The most popular theory is that the Carians in Asia Minor brought Hecate to Greece, where she became a part of their religion. This made her one of the few deities to have the power to move freely between the world of the living and the underworld. Polecats hid in dirty holes and, it was believed by the Greeks, had a grotesque and unnatural way of mating. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) It is believed that Hecate represented witchcraft, magic and ghosts. When her city fell, the queen was taken captive and lept off a cliff to her death. Hecate has been depicted in Greek art, literature, and pottery dating from the fifth century BCE. She can be a shadowy, oblique goddess: her response may be subtle. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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). Although much of her power appeared generally dark or menacing, Hecate could also be a merciful goddess. Ft. 1302 Covington Ct, Virginia Beach, VA 23453. As was already said, the dog was Hecates most holy animal. Hecate is one of the many goddesses in Greek mythology. This is how she came to command the earth, bliss, and sea. 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. Some scholars believe that Hecate was one such goddess. According toHesiodin hisTheogony, Hecate is the daughter of Perses and Asteria, making her the granddaughter of the Titans Phoebe and Coeus. Why notsubscribe to our LearningMole Library for as little as 1.99 per month to access over1000fun educational videos. In single form she appears on Greek vases and coins. Asteria may be the original goddess associated with the Asterion mountain range on the island of Crete. She is also associated with the moon and is sometimes depicted as having three faces which symbolize the waxing, waning, and full moon phases. While Hera was considered a singular being, she was given three names to represent her different stages in life maiden, wife, and mother. Hekate: A beginner's guide to witchcraft, ghosts, spirituality, and Hekate advance rituals and spells for Meditation and Divination Kindle Edition by Johander Kholms (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 9 ratings See all formats and editions Kindle $5.49 Read with Our Free App 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. Good is she also when men contend at the games, for there too the goddess is with them and profits them and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hekate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker [Poseidon], easily the glorious goddess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away as soon as seen, if so she will. The goddess, on the other hand, usually has human heads. Hecate was considered an ancient Thracian divinity and she was also a titan; the titans ruled the heavens, the earth and the sea. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. She convinced her daughter Eiliethyia, the goddess of childbirth, and the Moirai, the Fates, to prevent the birth. Etymology. Many depictions, such as those of the Moirae, show the three goddesses corresponding to the three stages of a womans life. Although they combined her with Diana and Artemis, the Romans also worshipped this deity, referred to her as Trivia, which means three ways. They call her Aristaion or Night. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. Hecate may be invoked for healing, especially if medical solutions have failed or are not an option. Well send you tons of inspiration to help you find a hidden gem in your local area or plan a big day out. She is capable of both good and evil and is most often associated with magic and witchcraft. HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. 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. Hecate Triformis, Hecate of the three faces or three forms, corresponding to the phases of the moon: dark, waxing, and waning. 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 also presided over more mystical boundaries. 2 Beds. She rules wisdom, choices, expiation, victory, vengeance, and travel. 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. Hecate is often depicted with three heads as she was called the Goddess of the Crossroads. They are associated with certain ideas, occupations, or stages of life. Her halos are usually made of moonbeams. As punishment, she was transformed into a dog to be the companion of Hecate. The hekataion depicted Hecate as three women encircling a central column. 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. As early as the 5th century BC, the image of the hekataion was the standard way of showing the goddess in sculpture. Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. Hecate is a Goddess shrouded in mystery, for there is continuing debate about Her name, origin and character. Her companions are theFuries(Erinyes), the winged creatures who punished wrong-doing, and her children are the Empusae, female demons partial to seducing travellers. The one in Lagina stood out the most. Please like and share this article if you found it useful. What Were the Hamadryads in Greek Mythology? There is a belief, therefore, that the three goddesses may be aspects of a singular, earlier deity. Apollo is often called Hekatos, the masculine form of his name. She was born into the world ruled by the Titans, but continued to be influential and powerful in the Olympian pantheon. Of course, as with many stories of Hecate there was also a darker version. As the Romans developed and constructed superior road systems, we started to see the emergence of choices and nowadays in modern. Hecate is remembered best not as a goddess of boundaries, but as a goddess of magic. