Not only could she move between the realms, but she had power to control the passage of others. It was said that she learned herbalism and spells from Hecate herself. Pausanias, a Greek traveller who lived in the second century CE, said that the goddess had a mystery cult on the island of Aegina, where people with mental illness thought they could be cured. Regula, deTraci. The darkness, the moon, and magic have been personified as Hecate in many popular and well-known works of literature and in art. While Hera was considered a singular being, she was given three names to represent her different stages in life maiden, wife, and mother. It is believed that Hecate represented witchcraft, magic and ghosts. Picture of the Greek Underworld, the residence of Hecate. The Greek three-headed hound of Hades, Cerberus, may have been an earlier version of Hecate. This grouping of the goddesses happens again in Aristophanes Frogs (1358f) when Aeschylus character calls on the goddesses. And all these views if we go back in time can also be found in the Greco-Roman world. 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). The offerings to the goddess were made each month during the night of a new moon. She rules wisdom, choices, expiation, victory, vengeance, and travel. Kidadl provides inspiration to entertain and educate your children. Hecate took pity on her, though, and brought her back to life as a dog to be her companion. Some early writers claimed that Hecate was actually the princess Iphigenia, saved from death by Artemis and transformed into a goddess. The food offered to this deity included cheese, cakes of eggs, and a dish of red mullet. The Kidadl Team is made up of people from different walks of life, from different families and backgrounds, each with unique experiences and nuggets of wisdom to share with you. Hesiod describes the goddess in the following glowing terms: Zeus, Cronus son, honoured [Hecate] above all others: he gave her splendid gifts to have a share of the earth and of the barren sea, and from the starry sky as well she has a share in honour, and is honoured most of all by the immortal gods. From lino cutting to surfing to childrens mental health, their hobbies and interests range far and wide. This could be because she sided with him during the 10-year battle between the Titans and the Olympians. She is sometimes shown holding a key. The Goddess Hecate is supposed to be the daughter of Perses, a Titan, and Asteria, a nymph. In revenge for the trick, Eileithyia turned Galinthias into a polecat. The cave and the dawn are both thresholds- liminal times, thresholds between the earth and the underworld and night and day. Hecate is invoked when justice is not forthcoming from other channels. Hecate was a goddess of boundaries and in between spaces. Hesiod claimed that Hecate was a favorite of Zeus . At doorways and crossroads, pillars of the goddess Hecate, who held a torch, stood. She was associated with witchcraft, necromancy, and poisons. the Jinn or Genie-good, bad or simply Goetic spirits of another name? Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition. Hecate was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. Parents: Perses (and Asteria) or Zeus and Asteria (a second-generation Titan) or Nyx (Night) or Aristaios or Demeter (see Theoi Hecate) The goddess was given gifts every month on the night of a new moon. There might not be any figure in Greek mythology that is as misunderstood as Hecate. Her name has been connected to dark magic and disturbing rituals in the works of Shakespeare and well into modern times. As goddesses that straddled the boundary between this world and the afterlife, they were believed to be the keys to uncovering the secrets of what lay beyond that boundary. On the Pergamon Altar of Zeus, from the 2nd century BCE, a three-headed Hecate and a dog attack a snake-like giant. 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. Hecate typically responds to petitions via visions and dreams. Is Hecate a jealous goddess? Of course, as the goddess of boundaries she had the power to let things in as well as keep them out. Updates? As you may already know Hecateis a goddess ofGreek mythologywho was capable of both good and evil. Hecate was also offered dogs, especially puppies, as a sacrifice. She was the only Titan who kept her power while Zeus was in charge. In the Greek religion, strange rituals were done to honour the goddess. When the marriage of Persephone was finalized and she became the queen of the underworld, the bond between the three goddesses was strengthened. Scholars say that this Apolline name connects Hecate to Artemis, another goddess with a similar area of power. 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. Writings throughout the centuries have woven different tales about Hecate and her role as a goddess. Hecate was weaved strongly into all these symbolisms of the crossroads and still does to her devotees. Like Hermes, who was also a deity of liminal spaces, statues of Hecate were often placed at crossroads and borders. She was not portrayed as being loving towards children but as someone who took revenge against anyone that harmed children. Her name was derived from the Greek word hekatos which means worker from afar. On Greek pottery, she is usually shown as a young woman holding a torch or a key. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. The aspects of the goddess that had darker connotations were separated from her to create another goddess altogether in the character of Hecate. Advanced Magick for the 21st Century The Adeptus Course, THE MOST COMPLETE COURSE IN PRACTICAL MAGICK EVER RELEASED. Ft. 1302 Covington Ct, Virginia Beach, VA 23453. HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy. Article created on Monday, March 3, 1997. