One of the lesser-known deities in the Greek pantheon is Hecate. Being the only Titan to maintain her authority under Zeus' rule, she was the child of Perses and Asteria. The limits of the heavens, the earth, the oceans, and the underworld were not able to contain Hecate's might.
The stories surrounding the goddess Hecate tell us a lot about her domains of influence even if there aren't many myths about her. Many of her characteristics were associated with the underworld in the time of the Romans. But she also had power over things that positioned her squarely in the spotlight. The goddess held great abilities that other gods eventually adopted. Hecate could provide money and benefits to those who worshipped her, but she could also withhold these gifts from those who did not honour her sufficiently. This essay will examine the characteristics and emblems of Hecate.
Classicalists disagree over where the worshippers of Hecate came from in ancient Greece. There are many who trace the origins of goddess worship back to pre-Greek times, while others trace it back to Thrace. The most widely recognised theory is that Hecate came from the Carians in Asia Minor and was incorporated into Greek religion. Scholars say that the deity is said to have arrived in Greece in the Archaic period. The quantity of cult sites devoted to the goddess Hecatean attests to the adoration of the goddess in Caria. These were particularly noticeable in Lagina. Nonetheless, other classicists contend that the goddess cannot have an Anatolian origin because of the late dates of these Anatolian worship sites.
According to historical accounts, Hecate initially appears in the seventh century BCE in Hesiod's Theogony. Hesiod just makes reference to her parents and her part in the Gigantomachy, in which she slew Clytius. She is noticeably missing from the Homeric epics, though.
The most famous literary appearance of Hecate is perhaps her portrayal in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Hecate and the sun god Hyperion hear Persephone's screams as Hades kidnaps her in the song. Hecate appeared to Demeter on the tenth day, holding a lamp, after she had been looking for her daughter for nine days.
The goddess did not know who had abducted her daughter, but she informed Demeter what she had heard. Hecate gave Persephone a hug once she was reunited with Demeter. When Persephone went back to Hades every year, she would become her underworld companion. One common iconography associated with this narrative is Hecate holding a torch.
In Greek religion, Hecate was entrusted with a wide range of heavenly responsibilities. She was most famously the goddess of the moon, sorcery, witchcraft, darkness, light, and ghosts. She was also the goddess who guarded entranceways and oikos.
As a triple goddess, Hecate was closely connected to the intersection. She was described as a liminal deity with effortless passage from the underworld to the outside world. Her ability to transition between her roles as a goddess and a Titan came from her mythology and lineage. Her cult names and epithets, such as Propylaia (of the gates), Trodia (frequenter of the crossroads), and Enodia (on the path), witness to her liminality.
Lucan's Pharsalia had solidified Hecate's status as a goddess of witchcraft and sorcery by the first century CE. In the Pharsalia, the witch Erichtho calls upon Persephone, the lowest manifestation of Hecate. We discover the hag-like characteristics bestowed to Hecate in the Pharsalia.
Ghosts and Lampades, or nymphs of the underworld, were part of her entourage. Legend has it that Zeus gave Helen the Lampades as a present for her allegiance to him during the Titanomachy. The goddess goes at night with the Lampades, who bear lamps.
Depictions of the goddess:
Greek ceramics frequently featured Hecate as a single figure, dressed in a long gown, clutching torches. At intersections and gateways stood the pillars of Hecataea, the goddess of torch-bearing. Later, the most common iconography of Hecate shows her as a triple-formed goddess, each form standing behind the other and facing a different way at a crossroads.
She added the Graces dancing around the goddess, like in the top image, to some of her sculpture votive offerings. She is accompanied by a pack of dogs in some depictions. Pausanias claims in his Description of Greece that Alcamenes, a sculptor, was the first to show Hecate in her triple-form about the fifth century BCE. He adds that next to Wingless Victory's temple on the Acropolis in Athens was a sculpture of the goddess Hecate Epipurgidia (on the tower).
Hecate is shown as trimorphic on the well-known Pergamon Altar (c. 2nd century BCE), battling a monster that resembles a snake with the aid of a dog. Hecate's triple form was shown as three distinct bodies around a central column throughout antiquity. However, this depiction changed into a single goddess with three heads in late antiquity. Hecate is described as having three heads in esoteric literature from this era: the heads of a dog, a serpent, and a horse. Hecate was also associated with other deities from neighbouring pantheons.
Connectivity With Artemis:
Hecate, also known as Ἑκατη, is derived from the Greek term hekatos, which means "worker from afar." One of the most prevalent epithets for Apollo is the male version, Hekatos. This Apolline epithet, according to researchers, associates Hecate with Artemis, a goddess with comparable realms of power. The goddesses had many of the same characteristics.
In most depictions, both goddesses were seen with dogs, holding torches, and dressed in hunting boots. Frequently, they were combined to create a twin goddess, as seen in Aeschylus' Suppliants. The chorus in Aeschylus' play refers to the two goddesses as one. The goddesses are once again consolidated in Aristophanes' Frogs (1358f), when the goddesses are called upon by the figure of Aeschylus.
