This is how she came to command the earth, bliss . Information on Hecate Dark Goddess of the Crossroads - ThoughtCo Hecate. The Moirai crossed their arms and Eileithyia refused to help the laboring woman. Many of the traditional offerings to Hecate- are: milk, honey, oil, cakes, cheese, bloody meat, eggs, onions, garlic. Hecate was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. In addition to magic and witchcraft, Hecate was also considered to be the Goddess of crossroads, gates, and ghosts. She was often placed at the entrance of homes to help protect against the evil forces of the world. Latin Spelling. Hecate is the Goddess of witchcraft, magic, crossroads, ghosts and necromancy. She held several different roles, including earth goddess, queen of the underworld, and goddess of magic and witchcraft.. Even in descriptions of Medeas witchcraft, it is difficult to distinguish magical rituals from more standard worship and rites. She is also associated with the moon and is sometimes depicted as having three faces which symbolize the waxing, waning, and full moon phases. She is depicted on the altar of Pergamon with one body and three heads (ca. She was also associated with some of the most revered and respected goddesses of Olympus. times its difficult to find a quite crossroads to perform workings except in remote areas. Hecate was often shown as a single person wearing a long robe and holding burning torches. 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. The facts about Hecate provides a list detailing fascinating additional info to increase your knowledge about Hecate in Greek Mythology. Like Hermes, who was also a deity of liminal spaces, statues of Hecate were often placed at crossroads and borders. Her liminality came from the fact that she was the daughter of a Titan and a goddess. Hecate has the power to grant or deny any mortals wish. The masculine form of this word is said to be used for Apollo, one of the Greek gods. Throughout history however, her sphere of influence also included the moon, night, crossroads, boundaries, ghosts and necromancy.Although Hecate was once considered to be a powerful Greek goddess of witchcraft, Hecate was not a major deity when compared, for instance, to the . 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. 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. Tzetzes on Lycophron, 1175; Scholiast on Theocritus, ii, 36. Mike Greenberg, PhD. In fact, the earliest depictions of Hecate can only be differentiated from those of Artemis by inscriptions. Posted by 7thphoenix | May 27, 2020 | Magick Articles | 0 |. Hecate is invoked when justice is not forthcoming from other channels. On her head she sometimes wears a kalathos, a tall wicker basket, or a moon sickle. Hecate, however, took pity on Galinthias. She was the only Titan who kept her power while Zeus was in charge. Why notsubscribe to our LearningMole Library for as little as 1.99 per month to access over1000fun educational videos. Moreover, the fact that Hecate had a Greek name does not necessarily mean that her cult originated in Greece (she more likely emerged from Caria in Asia Minor). She's ill at ease in cities and civilization. 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 boundaries she oversaw were not limited to the physical world, though. 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. Hecate also presided over more mystical boundaries. Advanced Magick for the 21st Century The Adeptus Course, THE MOST COMPLETE COURSE IN PRACTICAL MAGICK EVER RELEASED. Some of the statues she made as offerings to the goddess had the Graces dancing around her. Further, the home would be blessed and any wrong-doing by family members would be forgiven and the household purified. Hecate is portrayed in single form on sculptures of Myron and Naucydes. Roman poets encouraged the idea that Hecate was three different things by calling her Hecate-Selene and other similar names. I have been in love with all things related to Mythology. 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. People believed that by honoring and praying to this Goddess, their homes would be preserved from the vengeance of the dead. 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. SOLD JUN 14, 2022. Esoteric writing from this time says that Hecate has the heads of a horse, a dog, and a snake. Home History Great Facts about Goddess Hecate. The chief Greek god, Zeus, was very fond of this Goddess and gave her a share of the earth and sea. They are associated with certain ideas, occupations, or stages of life. She is also said to be the Goddess of childbirth and the protector of children. You ask Hecate to feed on these offerings, to accept them as an act of friendship and continued bond and also as an act of gratitude on your part. This concept became a central figure in many later versions of polytheism. This myth led to goddess Hecate being depicted with torches in her hand. Hecate: [noun] a Greek goddess associated especially with the underworld, night, and witchcraft. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content. In Ancient Greek religion, Hecate had a wide range of godly tasks. One of Hecates frequent animal companions, and the one that shes most often depicted with, was a black dog. During ancient times the place where roads met or at crossroads, a pole with three masks was erected. Her name is akin to the Latin words dium ("sky") and dius ("daylight"). Hecate is invoked when justice is not forthcoming from other channels. She is the witness to every crime. While Hecates temples in the area are from a later period, she bears a resemblance to a more ancient goddess in Caria. HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. 