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. Hecate, Greek Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft - Hecate Myths and Facts 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. Contrary to popular current belief she wasnt originally a matron for women but for all who fit the above categories. 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. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong. She was a goddess in charge of magic, witchcraft, and much more. If you are interested in effective unique protection magickCLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE! Her friends are the Erinyes, winged creatures that punish bad behaviour, and her children are the Empusae, female demons that like to seduce travellers. This is how she came to command the earth, bliss, and sea. She has long been associated with witchcraft and the occult, even necromancy. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The facts about Hecate provides a list detailing fascinating additional info to increase your knowledge about Hecate in Greek Mythology. They include, science, maths, English and more. And there is a good book titled Hekate liminal rites By David Rankine and Sorite DEsteyou should check out. The triple Hecate represented three aspects of a single goddess. The people of Sparta claimed that Ares had been nursed by a nymph called Thero. The first example of the triple-Hecate form, called hekataia, was made by the sculptor Alcamenes in the 5th century BCE. During the Romans, many of her traits belonged to the world of the dead. Eventually, this came to include the boundary between the natural and the supernatural, making her a goddess of magic. Hecate is a goddess of life, death, regeneration, and magic. Hecate is a goddess of life, death, regeneration, and magic. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. She is also known as Soteria (Savior), the Mother of Angels, and the Cosmic World. There are many other interesting facts about Hecate as pointed out by philosophers and researchers. "Worker-from-afar." She was often placed at the entrance of homes to help protect against the evil forces of the world. As one of the deities capable of passing between realms, she had access to the secrets of the dead. Hecate (also spelt Hekate) is a goddess capable of both good and evil. She was specifically associated with witchcraft, magick, the Moon, Archways, and creatures of the night such as hell-hounds and ghosts. Hecate | Infoplease - Fact Monster EFFECTIVE MAGICK AND ALPHA STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Seventh Phoenix MY Amazing STORY,My Journey, REAL LIFE Curses That STUNNED THEIR VICTIMS, HOW THE ALPHA FREQUENCY POWER-CHARGES YOUR MAGICK, Protection Magick Mastery Course #1 Best Rated. Her origins and powers were unexplained and changeable. The boundaries she oversaw were not limited to the physical world, though. Greeks focused worship on the more protective aspects of Artemis, goddess that existed on the edges of the Greek, The Norns These three goddesses were the Norse equivalent of the Moirai. This garden would've contained her sacred trees, herbs and poisons. Apollonius of Rhodes says that the sound of dogs barking from the Underworld can be heard when Hecate is nearby. Subscribe to our popular newsletter Synced Global AI Weekly to get weekly AI updates. She appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The chief Greek god, Zeus, was very fond of this Goddess and gave her a share of the earth and sea. During ancient times the place where roads met or at crossroads, a pole with three masks was erected. Her considerable power over nature ensured her continued popularity, but she's never fitted in with the crowd. Hecate doesnt often appear in Greek art and writing until the 5th century BCE. Hecate is defined by her powerful magic, being at ease with the night and darkness and in wild surroundings. The blessings she gave them were eventually seen as magic, while prayers were seen as incantations. In sculptures from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, she looks most striking when she has three bodies and three heads, one body with three heads, or three bodies and one head. When they heard this the Moirai uncrossed their arms, releasing the bonds that kept the infant Heracles from the earth. A goddess of crossroads, magic, poison, and the undead, Hecate was also the daughter of the Titan Perses and the nymph Asteria, according to Hesiod. She is invoked for justice, especially for sexual crimes against women and girls. The iconography had not yet come to include her usual attributes, such as her keys and torches or her three aspects. She was connected to occult practices such as witchcraft and magic, the Moon, gateways, and nocturnal beasts such as hellhounds and ghosts. It was believed that she could see in all directions. 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. 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. "Hecate: Greece's Dark Goddess of the Crossroads." Hecate is remembered best not as a goddess of boundaries, but as a goddess of magic. Local sun goddesses from before the Greek era have many of the same attributes as those later associated with Hecate. Hecate (Hekate) is the goddess of boundaries and guardian of crossroads; she is often shown with three faces and carrying a torch to show her connection to the night. Euripides, on the other hand, mentions her mother isLeto. 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. In literature, there is a clear link between her, Demeter, and Persephone. Why notsubscribe to our LearningMole Library for as little as 1.99 per month to access over1000fun educational videos. Hecate - Roman and Greek Gods and Goddesses