Hestia (T2)

Hestia is probably one of the least known of the six children of the Titan, Cronus. Hestia was the first and also last Olympian born into the family. Her father, Cronus, swallowed of all of his children to prevent them from overpowering him and taking over his thrown, which he cared very deeply about. Hestia was the first child of Rhea and Cronus, so she was the first child to be swallowed by the Titan. When Zeus, and in some myths Poseidon was also involved, helped the children escape their jail in Cronus, with the help of their Titan cousin Metis,  Hestia was the last child regurgitated back into the world. This is the reasoning behind her being both the first and last child of the Titans, Rhea and Cronus to be born.

Hestia’s siblings are Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. Her grandparents are Uranus and Gaea, often called Mother Earth. She is a virgin goddess, so she did not marry or have any children, unlike some of her brothers and sisters, such as Demeter, Zeus, and Hera. Her Roman name is Vesta.

She rejected the marriage suits of Poseidon and Apollo, and swore herself as a virgin goddess. She also rejected the way Aphrodite lived, with her multiple lovers and relationship problems, and led a more domestic life. Because of this, Zeus had her be in charge of the care and maintenance of the hearth fires on Mount Olympus. Hestia has become the goddess of the hearth because of this. She was involved with the animal sacrifices given to the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus.

She was omitted from the list of the Twelve Olympians because of Dionysus. She was known for her kindness, and gave up her seat on Mount Olympus for him. This was because she craved for a simpler life and ended up living on Earth amongst the mortals.