Attic Pronunciation- heck-ah-tea
Orphic Hymn 1 to Hecate (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"Hekate Einodia, Trioditis, lovely dame, of earthly, watery, and celestial frame, sepulchral,
in a saffron veil arrayed, pleased with dark ghosts that wander through the shade; Perseis
(daughter of Perses), solitary goddess, hail! The world's key-bearer, never doomed to fail;
in stags rejoicing, huntress, nightly seen, and drawn by bulls, unconquerable queen; Leader,
Nymphe, nurse, on mountains wandering, hear the suppliants who with holy rites thy power
revere, and to the herdsman with a favouring mind draw near."
The only child of Perses and Asteria, Hekate is the Titaness of necromancy, magic, ghosts, and crossroads. Other sources list Her parents as Zeus and Asteria, Nyx, Aristaios, or even Demeter. She most likely originated as an ancient Thracian divinity, and under Zeus’ rule She maintained much of Her power as a Titan. Throughout Greece She was identified with several other Goddesses, which complicates Her nature. She’s commonly identified with Artemis, Krataeis, Maira, and Herkyna, among others.
Identified with Artemis, Hekate shared in the domain of being a guardian to girls and of the child-bed. They both shared the attributes of a torch, hunting dogs, hunting boots, and a short chiton.
Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 674 ff (trans. Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) :
"We pray that other guardians be always renewed, and that Artemis-Hecate watch over the childbirth of their women."
Identified with Krataeis, Hekate was said to be the mother of Skylla. Krataeis and Hekate were most likely identified with one another because of Their shared domain over seas.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 825 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.) :
"The hateful den of Ausonian Skylla, the wicked monster borne to Phorkys by night-
wandering Hekate, whom men call Krataiis."
Hekate’s temples were referred to as hekateion, and can be found throughout Greece, mostly in the form of shrines outside of a home. Figures of Hekate, and symbolic representations of Her, were plentiful in Athens where such figurings could be found in front of houses and at crossroads.
Hekate is often represented in art as a young woman, sometimes wearing a long dress, but often wearing a short chiton and hunting boots. She typically carries two torches, and is accompanied black dogs, polecats (cousins to ferrets), and Her retinue of torch bearing nymphs, the Lampades.
In Samothrace and Aegina Hekate was a mystic Goddess with celebrated Mysteries. Her worship in Aegina is given heavy importance as you can see in Pausanias’ Description of Greece 2. 30. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Of the gods, the Aiginetans worship most Hekate, in whose honour every year they celebrate mystic rites which, they say, Orpheus the Thrakian established among them.
Within the enclosure is a temple; its wooden image is the work of Myron, and it has one face and one body.
On occasion Hekate is represented with three faces. In this form She is usually placed at crossroads, where She can look out in multiple directions. According to Pausanias, Alkamenes was the first sculptor to portray her in the so-called Triformis style, which Ovid described as such, "You see Hecate's faces turned in three directions so she can protect the triple crossroads."
Hekate is described as keeping company with Persephone, Demeter, the Lamiai, the Lampades, Iakkhos, the Empousai, and Her parents. In some traditions Hekate is conflated with Daeira, who, according to some authors, took Hermes as Her consort, with who She bore Eleusis. Other authors write Hekate as being the mother of Skylla, Kirke, Medea, and Aigialeus. A number of authors name Hekate as a virgin Goddess however, with no children or consorts.
As a khthonic deity, black animals are considered sacred to Her, and favorable for offerings. Dogs, especially female dogs, and polecats are considered to be sacred to Hekate. In ancient Greece, the baying of hounds was considered to indicate Her presence. She was most commonly honored with night time sacrifices. She is regarded as ruling over souls which are in transition to or from the mortal world. She is present in the honoring of ancestors at the household hearth, as well as at funerals and beside the child-bed.
In Strabo’s Geography (10. 3. 10) we are given an idea of some of the common elements of ritual to Hekate:
"Now most of the Greeks assigned to Dionysos, Apollon, Hekate, the Mousai, and above all to Demeter, everything of an orgiastic or Bakkhic or choral nature, as well as the mystic element in initiations . . . And branch-bearing, choral dancing, and initiations are common elements in the worship of these gods."
Hekate is also an important household deity, protecting the home and household from evil, misfortune, and wandering spirits. At the end of each month, a sacrificial meal was left before such figures, as part of Hekate’s Deipnon. During the Deipnon, a family could also perform extra purifactory sacrifices in order to remove excess miasma from the family and household. Those sacrifices typically involved animal sacrifice, though normal Deipnon offerings did not.
The Hecatesia- The Hecatesia was held yearly by the Stratonicensians in honor of Hekate. The festival
consisted of a feast, and honored Hekate as a patron of families and children.
Hekate’s Deipnon- The Deipnon was a monthly ritual, held on the last day of the lunar month, where the house was cleansed and then an offering was left at a shrine for Hekate and the restless spirits in retinue to Her.
Thesmophoria- According to Aristophanes, Hekate was honored along with Demeter and Persephone during Thesmophoria.
Αιδωναια - Aidônaia - Of the Underworld
Ανασσα ενεροι - Anassa eneroi - Queen of the Those Below
Αταλος - Atalos - Tender, Delicate
Βριμω - Brimô - Angry, Terrible One
Ενοδια - Enodia - Of the Wayside, Crossroads
Χθονιη - Khthoniê - Of the Underworld
Κουροτροφος - Kourotrophos - Nurse of the Young
Λιπαροκρηδεμνος - Liparokrêdemnos - Bright-Coiffed
Νυκτιπολος - Nyktipolos - Night Wandering
Σκυλακαγετις - Skylakagetis - Leader of the Dogs
Τριμορφις - Trimorphis - Three-Formed
Τριοδιτις - Trioditis - Of the Crossroads, Three-Ways
Snakes (Hekate is described by some authors as being wreathed in snakes)
Items Associated with Hekate:
The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion edited by Esther Eidinow, Julia Kindt
Psyche, 2 Volumes: The Cult of Souls and Belief in Immortality among the Greeks By Erwin Rohde
Hekate: Bringer of Light by Shelly Nixon
A New System of Mythology by Robert Mayo
