Hesiod claimed that Hecate was a favorite of Zeus . As a protector of the Oikos (home), like Zeus, Hestia, Hermes, and Apollo, the goddess is usually shown holding a set of keys or torches, which she is said to have used to help or stop people from entering cities and homes. But she isnt in the Homeric epics, which is a big deal. Long before Hesiod and Homer began writing their poetry, the stories of the gods were passed on through oral tradition. Her halos are usually made of moonbeams. While Hecate was described as a single goddess with three parts, the tripartite goddess in other instances was shown as three separate but intrinsically-linked beings. Hecate hugged the girl when Persephone was reunited with her mother, Demeter. The conflicting origins of Hecate were only the beginning of what made this goddess so mysterious. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft and was specifically known for her herbal knowledge. This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong. The first literary reference to Hecate was in the Theogony, a Greek poem by Hesiod that is believed to have been written in 700 BCE. Hecate is also sometimes interpreted in association with Artemis and Selene. Mike Greenberg, PhD. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a28cb13cce875e3 Demeter descended to the underworld every spring to bring her daughter back to the surface, making the three goddesses share an association with the underworld. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so its important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) Due to her magical powers, Hecate was believed to protect children, sailors, and shepherds. ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/greek-mythology-hecate-1526205. Both goddesses were usually shown with dogs by their sides, wearing hunting boots and carrying torches. And all these views if we go back in time can also be found in the Greco-Roman world. This could be because she sided with him during the 10-year battle between the Titans and the Olympians. Hecate was believed to be a goddess of both the living world and the underworld. The Greek goddess Hecate, or Hekate, is Greece's dark goddess of the crossroads. Thus, pillars called Hecataea stood at crossroads and doorways, perhaps to keep away evil spirits. She is also known as Soteria (Savior), the Mother of Angels, and the Cosmic World. She is the witness to every crime. This food offering was known as the Supper of Hecate. The chief Greek god, Zeus, was very fond of this Goddess and gave her a share of the earth and sea. This myth led to goddess Hecate being depicted with torches in her hand. The blessings she gave them were eventually seen as magic, while prayers were seen as incantations. Hecate, goddess accepted at an early date into Greek religion but probably derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. As an Amazon Associate, Kidadl earns from qualifying purchases. Like most of the Olympic pantheon, Hecate predates the written mythology of Greece. Hecate was also offered the sacrifice of dogs, especially puppies. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. The most famous witch in Greek mythology received her knowledge of magic from Hecate. Earlier, though, there may have been fewer gods with more complex functions. The hekataion depicted Hecate as three women encircling a central column. In the sources about Hekate that are from the ancient world, the crossroads are not mentioned as a symbol of Hecate. In revenge for the trick, Eileithyia turned Galinthias into a polecat. Witches do gather together or solitary on crossroads as do magicians , hoodoo and voudan practitioners to cast their enchantments and spells. She witnessed the abduction of Demeter's daughter Persephone to the underworld and, torch in hand, assisted in the search for her. One of these was the boundary between life and death. Later periods show statues of Hecate in three-fold having 3 separate bodies and faces. If you are interested in effective unique protection magickCLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE! In sculptures from the Classical and Hellenistic Periods, Hecate has been shown as a woman with three bodies or a single body with three heads. In literature, there is a clear link between her, Demeter, and Persephone. Hecate was considered an ancient Thracian divinity and she was also a titan; the titans ruled the heavens, the earth and the sea. Meanwhile, others believe she is the progeny of Hecate and Phorcys. All Rights Reserved, Ancient Egyptians The First Woman Pharaoh, A Crunchy Pistachios Tale: 13 Interesting Facts About These Salty Munchies. Controlling who moved through the border between the earth and the underworld gave her a unique power to summon spirits and raise the dead. She was accepted at an early date into Greek religion, but she probably was originally a goddess of the Carians in southwestern Asia Minor. Her name was derived from the Greek word hekatos which means "worker from afar". She has long been associated with witchcraft and the occult, even necromancy. Hecate rules over the night, magic, and places where three roads meet. Hecate Triodos is the specific aspect presiding over crossroads. 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. 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. It is unclear exactly when Hecate became so closely linked with magic and witchcraft. If lost at a crossroads, literal or metaphoric, invoke her name and then pay attention to signs from her. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Since the fifth century BCE, Hecate has been associated with magic, witchcraft, the moon, and other dark influences. Her name has been connected to dark magic and disturbing rituals in the works of Shakespeare and well into modern times. HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. In the Pharsalia, the witch Erichtho calls on Persephone as the lowest part of Hecate. The Charites (Graces) and Horai (Seasons) were also trios of minor goddesses in Greek mythology. The goddess, on the other hand, usually has human heads. Hecate was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. To the Greeks this meant not only the moment at which the soul crossed between those to states, but also to a literal place. Hecate could give her worshipers wealth and blessings, but she could also take them away if they didnt worship her well enough. However. 