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. They thought she would protect them and keep away evil spirits. She could switch between being a Titan and a goddess in Greek mythology. According toHesiodin hisTheogony, Hecate is the daughter of Perses and Asteria, making her the granddaughter of the Titans Phoebe and Coeus. The Greek form is hekatos, which means "who works from afar," a probable reference to her magic powers, but it may also distantly reference her possible origins in Egypt. While some scholars attribute these displays as holding a dark side to Hecate, most myths associate her with a protective nature toward humans. All Rights Reserved, Ancient Egyptians The First Woman Pharaoh, A Crunchy Pistachios Tale: 13 Interesting Facts About These Salty Munchies. In the Pharsalia, the witch Erichtho calls on Persephone as the lowest part of Hecate. Who is Hecate? Many depictions, such as those of the Moirae, show the three goddesses corresponding to the three stages of a womans life. Mystifying Hecate Facts: The Greek Goddess Of Magic And Spells As one of the deities capable of passing between realms, she had access to the secrets of the dead. 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. Historian Robert Graves notes that the heads could be distinctive of a dog, lion and horse, representing the constellations which cover the calendar year. Because of this, some people would make sacrifices of dogs, especially puppies, 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. 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. This article incorporates text from Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) by William Smith, which is in the public domain. As was already said, the dog was Hecates most holy animal. Hecate | Myth & Symbols | Britannica Instead, some believe that the goddess originated in Asia Minor. A few pagans and Wiccans have also been known to worship Hecate as a dark goddess. Her tasks went beyond the heavens, the earth, the seas, and the Underworld. Her parentage was given differently by various writers. The best of the LearningMole geography tutorials. One of these was the boundary between life and death. Look for her animals: snakes, dragons, cats, and especially dogs. The offerings to the goddess were made each month during the night of a new moon. She would go with Persephone to the Underworld every year when the girl returned to Hades. Some authors say that she was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She was specifically associated with witchcraft, magick, the Moon, Archways, and creatures of the night such as hell-hounds and ghosts. According to Greek mythology when the universe first came into being the primordial gods were there, fully formed. 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. The Moirai, or Fates, were one such trio of goddesses. 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). Hectate is derived from the Greek word 'hekatos,' which 'means worker from afar.' Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition. She was the only child of the Titanes Perses and Asteria from whom she received her power over heaven, earth, and sea. The Ancient Greek Underworld and Hades - ThoughtCo Women also prayed to her for fertility and the birth of female children. The Greek three-headed hound of Hades, Cerberus, may have been an earlier version of Hecate. She is sometimes shown holding a key. As a cthonic goddess of the underworld, her rituals and rites were often associated with death and secrecy. HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. Omissions? The aspects of the goddess that had darker connotations were separated from her to create another goddess altogether in the character of Hecate. Hecate: Greece's Dark Goddess of the Crossroads. Etymology. Hecate is one of the many goddesses in Greek mythology. 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 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. Performing a protection rite on yourself and use of amulet is always encouraged as well. 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. As the worship of Artemis evolved over time, the Greeks began to focus more on her purity and positive aspects. The earliest archaeological evidence that has been found that proved that this deity was important and worshipped by the people was the circular altar that was used in the 6th century BCE for sacrifices to her. As a result, the goddess of magic remained a major deity in regulating evil spirits in the Underworld. She rules wisdom, choices, expiation, victory, vengeance, and travel. Follow for more great fun learning. Even in her origin, Hecate moved between two places. Hecate is remembered best not as a goddess of boundaries, but as a goddess of magic. 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). This could be because she sided with him during the 10-year battle between the Titans and the Olympians. The goddess was frequently associated with Demeter and even assimilated to her in some cults. Most likely, the cults of Thessalian Pherai (Pherae) and Eleusis saw Hekate as Chthonian (Underworld) Hermess wife. Carole Raddato/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0. 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. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. The myth says that Zeus gave the Lampades to Hera as a reward for her loyalty during the Titanomachy. 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. Classical scholars have differing views about where the worship of Hecate in Ancient Greece came from. The Egyptian god Anubis, who led souls to the Underworld, may also have something to do with dogs. 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. On the other hand, Euripides says that Leto is her mother. A: This Greek Goddess is often considered to be capable of both good and evil. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. 