The people of Sparta claimed that Ares had been nursed by a nymph called Thero. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. Hecates actual origins may be in caria, Turkey we can find The Temple of Hecate in the Sanctuary of Hecate at Lagina in Caria (modern-day Turkey which has been dated to the last quarter of the 2nd century CE. The goddess Hecate is generally depicted as either an old woman in a long dress or a young woman in a knee-length skirt with hunting boots. The Lampades are people who carry torches and travel with the goddess at night. They claim she originated in Caria, a region in southern Anatolia on the Mediterranean, and was adopted into the Greek pantheon. She is often displayed holding two torches or a key. Small cakes made of eggs, cheese, bread, and dog meat were lit with tiny torches. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. "Hecate: Greece's Dark Goddess of the Crossroads." Hecate is defined by her powerful magic, being at ease with the night and darkness and in wild surroundings. Hecate has the power to grant or deny any mortals wish. There are few legends about Her, and no fixed genealogy. The things that make Hecate seem like an older woman are in the Pharsalia. She was a goddess that could be both a protective guardian and a source of menace. Hecate Triformis, Hecate of the three faces or three forms, corresponding to the phases of the moon: dark, waxing, and waning. The Charites (Graces) and Horai (Seasons) were also trios of minor goddesses in Greek mythology. However. Selenite, tiger's eye, obsidian, rhodochrosite, jet, jasper, agate, and amber are the most suited crystals for Hecate. A popular story among the Greeks was that the dog that accompanied Hecate was the Trojan queen Hecuba. Why notsubscribe to our LearningMole Library for as little as 1.99 per month to access over1000fun educational videos. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain. She has long been associated with witchcraft and the occult, even necromancy. At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. Hecate | Myth & Symbols | Britannica Hecate is remembered best not as a goddess of boundaries, but as a goddess of magic. While Hera was considered a singular being, she was given three names to represent her different stages in life maiden, wife, and mother. Hecate Facts for Kids | KidzSearch.com 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. It measured 21m x 28m and was built in the Corinthian order with 8 columns on its shorter sides and 11 columns on its longer sides. She witnessed the abduction of Demeters daughter Persephone to the underworld and, torch in hand, assisted in the search for her. On her head she sometimes wears a kalathos, a tall wicker basket, or a moon sickle. The Ancient Greek Underworld and Hades - ThoughtCo This is a reminder of her role as a goddess of the night, a guardian of the gates to Hades, and a goddess of boundaries. Her name was derived from the Greek word hekatos which means "worker from afar". Updates? Hecate - Greek Mythology Hecate | Sacred Wicca Her group included the Lampades, the nymphs of the Underworld, and ghosts. These crystals possess unique energies and properties that enhance spiritual practices and aid connections with Hecate. They are associated with certain ideas, occupations, or stages of life. Greek pantheon was once much smaller than we know. A statue called Hekate Epipyrgidia (On the Ramparts) stood at the Athens Acropolis entrance. She's ill at ease in cities and civilization. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong. Hecate is known to rule over the sky, the earth, and the sea. She was known by her Roman name, Trivia, as well as by her triple form. As the goddess of the night, witchcraft and sorcery, Hecate was very important to ancient Greeks, particularly to the famed author and scholar Hesiod. Share This Post. As you may already know Hecateis a goddess ofGreek mythologywho was capable of both good and evil. If you purchase using the buy now button we may earn a small commission. Of course, as the goddess of boundaries she had the power to let things in as well as keep them out. Lycophron, 77; Scholiast on Aristophanes'. She was made to look like a goddess who could easily move from the Underworld to the real world. Your IP: Some depictions show the Goddess with the head of a dog, horse, and lion, which could be the constellations during the year. Her halos are usually made of moonbeams. Her attributes, besides the torch, are the snake, whip, dagger, and sword. On an Attic vase from the 5th century BCE, a woman is shown giving a goddess a puppy and a basket of cakes. The daughter of Perses and Asteria (twin sister of Leto ), Hecate was a member of the third generation of Titans, but sided with Zeus and his siblings during the Titanomachy. This is how she came to command the earth, bliss . Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Hades was pleased with this, and Hecate was allowed to come and go as she pleased from the Underworld. In a few cases, Hecate was said to have shared these powers with her most devoted followers. Hecate can banishghosts(or produce a ghost infestation). Her companions are theFuries(Erinyes), the winged creatures who punished wrong-doing, and her children are the Empusae, female demons partial to seducing travellers. Hecate is one of the many goddesses in Greek mythology. Hecate was considered an ancient Thracian divinity and she was also a titan; the titans ruled the heavens, the earth and the sea. Her friends are the Erinyes, winged creatures that punish bad behaviour, and her children are the Empusae, female demons that like to seduce travellers. Nyx, the Primordial Goddess of the Night | Ancient Origins 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. 