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong. Hecate, goddess accepted at an early date into Greek religion but probably derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. She was associated with witchcraft, necromancy, and poisons. Instead, some believe that the goddess originated in Asia Minor. She is depicted on the altar of Pergamon with one body and three heads (ca. Hesiod goes on to say that the goddess supports warriors, athletes, hunters, horsemen, herdsmen, shepherds, fishermen, and children. Euripides, on the other hand, mentions her mother isLeto. The goddess was often linked to Demeter, and in some cults, she was seen as the same as Demeter. Thus, pillars called Hecataea stood at crossroads and doorways, perhaps to keep away evil spirits. One of her epithets, Apotropaia, references the protection she gave in these spaces. A: Hecate is the Greek Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Hecate was the goddess of borders, barriers, and boundaries. Mythical Facts about Hecate Fact 1: Shrines to the goddess were placed at the doorways of homes and as protection from the dead and evil spirits. It is unclear exactly when Hecate became so closely linked with magic and witchcraft. She may be petitioned for a swift, painless death. The Egyptian fertility goddess Heqet was associated with magic, which the Egyptians called heqa. Hecate was also offered the sacrifice of dogs, especially puppies. 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 ancient times the crossroads didnt have our modern symbolism as a place of choices. Like her Greek counterpart, she was also a goddess of domestic animals. Further, the home would be blessed and any wrong-doing by family members would be forgiven and the household purified. This is how she came to command the earth, bliss . According toPausanias, the 2nd-century CE Greek traveller, the island ofAeginahad a mystery cult dedicated to the goddess where it was believed those suffering mental illness could be cured. 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. Regula, deTraci. The masculine form of this word is said to be used for Apollo, one of the Greek gods. The goddess Hecate is one of the lesser-known goddesses of the Greek pantheon. Female monsters also often came in threes, as was the case with the Gorgons and Graea. In aiding Demeter during her search for the missing Persephone and transfiguring Hecuba to spare her captivity or death she showed a level of compassion that might not be expected from an occult figure. 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. The time of the dark moon is a special time of the month to give offerings to Hecate. Hecate is invoked when justice is not forthcoming from other channels. Her parentage was given differently by various writers. This was all about Hecate, a goddess in ancient Greek religion. Her symbols were two torches, the crossroads, and black dogs. Kos, Erythrai,Samothrace, Thessaly, and Miletos also worshipped the. Before that, she was just a minor character in the stories of Demeter (Persephones maid) and Artemis. Hecate was both Greek and foreign at the same time. One of Hecates frequent animal companions, and the one that shes most often depicted with, was a black dog. A: In Greek Mythology, Hecate was the Goddess of magic and witchcraft. Hecate was an only child and was worshiped in households of Athens where families hoped to receive protection, prosperity and daily blessings. 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. These took the form of small cakes of eggs, cheese, bread, and dog meat, which were lit with miniature torches or, alternatively, a dish of red mullet, which was usually prohibited from offerings to the other gods. In her form as a triple goddess, Hecate was closely linked to intersections. A statue called Hekate Epipyrgidia (On the Ramparts) stood at the Athens Acropolis entrance. Some authors say that she was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone was married to Hades and was the queen of the Underworld. 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. 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. Hecate first appears in Hesiods Theogony, written in the 7th century BCE. The name Hecate means:The Most Lovely One; Worker from Afar; Three -Headed Hound of the Moon; Influence from Afar; The One Before the Gate; Light Bringer. As you may already know Hecateis a goddess ofGreek mythologywho was capable of both good and evil. The Charites (Graces) and Horai (Seasons) were also trios of minor goddesses in Greek mythology. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. It is unclear why this change took place. 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. And all these views if we go back in time can also be found in the Greco-Roman world. Hecate was the principal goddess who had jurisdiction over enchantments and spells. She is invoked for justice, especially for sexual crimes against women and girls. The heads could be of a dog, a lion, or a horse, representing the constellations that make up the year. In the 6th century BCE, a circular altar was built in Miletos to honour the goddess (the earliest archaeological evidence of her worship). 