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. From lino cutting to surfing to childrens mental health, their hobbies and interests range far and wide. She was accepted at an early date into Greek religion, but she probably was originally a goddess of the Carians in southwestern Asia Minor. As you may already know Hecateis a goddess ofGreek mythologywho was capable of both good and evil. She is often displayed holding two torches or a key. And during these times Hecate was also very much connected to other portals- such as doors, entrances, thresholds and eventually the crossroads. She is also mentioned in Aeneid, a play by Virgil where she guides one of the characters, Sibyl, in the Underworld. In ancient times the crossroads didnt have our modern symbolism as a place of choices. Picture of the Greek Underworld, the residence of Hecate. creative tips and more. The three-part goddess was able to keep watch in all directions, and became standard in both written and visual representations. Nyx, the Primordial Goddess of the Night | Ancient Origins Her attributes, besides the torch, are the snake, whip, dagger, and sword. 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. Hecate, goddess accepted at an early date into Greek religion but probably derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. They are passionate about turning your everyday moments into memories and bringing you inspiring ideas to have fun with your family. Facts About Hestia, the Greek Goddess of Home and Hearth - ThoughtCo Her halos are usually made of moonbeams. 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. Hecate was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery. The Carians were devoted to Hecate, and she was the primary deity worshipped in the town of Lagina. A competing theory says that Hecate did not develop in Greece at all. . Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a28cb13cce875e3 By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. You have subscribed to: Remember that you can always manage your preferences or unsubscribe through the link at the foot of each newsletter. A popular story among the Greeks was that the dog that accompanied Hecate was the Trojan queen Hecuba. First 6 Months for 1.99 with Monthly Student and Teacher Plans Dismiss, 2022 Learning Mole. Eating crunchy while enjoying a good movie or your favourite video game is a blessing. Another story said that Hecate herself had cursed a witch named Gale to be a polecat for disgusting her with incontinence and abnormal desires. Both goddesses were usually shown with dogs by their sides, wearing hunting boots and carrying torches. Hecate's powers transcended the boundaries of the sky, the earth, the seas, and the underworld. 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. Hecate was an only child and was worshiped in households of Athens where families hoped to receive protection, prosperity and daily blessings. Dogs also howl at the Moon, so this could be a link. Therefore, this deity is also invoked when there is thought to be a miscarriage of justice. You may like to light incense such as the smoke of wormwood, cypress and lavender in these offerings. She was born into the world ruled by the Titans, but continued to be influential and powerful in the Olympian pantheon. 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. Her symbols were two torches, the crossroads, and black dogs. She was also called the Goddess of the threshold or the Goddess of the house. To the Greeks this meant not only the moment at which the soul crossed between those to states, but also to a literal place. Author: Hecate He | Editor: Michael Sarazen. 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. Hecate is a goddess of life, death, regeneration, and magic. It was believed that she could see in all directions. Hecate: Goddess of the Moon, Light and Magic in Greek Mythology and According to them, Hecate is known to support bravery and hence encourage soldiers, warriors, athletes, etc. To learn more about other Goddesses and exciting information, keep visiting on LearningMole. Great Facts about Goddess Hecate - Learning Mole 6 Amazing facts about Hecate | High-Percentage-Magick Zorya The Slavic goddess of beauty and light took three forms corresponding to morning, evening, and midnight. The Orphic Mysteries said that Hestia was the daughter of Demeter instead. Thus, pillars called Hecataea stood at crossroads and doorways, perhaps to keep away evil spirits. Hecate is a goddess in Greek mythology often associated with darkness and witchcraft. Tackling Hallucinations: Microsoft's LLM-Augmenter - medium.com Hecate, however, was not just a goddess shown in three parts. 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. the Jinn or Genie-good, bad or simply Goetic spirits of another name? 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. Hecate (also spelt Hekate) is a goddess capable of both good and evil. This makes her the granddaughter of Phoebe and Coeus, both Titans. Hecate helps or protects warriors, athletes, hunters, horsemen, herders, shepherds, fishermen, and children. In other Indo-European cultures, the three-part goddesses included: The archetype of the triple goddess is so common that its considered one of the fundamental aspects of Indo-European religion. Nearby Recently Sold Homes. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents. The witches were telling Macbeth about his future and had not consulted the Goddess and had left her out of the meeting. 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. My work has also been published on Buzzfeed and most recently in Time magazine. A mysterious goddess of sorcery, necromancy, and ghosts, Greek Goddess Hecate is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing characters in all of Greek mythology! According to Theogony. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, However. They spun the threads of fate at the base of. Because she was associated with borders, gates, and doorways, Hecate took on a protective role. Hecate could give her worshipers wealth and blessings, but she could also take them away if they didnt worship her well enough. 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 appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Hecates powers to protect were passed on from Titan parents Perses and Asteria and covered the heavens, earth and sea. In fact she seems to have started out as Heket, the Egyptian Goddess of Childbirth. The action you just performed triggered the security solution.