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. Her tasks went beyond the heavens, the earth, the seas, and the Underworld. 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. One of Hecates frequent animal companions, and the one that shes most often depicted with, was a black dog. A competing theory says that Hecate did not develop in Greece at all. Archaeological items found in Lagina in Caria and Phrygia also point to the importance of this Goddess during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. According toHesiodin hisTheogony, Hecate is the daughter of Perses and Asteria, making her the granddaughter of the Titans Phoebe and Coeus. Her parentage was given differently by various writers. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Some versions of Scylla's myth say she was once a beautiful sea nymph. She acted as a sort of guardian because she watched over the places that allowed passage into homes, cities, or even states. At least one story, however, gives the goddess a much more human origin. Symbols of Hecate are her place, the crossroads, two torches, and black dogs. Your privacy is important to us. 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. She was a goddess in charge of magic, witchcraft, and much more. The witches were telling Macbeth about his future and had not consulted the Goddess and had left her out of the meeting. According to Greek mythology when the universe first came into being the primordial gods were there, fully formed. Hecate took pity on her, though, and brought her back to life as a dog to be her companion. The evening meal in ancient Greece, especially in Athens known as Deipnon, was in honor of Hecate. The aspects of the goddess that had darker connotations were separated from her to create another goddess altogether in the character of Hecate. The cave and the dawn are both thresholds- liminal times, thresholds between the earth and the underworld and night and day. Her attributes, besides the torch, are the snake, whip, dagger, and sword. Thus, pillars called Hecataea stood at crossroads and doorways, perhaps to keep away evil spirits. The crossroads are special places, places of great power, but at the same time haunting places. The offerings to the goddess were made each month during the night of a new moon. Sources say there was a sacred garden dedicated to Hecate at her temple in Colchis (modern day Georgia). In the post-Christian writings of the Chaldean Oracles ( 2nd-3rd century AD ), she was regarded with some rulership over earth, sea, and sky, as well as a more . Hecate Greek Goddess of Witchcraft : The Complete Guide. And during these times Hecate was also very much connected to other portals- such as doors, entrances, thresholds and eventually the crossroads. From the 5th century BCE, the goddess hecate is associated with the darker side of the human experience, that isdeath, witchcraft, magick, the Moon, dreams, hell hounds and creatures which roam the darkness of night. Latin Spelling. The myth says that Zeus gave the Lampades to Hera as a reward for her loyalty during the Titanomachy. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate and suitable for all children and families or in all circumstances. The Greeks likewise borrowed many deities and legends from their eastern neighbors. DeTraci Regula is a freelance writer who has specialized in Greek travel and tours for 18 years. A case in point is the Greek goddess Hecate. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, creative tips and more. Hecate is one of the many goddesses in Greek mythology. 1.5 Baths. In his book Description of Greece, Pausanias says that the sculptor Alcamenes was the first to show Hecate in three forms in the 5th century BCE. She is often depicted carrying one or several torches to remind of her connection with the night and insculpturewith three faces, representing her role as the guardian of crossroads. Moving between the barrier between life and death explains Hecates connection to both ghosts and necromancy. Some of the statues she made as offerings to the goddess had the Graces dancing around her; In other versions of the story, she is with a pack of dogs. ThoughtCo. Hecate was a goddess of boundaries and in between spaces. Hecate also presided over more mystical boundaries. Still, she was in charge of things that put her in the spotlight. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. In the 6th century BCE, a circular altar was built in Miletos to honour the goddess (the earliest archaeological evidence of her worship). "Hecate: Greece's Dark Goddess of the Crossroads." On the Pergamon Altar of Zeus, from the 2nd century BCE, a three-headed Hecate and a dog attack a snake-like giant. In single form she appears on Greek vases and coins. It was believed that she could see in all directions. She may be petitioned for a swift, painless death. For many it is a time to connect with Her, to thank her for her blessings, her guidance and her protection during the last lunar cycle and also to ask her to bless and protect them in the new lunar cycle. The Egyptian god Anubis, who led souls to the Underworld, may also have something to do with dogs. On the other hand, Euripides says that Leto is her mother. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. As Apollo was sometimes known as Hecatos, it is still possible that this feminine form of the name referred to his sister and not a separate goddess. Sometimes, as was the case with Hecate, it was a single goddess who was shown with three aspects. Although they combined her with Diana and Artemis, the Romans also worshipped this deity, referred to her as Trivia, which means three ways. By the first century CE, Lucans Pharsalia made it clear that Hecate was the goddess of magic and witchcraft. https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-mythology-hecate-1526205 (accessed March 4, 2023). Even in descriptions of Medeas witchcraft, it is difficult to distinguish magical rituals from more standard worship and rites. 