Connectivity with Artemis-Selene:
Hecate was combined with the goddesses Artemis and Selene throughout the Roman era, especially in Roman poetry. She was referred to by her Roman name, Trivia, in addition to her combined triple form. By referring to Hecate as Hecate-Selene and other such monikers, the Roman authors fostered her trimorphic representations. Seneca makes many references to Hecate along with her lunar equivalents, even drawing a connection between the goddess and Medea.
Connectivity with Iphigenia
Hecate was identified by early ancient accounts as the daughter of Agamemnon, Iphigenia. Pausanias quotes Hesiod as saying that Artemis's will transformed Iphigenia into Hecate, not killing her. Hecate was sometimes identified in this way with a deity known to the Tauri as Iphigenia.
Connectivity with Hermes:
Hecate was identified as the wife of this chthonic Hermes in many ancient traditions. Hermes also had chthonic features. Being gods of the dead, Hecate and Hermes were able to cross borders and liminal zones between realms. First appearing in the first century BCE, the Roman poet Propertius proposed a link between these two gods.
The dog was Hecate's most holy animal, as was previously indicated. The sound of dogs barking from the underworld is described by Apollonius of Rhodes as accompanying Hecate.
Pausanias and Ovid, two ancient writers, mention that dogs, especially black canines, were offered as sacrifices to the goddess. Additionally, scholars have proposed that Hecate's connection to dogs is indicative of her function as a goddess of birth. This is so because other birth goddesses, such Eileithyia and Genetyllis, also revered dogs as their holy animals.
Hecate's hounds were later connected to the restless spirits of the deceased that followed the goddess in antiquity. Queen Hecuba's transformation into a dog is associated with the goddess Hecate. After Troy fell, so the tradition goes, Odysseus took Hecuba as a hostage. But while travelling to Greece, the Trojan queen slew a Thracian king. Hecuba was punished by being changed into a black dog, which she later adopted as a pet.
The polecat, or weasel, was another animal considered sacred by the goddess Hecate. In the mythology recounted by Antonius Liberalis, Galinthias, Alcmena's midwife, tricked the gods when Heracles was born. Galinthias went to the goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, after observing Alcmena experiencing labour pains. The Fates informed them that the child had been delivered and had prolonged the labour as a favour for Hera. Galinthias became a polecat in punishment for tricking the gods. Galinthias was chosen by Hecate, who felt sorry for her change, to be her friend and attendant.
Honouring the Goddess Hecate:
In mainland Greece, the worship of other Olympians was more common than the cult of the goddess. In the ancient world, the goddess had a small number of temples devoted to her. In the past, smaller home shrines dedicated to Hecate were typical. These little shrines were built to fend off evil and shield the person from sorcery. The three most important Hecate worship sites in Greece were on the island of Samothrace, in Caria, and in Eleusis.
The goddess was revered as a deity of the mysteries in Samothrace. Her worship has also been documented at Athens, Colophon, Thrace, and Thessaly. Dog sacrifices made in the goddess' honour have been documented in the last two cities. According to Pausanias, Hecate was the goddess most revered by the Aegina people, who thought Orpheus had instituted the goddess's ceremonies on the island. Pausanias also mentions a wooden representation of Hecate that is housed in the temple of Aeginetan.
Hecate has many Orphic Hymns, but no Homeric Hymn dedicated to her. Actually, a song honouring the goddess starts the collection of Orphic Hymns. Her significance stems from her function as a goddess of entrances. Many details concerning Hecate's realms of influence as understood by the Orphics may be found in the Orphic Hymn to Hecate. She was invoked as the goddess of highways and crossroads in their mysteries.
Most notably, she is also called the goddess of the dead, who presides over deserted places. In this hymn, her sacred animals include deer, dogs, and wild predators. She is described as the herder of bulls and a nurturer of youths, as well. The hymn beseeches the goddess to come to the holy rites in a favorable mood with a happy heart.
The more we discover about the goddess Hecate, the more fascinating she appears to be. Her role as a guardian is highlighted by her roles as a liminal figure and a goddess of pathways and entrances. However, her evil side is revealed by her function as a nighttime goddess of sorcery and witchcraft. Hecate is a complex character who merits consideration on par with the more well-known Greek pantheon gods.
Offerings to give to her:
Breads - i personally give her garlic bread
Blood: If you have ever battled with self-harm of any type or are easily nauseated at the sight of blood, DO NOT ATTEMPT. She cherishes your mental health and well-being more than anything you could ever offer it to her, and Hekate understands that you cannot give Her your essence! She is going to adore and defend you no matter what!
Citrus - especially orange
Crow/Raven/Owl Feathers - only feathers naturally fallen off
Statues of Her and Her sacred animals *
Poetry, literature, and music you heavily associate with Her **
Witchraft books, spell books, dedicate any shadow work to her
Give food, clothing, toiletries, and other necessities to homeless shelters.
Visit cemeteries and, if permitted (please inquire beforehand), place flowers on the graves
Possess a plush toad, dog, or polecat.
Devote a meal or self care to her!
Give to the less fortunate. If you see a homeless person, get them a hot meal and a hot drink ect. Say a prayer to her before you do it
Share some tea with her or have a cup with her
Adding onto the sharing tea, sit at her altar with the tea and some cake. Talk to her, tell her about your day or ask her about hers
Do some baking and share what you baked
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