eventually the crossroads. Hecate is petitioned for fertility, especially for female children. Hecate was an only child and was worshiped in households of Athens where families hoped to receive protection, prosperity and daily blessings. When her city fell, the queen was taken captive and lept off a cliff to her death. One can view the doors between the worlds as being very thin during this time therefore it is a golden opportunity to show her your respect. However. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. Hekate assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone, guiding her through the night with flaming torches. The time of the dark moon is a special time of the month to give offerings to Hecate. There are cult sites for the goddess Hecate in Caria, which shows that people there worshipped her. Her halos are usually made of moonbeams. The chief Greek god, Zeus, was very fond of this Goddess and gave her a share of the earth and sea. Study medicinal and magical herbalism and become one of Hecate's priestesses. As a protective goddess, it was common for statuettes of Hecate to be placed in the doorways of homes in Greece in the hopes that she would intervene to prevent bad fortune from passing in. And all these views if we go back in time can also be found in the Greco-Roman world. As was already said, the dog was Hecates most holy animal. The goddess had a lot of powers, some of which were later taken over by other gods. Hekat) is the feminine form of hekatos, an epithet of the god Apollo meaning "the one who works from afar."But the true etymology of the name is uncertain. The droves of kine and wide herds of goats and flocks of fleecy sheep, if she will, she increases from a few, or makes many to be less. She was specifically associated with witchcraft, magick, the Moon, Archways, and creatures of the night such as hell-hounds and ghosts. Carole Raddato/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0. But by the end of the ancient world, this image had changed into a single goddess with three heads. Hecate took pity on her, though, and brought her back to life as a dog to be her companion. A lot of the same things were said about all of the goddesses. The three-part goddess was able to keep watch in all directions, and became standard in both written and visual representations. Major temple shrines to Hecate were in the regions of Phrygia and Caria. Was the Griffin a Bird from Greek Mythology? The Hades and Persephone Story. Some myths suggest that Zeus and Hera were the parents of this Goddess, and that is how she came to control the heavens and the earth. Archaeologists have found essential offerings to the goddess at Lagina in Caria and Phrygia. Hecate helps or protects warriors, athletes, hunters, horsemen, herders, shepherds, fishermen, and children. She's ill at ease in cities and civilization. If you enjoyed this content why not dive into some more historical eras check out these articles: Ancient Rome, Ancient Egyptians The First Woman Pharaoh, Greek Mythology Medusa, Native American History. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published. This article was most recently revised and updated by, From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology, Ancient Origins - Hecate: Triple-Bodied Greek Goddess of Witchcraft and Keeper of Keys, Hecate - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). By her very nature Hecate was a goddess that existed on the edges of the Greek pantheon, yet she was also a household goddess who watched over every door in Greece. Hecate or Hekate [a] is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, [1] and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. The goddess Hecate had unusual rituals performed in her honour, which include the offerings of food given at crossroads, road junctions, and any other sort of boundary or threshold known as the supper of Hecate. A: In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, in Act three, scene five, Hecate was shown to be angry with the witches as they excluded her from their meetings with Macbeth. Hecate became Persephones guardian and close friend while she was living in the Underworld. In sculptures from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, she looks most striking when she has three bodies and three heads, one body with three heads, or three bodies and one head. This garden would've contained her sacred trees, herbs and poisons. Hecate may be invoked for healing, especially if medical solutions have failed or are not an option. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. In fact she seems to have started out as Heket, the Egyptian Goddess of Childbirth. Empusa or Empousa (/ m p j u s /; Ancient Greek: ; plural: Empousai) is a shape-shifting female being in Greek mythology, said to possess a single leg of copper, commanded by Hecate, whose precise nature is obscure. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content. They are passionate about turning your everyday moments into memories and bringing you inspiring ideas to have fun with your family. In the 6th century BCE, a circular altar was built in Miletos to honour the goddess (the earliest archaeological evidence of her worship). This grouping of the goddesses happens again in Aristophanes Frogs (1358f) when Aeschylus character calls on the goddesses. In many cultures and religions in many lands. Look for her animals: snakes, dragons, cats, and especially dogs. In addition to magic and witchcraft, Hecate was also considered to be the Goddess of crossroads, gates, and ghosts. Wormwood and cypress are traditional herbs in spirit work and lavender brings a kind of protection to your workings without banishing all the spirits around you at the crossroads. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. She held several different roles, including earth goddess, queen of the underworld, and goddess of magic and witchcraft.. Regula, deTraci. Still, she was in charge of things that put her in the spotlight. Sources say there was a sacred garden dedicated to Hecate at her temple in Colchis (modern day Georgia). Although they combined her with Diana and Artemis, the Romans also worshipped this deity, referred to her as Trivia, which means three ways. The Twelve Olympian Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology, Fast Facts on Helios - Greek God of the Sun, 10 Fast Facts on Athena and Her Parthenon, The Story of Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory, The Greek God Hades, Lord of the Underworld, Fascinating Stories About the Greek God Cronos, Marzanna, Slavic Goddess of Death and Winter, The Greek Mythology of Clash of the Titans. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. They were so closely linked that Hecate was referred to as Medeas mother in some later texts, although earlier ones had said she was the child of an Oceanid. Hecate. Persephone was married to Hades and was the queen of the Underworld. The Lampades are people who carry torches and travel with the goddess at night. People believed that by honoring and praying to this Goddess, their homes would be preserved from the vengeance of the dead. Hecate - A mysterious nature goddess associated with sorcery and witchcraft, who went with Demeter to the Underworld to fetch Persephone, but then stayed to assist Persephone. Dogs also howl at the Moon, so this could be a link. As an Amazon Associate, Kidadl earns from qualifying purchases. Hectate is derived from the Greek word 'hekatos,' which 'means worker from afar.' Greek pantheon was once much smaller than we know. The dog was so closely tied to her than in many ancient stories people could hear the howling and barking of her sacred animal when her magic was used nearby. She is helping a dog attack a giant who looks like a snake. On an Attic vase from the 5th century BCE, a woman is shown giving a goddess a puppy and a basket of cakes. She was known by her Roman name, Trivia, as well as by her triple form. The goddess was often linked to Demeter, and in some cults, she was seen as the same as Demeter. Hecate's name (Greek: Hekate, Latin: Hecate) means far-reaching one, and hints at this goddess's wide influence over a variety of earthly and supernatural affairs. She was the daughter of the Titan Perses and the nymph Asteria. As a cthonic goddess of the underworld, her rituals and rites were often associated with death and secrecy. This is how she came to command the earth, bliss . Authors from the past, like Ovid and Pausanias, say that dogs, especially black dogs, were given to the goddess as sacrifices. She was also called the Goddess of the threshold or the Goddess of the house. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, creative tips and more. Hecate was a goddess in Greek Mythology. 1.5 Baths. Scylla's most retold appearance is in Homer's Odyssey. As the Romans developed and constructed superior road systems, we started to see the emergence of choices and nowadays in modern. The goddess told Demeter everything she had heard, but Demeter didnt know who had taken her daughter. As these stories were passed on, though, they often changed. The chief Greek god, Zeus, was very fond of this Goddess and gave her a share of the earth and sea. People left the food there to honor Hecate. This food offering was known as the Supper of Hecate. The crossroads are special places, places of great power, but at the same time haunting places. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. Hecate was the goddess of borders, barriers, and boundaries. She is believed to visit the Underworld to help other gods and people who were outcasts due to fear. As a fertility deity she was invoked by women to aid conception and delivery. She is invoked for justice, especially for sexual crimes against women and girls. As she is said to be the guardian of the crossroads, she is most often depicted with three faces and carrying torches or a key. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) A mysterious divinity, who, according to the most common tradition, was a daughter of Persaeus or Perses and Asteria, whence she is called Perseis.1 Others describe her as a daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and state that she was sent out by her father in search of Persephone;2 others again make her a daughter of Zeus either by Pheraea or by Hera;3 and others, lastly, say that she was a daughter of Leto or Tartarus.4 Homer does not mention her. Another option was a dish of red mullet, which was usually not allowed to be given to other gods. The worship of Hecate continued into theHellenisticandRomanperiods with significant archaeological finds of votive offerings to the goddess being found at Lagina in Caria andPhrygia. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Hecate is invoked when justice is not forthcoming from other channels. One of her epithets, Apotropaia, references the protection she gave in these spaces. They spun the threads of fate at the base of. In Aeschylus Suppliants, for example, they were often mixed up to make a goddess with two faces. The things that make Hecate seem like an older woman are in the Pharsalia. Hecate was also linked to a lot of other goddesses from other pantheons. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-mythology-hecate-1526205. The Greek goddess Hecate, or Hekate, is Greece's dark goddess of the crossroads. Hesiod, for example, seemed to hold in in high regard and makes no mention of this darker association. Most likely, the cults of Thessalian Pherai (Pherae) and Eleusis saw Hekate as Chthonian (Underworld) Hermes's wife. ThoughtCo. Hecate was represented as single-formed, clad in a long robe, holding burning torches; in later representations she was triple-formed, with three bodies standing back-to-back, probably so that she could look in all directions at once from the crossroads. She is the witness to every crime. The conflicting origins of Hecate were only the beginning of what made this goddess so mysterious. Hecate was weaved strongly into all these symbolisms of the crossroads and still does to her devotees. The offerings to the goddess were made each month during the night of a new moon. The Kidadl Team is made up of people from different walks of life, from different families and backgrounds, each with unique experiences and nuggets of wisdom to share with you. Why notsubscribe to our LearningMole Library for as little as 1.99 per month to access over1000fun educational videos. Omissions? Not only could she move between the realms, but she had power to control the passage of others. You may request to banish harm from you and to protect you and your loved ones. She is commonly depicted as a three-headed Goddess, or the Greek version of The Triple Goddess, being the Maiden, Mother, and Crone depending on the season. Asteria may be the original goddess associated with the Asterion mountain range on the island of Crete. Long before Hesiod and Homer began writing their poetry, the stories of the gods were passed on through oral tradition. Seneca often talks about Hecate and her moon-based counterparts and even links Medea to the goddess. She may be invoked for protection for dogs and from dogs. The food offered to this deity included cheese, cakes of eggs, and a dish of red mullet. She was the daughter of Perses and Asteria. During the Romans, many of her traits belonged to the world of the dead. We try our very best, but cannot guarantee perfection. Greeks focused worship on the more protective aspects of Artemis, goddess that existed on the edges of the Greek, The Norns These three goddesses were the Norse equivalent of the Moirai. People often put pictures of the triple goddess on city walls, especially at city gates, the entrances to sacred sites, and the doorways of private homes. Another story of Hecates protective nature also involves another of her sacred animals. Hecate (also spelt Hekate) is a goddess capable of both good and evil. The Goddess Hecate is supposed to be the daughter of Perses, a Titan, and Asteria, a nymph. According to the Greek writer Hesiod*, Hecate was the daughter of the Titan* Perses and the nymph Asteria. This was a group started by May Otis Blackburn in Los Angeles, California. Hecates powers to protect were passed on from Titan parents Perses and Asteria and covered the heavens, earth and sea. You then connect yourself to her through visualizing and forming a mental image of her presence, you then thank her and pray to her. Hecate is usually thought to have originated in Thrace, a wild northern region of Greece that is also known for its tales of Amazons. They are sometimes represented with the familiar aspects of the maiden, mother, and crone. She is also mentioned in Aeneid, a play by Virgil where she guides one of the characters, Sibyl, in the Underworld. Her companions are theFuries(Erinyes), the winged creatures who punished wrong-doing, and her children are the Empusae, female demons partial to seducing travellers. But Hecate is not the evil hag that popular legend suggests. Instead, some believe that the goddess originated in Asia Minor. Hesiod only talks about her family and how she killed Clytius in the Gigantomachy. She is not a typical one-dimensional goddess but lives on many different levels. Hecates name comes from the Greek word hekatos, which means worker from afar.. Hades was pleased with this, and Hecate was allowed to come and go as she pleased from the Underworld. It is the story of how the polecat became one of her companions. She could not undo the curse, but she made the polecat her sacred servant. These primordial gods each represented a different aspect of existence, together they formed the building blocks of the early universe. Quite often warriors worshipped the goddess Hecate just as readily. 2 Beds. This is shown by her names and cult titles, such as India (which means on the way), Trodia (which means frequenter of the crossroads), and Propylaia (of the gates). The goddess was also worshipped in Kos, Erythrai, Samothrace, Thessaly, and Miletos. As goddesses that straddled the boundary between this world and the afterlife, they were believed to be the keys to uncovering the secrets of what lay beyond that boundary. According to them, Hecate is known to support bravery and hence encourage soldiers, warriors, athletes, etc. The aspects of the goddess that had darker connotations were separated from her to create another goddess altogether in the character of Hecate. She witnessed the abduction of Demeter's daughter Persephone to the underworld and, torch in hand, assisted in the search for her. According to Hesiods Theogony, the Titans were the first Greek gods born of earth and the heavens. Hecate was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. Later periods show statues of Hecate in three-fold having 3 separate bodies and faces. The Greek name of Hecate may derive from an earlier Egyptian frog-headed goddess called Heqet, who ruled over magic and fertility and was a favorite of women. In the Greco-Roman world, the crossroads were places of spirits, doorways to the other world(s), places of magic, spells and necromancy and also places of purification. Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. Hecate also has several temples where her shrine is worshipped. Hecate was a cathonic goddess that preceded the Olympians, and it seems that she was highly worshipped in Thrace. Selenite, tiger's eye, obsidian, rhodochrosite, jet, jasper, agate, and amber are the most suited crystals for Hecate. Earlier, though, there may have been fewer gods with more complex functions. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? It has been suggested that the idea of magic coming from Hecate was an evolution of the many gifts she was capable of bestowing upon her favorites. The witches were telling Macbeth about his future and had not consulted the Goddess and had left her out of the meeting. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. While Hecates temples in the area are from a later period, she bears a resemblance to a more ancient goddess in Caria. Hecate: [noun] a Greek goddess associated especially with the underworld, night, and witchcraft. In the Pharsalia, the witch Erichtho calls on Persephone as the lowest part of Hecate. Article created on Monday, March 3, 1997. Persis and Asteria, two Titans from the generation of deities prior to the Olympians, are the legendary parents of Hecate. According to a legend, Odysseus got the Trojan queen Hecuba as a captive after the defeat of Troy. Your privacy is important to us. She was not portrayed as being loving towards children but as someone who took revenge against anyone that harmed children. Hesiod goes on to say that the goddess supports warriors, athletes, hunters, horsemen, herdsmen, shepherds, fishermen, and children. She may be petitioned for a swift, painless death. But Hekate was in this time also connected to liminality. Her name is akin to the Latin words dium ("sky") and dius ("daylight"). She appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Hecate hkt, hkt , in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of ghosts and witchcraft. This is especially ironic since, after this, she seems to have become more associated with the underworld, not less. Hecate was said to be a beautiful lady with dark hair. In her form as a triple goddess, Hecate was closely linked to intersections. Hecate was sometimes seen as a Titan, like her parents, and in the battle between the Titans and the Greek gods led by Zeus, she helped Zeus and so was not banished to the underworld with the rest of them. Q: How do the three witches make Hecate angry? This made her one of the few deities to have the power to move freely between the world of the living and the underworld. In ancient times, Hecates three-part form was shown as three separate bodies surrounding a central column. The iconography had not yet come to include her usual attributes, such as her keys and torches or her three aspects. Hecate hugged the girl when Persephone was reunited with her mother, Demeter. The best of the LearningMole geography tutorials. One of these was the boundary between life and death. She was accompanied by packs of barking dogs. Hecate appears in the pseudo-Homeric hymn to Demeter- there Hecate dwelled in a cave during Kores abduction and appeared to Demeter in the dawn while she was searching for her lost daughter. "Worker-from-afar." In later times, the most common way to show Hecate in art is as a three-headed goddess with each head facing a different direction at a crossroads. Hectate has neither spouse nor children. Anatolia, which covered most of what is now Turkey, was a region that had close ties to the Greek world. Thus, pillars called Hecataea stood at crossroads and doorways, perhaps to keep away evil spirits. She is depicted on the altar of Pergamon with one body and three heads (ca. Hecate was also offered dogs, especially puppies, as a sacrifice. People used to believe that dogs would eat the dead if they werent buried. The Greeks likewise borrowed many deities and legends from their eastern neighbors. As punishment, she was transformed into a dog to be the companion of Hecate. Because of this, some people would make sacrifices of dogs, especially puppies, to her. A shrine to this Goddess was built at the entrance of homes and cities as she was believed to keep evil spirits away. Tzetzes on Lycophron, 1175; Scholiast on Theocritus, ii, 36. "Hecate: Greece's Dark Goddess of the Crossroads." Her attributes, besides the torch, are the snake, whip, dagger, and sword. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. It was said that she learned herbalism and spells from Hecate herself. One of these was the supper of Hecate, where food was left at crossroads, road junctions, and any other kind of boundary or threshold. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? Another story said that Hecate herself had cursed a witch named Gale to be a polecat for disgusting her with incontinence and abnormal desires.
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