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. Although they combined her with Diana and Artemis, the Romans also worshipped this deity, referred to her as Trivia, which means three ways. HECATE (Hekate) - Greek Goddess of Witchcraft, Magic & Ghosts - Theoi On any trip to Greece, it's helpful to have some knowledge of the Greek gods and goddesses. Still another school of thought links her, at least linguistically, to Egypt. She was also associated with some of the most revered and respected goddesses of Olympus. Diana | Myth, Goddess, & Cult | Britannica She is also Queen of the Night, and is highly connected to All Hallow's Eve. The name "Hecate" (Greek , translit. Even in descriptions of Medeas witchcraft, it is difficult to distinguish magical rituals from more standard worship and rites. What are interesting facts about Hecate? - WisdomAnswer 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). 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. The boundaries she oversaw were not limited to the physical world, though. She was most famously the goddess of magic, witchcraft, ghosts, necromancy, the Moon, and the night. 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. outlandish in her infernal aspects, she is more at home on the fringes than in the centre ofGreekpolytheism. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, A Recommended Book on Hekate Liminal Rites, Planetary MAGICK -7 Facts you should know, Magickal Protection-The BEST 10 SOLUTIONS. Victorian Era, Ibn Khaldun or Celts. Instead, some believe that the goddess originated in Asia Minor. As a fertility deity she was invoked by women to aid conception and delivery. She also assisted the gods in their war with the Gigantes, and slew Clytius.5, This extensive power possessed by Hecate was probably the reason that subsequently she was confounded and identified with several other divinities, and at length became a mystic goddess, to whom mysteries were celebrated in Samothrace6 and in Aegina.7 For being as it were the queen of all nature, we find her identified with Demeter, Rhea (Cybele or Brimo); being a huntress and the protector of youth, she is the same as Artemis (Curotrophos); and as a goddess of the moon, she is regarded as the mystic Persephone.8 She was further connected with the worship of other mystic divinities, such as the Cabeiri and Curetes,9 and also with Apollo and the Muses.10, The ground-work of the above-mentioned confusions and identifications, especially with Demeter and Persephone, is contained in the Homeric hymn to Demeter; for, according to this hymn, she was, besides Helios, the only divinity who, from her cave, observed the abduction of Persephone. Picture of the Greek Underworld, the residence of Hecate. The goddess Hecate is one of the Greek goddesses that not many people know about. In many cultures and religions in many lands. 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. Hecate first appears in Hesiods Theogony, written in the 7th century BCE. Many depictions, such as those of the Moirae, show the three goddesses corresponding to the three stages of a womans life. The parentage of Scylla is hotly debated. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. Due to her dark attributes, this deity has often been associated with the Underworld. The conflicting origins of Hecate were only the beginning of what made this goddess so mysterious. The Egyptian god Anubis, who led souls to the Underworld, may also have something to do with dogs. She is invoked for justice, especially for sexual crimes against women and girls. On the other hand, Euripides says that Leto is her mother. Her liminality came from the fact that she was the daughter of a Titan and a goddess. Numerous smaller sculptures of Hecate remain in which the goddess appears as three separate women, wearing chitons, with the backs pressed against a pillar. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Some authors say that she was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Polecats hid in dirty holes and, it was believed by the Greeks, had a grotesque and unnatural way of mating. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. 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. Regula, deTraci. 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. 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. Hecate's appearance is dark-haired and beautiful, but with an eerie edge to that beauty befitting a goddess of the night (though the actual goddess of the night is Nyx). Hecate, however, took pity on Galinthias. Please note: prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published. Hecate was the principal goddess who had jurisdiction over enchantments and spells. Therefore, this deity is also invoked when there is thought to be a miscarriage of justice. She was specifically associated with witchcraft, magick, the Moon, Archways, and creatures of the night such as hell-hounds and ghosts. In the Pharsalia, the witch Erichtho calls on Persephone as the lowest part of Hecate. Hecate typically responds to petitions via visions and dreams. A: This Greek Goddess is often considered to be capable of both good and evil. As worshippers began to focus on one aspect of a god more than others, that gods secondary purposes were separated into another deity altogether. The goddess, on the other hand, usually has human heads. She herself too wanders about with the souls of the dead, and her approach is announced by the whining and howling of dogs.13, A number of epithets given her by the poets contain allusions to these features of the popular belief, or to her form. Hectate has neither spouse nor children. We know you don't want to miss any news or research breakthroughs. Historian Robert Graves notes that the heads could be distinctive of a dog, lion and horse, representing the constellations which cover the calendar year. SOLD JUN 14, 2022. HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. During the Hellenistic and Roman times, people still worshipped Hecate. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Kidadl is supported by you, the reader. She can be a shadowy, oblique goddess: her response may be subtle. The goddess was given gifts every month on the night of a new moon. As the Romans developed and constructed superior road systems, we started to see the emergence of choices and nowadays in modern. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon. Midwives, witches, healers, herbalists, dog lovers and rescuers; she is the matron of women in general and protects those who ride horses, male warriors or cavalry as well. She was connected to occult practices such as witchcraft and magic, the Moon, gateways, and nocturnal beasts such as hellhounds and ghosts. The moon goddess and the huntress were often linked, and it is believed by some that as Greeks focused worship on the more protective aspects of Artemis they shifted her darker characteristics to Hecate. She would go with Persephone to the Underworld every year when the girl returned to Hades. In single form she appears on Greek vases and coins. Local sun goddesses from before the Greek era have many of the same attributes as those later associated with Hecate. People believed that by honoring and praying to this Goddess, their homes would be preserved from the vengeance of the dead. ThoughtCo. Follow for more great fun learning. However, she was transformed by Circe into the monster form. Trade, colonization, and migration resulted in a great deal of cultural exchange between the two regions. 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. The cave and the dawn are both thresholds- liminal times, thresholds between the earth and the underworld and night and day. She could not undo the curse, but she made the polecat her sacred servant. Archaeological items found in Lagina in Caria and Phrygia also point to the importance of this Goddess during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. You have subscribed to: Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter. 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. A further canine connection may be with theEgyptiangodAnubiswho guided souls to the underworld, and the Greek three-headed hound ofHades, Cerberus, may be an earlier form of Hecate. In fact she seems to have started out as Heket, the Egyptian Goddess of Childbirth. Still, she was in charge of things that put her in the spotlight. She's also the Queen of Witches. Hecate Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster Persephone was married to Hades and was the queen of the Underworld. 1,178 Sq. Hecate was believed to be a goddess of both the living world and the underworld. She could switch between being a Titan and a goddess in Greek mythology. She was also the goddess of the Oikos and the guardian of its entrances. IT WAS A COMMON PRACTICE TO PLACE IMAGES OF HECATE ATCITYGATES & THE DOORWAYS OF PRIVATE HOMES AS SHE COULD WARD OFF EVIL SPIRITS. Parents: Perses (and Asteria) or Zeus and Asteria (a second-generation Titan) or Nyx (Night) or Aristaios or Demeter (see Theoi Hecate) As one of the deities capable of passing between realms, she had access to the secrets of the dead. She was the daughter of the Titan Perses and the nymph Asteria. She is helping a dog attack a giant who looks like a snake. You may request to banish harm from you and to protect you and your loved ones. Her name is akin to the Latin words dium ("sky") and dius ("daylight"). In Aeschylus Suppliants, for example, they were often mixed up to make a goddess with two faces. Sorceresses ask the goddess for help with their magic and spells, and she is shown on curse tablets that have survived. DeTraci Regula is a freelance writer who has specialized in Greek travel and tours for 18 years. A: The three witches in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare made Hecate angry by meeting and predicting the future of the main character, Macbeth, without consulting her. 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. Earlier, though, there may have been fewer gods with more complex functions. The first example of the triple-Hecate form, called hekataia, was made by the sculptor Alcamenes in the 5th century BCE. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. She is also associated with the moon and is sometimes depicted as having three faces which symbolize the waxing, waning, and full moon phases. A: Hecate is the Greek Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Etymology. Hecate was a goddess of boundaries and in between spaces. With a torch in her hand, she accompanied Demeter in the search after Persephone; and when the latter was found, Hecate remained with her as her attendant and companion. And all these views if we go back in time can also be found in the Greco-Roman world. She is sometimes shown holding a key. Kos, Erythrai,Samothrace, Thessaly, and Miletos also worshipped the. Hecate is portrayed in single form on sculptures of Myron and Naucydes. And there is a good book titled Hekate liminal rites By David Rankine and Sorite DEsteyou should check out. Link will appear as Hecate: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net - Greek Gods & Goddesses, October 19, 2019, Greek Gods and Goddesses 2010 - 2023 | About | Contact | Sitemap | Privacy, Hecate: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net, Magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy, None, however in some myths there are various potential offspring mentioned - (Aegialeus, Circe, Empusa, Medea, Scylla). Hecate - goddess of ghosts, witchcraft & magic - Religious Talks A lot of the same things were said about all of the goddesses. When you buy through the links on our site we may earn a commission. 