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). IT WAS A COMMON PRACTICE TO PLACE IMAGES OF HECATE ATCITYGATES & THE DOORWAYS OF PRIVATE HOMES AS SHE COULD WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS. Hecate's powers transcended the boundaries of the sky, the earth, the seas, and the underworld. Hecate was the principal goddess who had jurisdiction over enchantments and spells. Carole Raddato/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content. Apollo is often called Hekatos, the masculine form of his name. The parentage of Scylla is hotly debated. Eating crunchy while enjoying a good movie or your favourite video game is a blessing. Historian Robert Graves notes that the heads could be distinctive of a dog, lion and horse, representing the constellations which cover the calendar year. Lastly, the goddess is mentioned in the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles, among others. The Tridevi The triad of goddesses in Hinduism often represents the three states of creation, preservation, and destruction. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. These primordial gods each represented a different aspect of existence, together they formed the building blocks of the early universe. Hecates name comes from the Greek word hekatos, which means worker from afar.. Local sun goddesses from before the Greek era have many of the same attributes as those later associated with Hecate. Child of Perses and Asteria, she was the only Titan to retain her control under Zeus' reign. The name Hecate comes from the Greek word "Hekatos," which was thought to be a really distant and obscure epithet associated with Apollo, the Greek god of music . A shrine to this Goddess was built at the entrance of homes and cities as she was believed to keep evil spirits away. In fact, she existed in such a nominal place that its difficult to say whether she existed as a singular goddess, a trio of beings, or as a minor aspect of a more major deity. Some speculate that it represents the full moon, half moon, and new moon. A popular story among the Greeks was that the dog that accompanied Hecate was the Trojan queen Hecuba. Pausanias, a Greek traveller who lived in the second century CE, said that the goddess had a mystery cult on the island of Aegina, where people with mental illness thought they could be cured. Authors from the past, like Ovid and Pausanias, say that dogs, especially black dogs, were given to the goddess as sacrifices. As a fertility deity she was invoked by women to aid conception and delivery. But the version of Hecate that appears in Greek texts is not so straightforward. In 1929, an expert in religious cults noted that the Blackburn Cult or The Cult of the Great Eleven that was formed in the '20s was connected with Hecate worship and rituals. 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. Omissions? Hecate is a goddess of life, death, regeneration, and magic. It even appears in Christianity, with the gospels placing three Marys at both the Crucifixion and Christs tomb. Hectate has neither spouse nor children. She rules wisdom, choices, expiation, victory, vengeance, and travel. 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. In her form as a triple goddess, Hecate was closely linked to intersections. Hecate was a goddess in Greek Mythology. According to the most genuine traditions, she appears to have been an ancient Thracian divinity, and a Titan, who, from the time of the Titans, ruled in heaven, on the earth, and in the sea, who bestowed on mortals wealth, victory, wisdom, good luck to sailors and hunters, and prosperity to youth and to the flocks of cattle; but all these blessings might at the same time be withheld by her, if mortals did not deserve them. This was a group started by May Otis Blackburn in Los Angeles, California. Hecate was also known as the queen or Goddess of the night. 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. Names derived from hers were common, including Hecatomnus, the father of the ruler Mausolus who built the famous tomb. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. People believed that by honoring and praying to this Goddess, their homes would be preserved from the vengeance of the dead. Roman poets encouraged the idea that Hecate was three different things by calling her Hecate-Selene and other similar names. In Ancient Greek religion, Hecate had a wide range of godly tasks. Archaeologists have found essential offerings to the goddess at Lagina in Caria and Phrygia. Some later stories agreed that Asteria was her mother, but claimed Zeus had been her father. This could mean that the goddess didnt come to Greece from Caria until a relatively late date. Eleusis was in Greece, which is where it is now. This made her one of the few deities to have the power to move freely between the world of the living and the underworld. The most commonly repeated story of her birth was that Hecate was the daughter of Perses and Asteria, two second-generation Titans. Many people think that worshipping the goddess began before the Greeks, while others think it started in Thrace. Updates? In mythology Nyx represented night. Hecate was the goddess of borders, barriers, and boundaries. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. The Moirai crossed their arms and Eileithyia refused to help the laboring woman. Hecate. The worship of Hecate continued into theHellenisticandRomanperiods with significant archaeological finds of votive offerings to the goddess being found at Lagina in Caria andPhrygia. In the physical world this could mean anything from doorways to city walls and state borders.
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