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 also has several temples where her shrine is worshipped. Some say that Hecate is the daughter of Erebus and Nyx, ageless Goddess of the night, while others believe that She is one of the Furies or the last surviving Titan except for Zeus. 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. Some scholars of ancient Greek religion have noted that Apollo was occasionally given the name Hecatos, which they interpret to mean one who reaches far. These academics believe that Hecate, therefore, may have once been another name for Apollos twin sister, Artemis. She was the ruler of crossroads, entrances, nighttime, light, magic (witchcraft and sorcery), herbs and plants. She is also said to be the Goddess of childbirth and the protector of children. Due to her dark attributes, this deity has often been associated with the Underworld. But the version of Hecate that appears in Greek texts is not so straightforward. The dog connection may be the fact that dogs were known to eat the dead if left unburied; they also howl at the moon, of course. She was connected to occult practices such as witchcraft and magic, the Moon, gateways, and nocturnal beasts such as hellhounds and ghosts. The goddess was especially appealed to by sorceresses for aid in their magic and spellsand appears on surviving examples of curse tablets. Many of the traditional offerings to Hecate- are: milk, honey, oil, cakes, cheese, bloody meat, eggs, onions, garlic. We offer advice and practical, interactive ideas to help parents challenge, teach and develop their childrens skills at home. As such, she was greatly honored by Zeus, who allowed her to operate on Earth, as well as the sky and the Underworld. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Greek three-headed hound of Hades, Cerberus, may have been an earlier version of Hecate. In the Greek religion, strange rituals were done to honour the goddess. Advanced Magick for the 21st Century The Adeptus Course, THE MOST COMPLETE COURSE IN PRACTICAL MAGICK EVER RELEASED. Hecate has the power to grant or deny any mortals wish. https://www.thoughtco.com/greek-mythology-hecate-1526205 (accessed March 4, 2023). Controlling who moved through the border between the earth and the underworld gave her a unique power to summon spirits and raise the dead. Seeing her friend in pain, Galinthias tricked the Moirai into thinking the child had been born despite their interference. The offerings to the goddess were made each month during the night of a new moon. SOLD JUN 14, 2022. 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. The crossroads were and are also places where several accidents occurred and or ambushes, holdups they can be places of vulnerability where fates seem to be on rare occasions sealed. 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). Like most of the Olympic pantheon, Hecate predates the written mythology of Greece. Greece itself worshipped many trios of goddesses or goddesses with three forms that fit this archetype. Latin Spelling. Follow for more great fun learning. Even in her origin, Hecate moved between two places. The Hades and Persephone Story. Hecate is defined by her powerful magic, being at ease with the night and darkness and in wild surroundings. Sorceresses ask the goddess for help with their magic and spells, and she is shown on curse tablets that have survived. On an Attic vase from the 5th century BCE, a woman is shown giving a goddess a puppy and a basket of cakes. In Rome, a similar goddess, Vesta, ruled over the group of priestesses called the Vestal Virgins whose duty it was to keep the sacred fire perpetually lit. The various statues have also raised questions as to her duties. The cave and the dawn are both thresholds- liminal times, thresholds between the earth and the underworld and night and day. In addition to magic and witchcraft, Hecate was also considered to be the Goddess of crossroads, gates, and ghosts. My name is Mike and for as long as I can remember (too long!) Her name was derived from the Greek word hekatos which means "worker from afar". Some lexicographers, experts that study the origins of language, believe that the word hag and hex, which means witch, is derived from the word Hecate. Another story of Hecates protective nature also involves another of her sacred animals. Writings throughout the centuries have woven different tales about Hecate and her role as a goddess. And there is a good book titled Hekate liminal rites By David Rankine and Sorite DEsteyou should check out. 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. 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 . Tzetzes on Lycophron, 1175; Scholiast on Theocritus, ii, 36. 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. It is the story of how the polecat became one of her companions. On Greek pottery, she is usually shown as a young woman holding a torch or a key. These statues took on a distinctive appearance. She witnessed the abduction of Demeter's daughter Persephone to the underworld and, torch in hand, assisted in the search for her.
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