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. First 6 Months for 1.99 with Monthly Student and Teacher Plans Dismiss, 2022 Learning Mole. Her priests are normally accompanied by hell hounds sent by their goddess to guard her temples. The goddess was often linked to Demeter, and in some cults, she was seen as the same as Demeter. Hecates name comes from the Greek word hekatos, which means worker from afar.. The best of the LearningMole geography tutorials. The most commonly repeated story of her birth was that Hecate was the daughter of Perses and Asteria, two second-generation Titans. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-mythology-hecate-1526205. According to the Greek writer Hesiod*, Hecate was the daughter of the Titan* Perses and the nymph Asteria. She thus becomes a deity of the lower world; but this notion does not occur till the time of the Greek tragedians, though it is generally current among the later writers. By joining Kidadl you agree to Kidadls Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receiving marketing communications from Kidadl. First you can set down the offerings to Hekate on the crossroad, just be sure to choose a less travelled crossroads free of heavy traffic for your safety. As punishment, she was transformed into a dog to be the companion of Hecate. Lagina was one of the most important Carian sanctuaries.Hecate also has a strong connection with Georgia as well as throughout Italy. 170 BCE). She is depicted on the altar of Pergamon with one body and three heads (ca. Those who failed to win the goddesss favor could expect her to invite evil and misfortune into their lives. Hecate. Medeas magic was often described as having to do with necromancy, sleep, and the night. Names derived from hers were common, including Hecatomnus, the father of the ruler Mausolus who built the famous tomb. It even appears in Christianity, with the gospels placing three Marys at both the Crucifixion and Christs tomb. It is unclear why this change took place. She was connected to occult practices such as witchcraft and magic, the Moon, gateways, and nocturnal beasts such as hellhounds and ghosts. Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition. 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. On Greek pottery, she is usually shown as a young woman holding a torch or a key. She has also been mentioned in the works of Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, and Macbeth. She is invoked for justice, especially for sexual crimes against women and girls. Most likely, the cults of Thessalian Pherai (Pherae) and Eleusis saw Hekate as Chthonian (Underworld) Hermes's wife. This could be because she sided with him during the 10-year battle between the Titans and the Olympians. The Goddess Hecate is supposed to be the daughter of Perses, a Titan, and Asteria, a nymph. The three-part goddess was able to keep watch in all directions, and became standard in both written and visual representations. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 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. 6 Amazing facts about Hecate | High-Percentage-Magick Other writers claim her as the daughter ofZeusandDemeter, Aristaion. While Hecates temples in the area are from a later period, she bears a resemblance to a more ancient goddess in Caria. Her parentage was given differently by various writers. Hecate Triodos is the specific aspect presiding over crossroads. But because these Anatolian cult sites were built later, other classicists say that the goddess could not have come from Anatolia. 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. Hecate Facts and Information on the Goddess Hecate This concept became a central figure in many later versions of polytheism. She convinced her daughter Eiliethyia, the goddess of childbirth, and the Moirai, the Fates, to prevent the birth. She was not portrayed as being loving towards children but as someone who took revenge against anyone that harmed children. They call her Aristaion or Night. She may be petitioned for a swift, painless death. One of her epithets, Apotropaia, references the protection she gave in these spaces. She is often pictured holding keys because, as the goddess of boundaries, she held the power to open and close the doors to the realm of Hades. A: In Greek Mythology, Hecate was the Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Many Anatolian gods had their roots in the Greek pantheon. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content. You then connect yourself to her through visualizing and forming a mental image of her presence, you then thank her and pray to her. 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. Ft. 1302 Covington Ct, Virginia Beach, VA 23453. The goddess had a lot of powers, some of which were later taken over by other gods. The triple Hecate represented three aspects of a single goddess. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.