Hecate (CC 1,2)

In Greek mythology, Hecate is a goddess associated with entrance-ways, fire, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft, etc. She is usually seen holding a key or torches. She was a protecting goddess, mainly worshiped in Athenian households in Greece. Athens is where the first statue of the goddess, Hecate, was found. It was believed that she would provide the family with daily blessings. It is seen that she has a universal role and is a savoir. Hecate is also seen as an Earth deity or a worldly spirit. She is identified as Trivia in the Roman gods and goddesses, which originated from the Greek gods and goddesses, but they were renamed. In some cases, she is seen in three different forms, but is often found in only one. In some cases, she is actually seen in four forms, but that is very rare. When she is seen in three forms, she has three heads composed of a dog, a serpent, and a horse. This is seen more commonly among Egyptian art. She is also seen in Classical Greek art with torches, a key, serpents, daggers, and other items. There are also pieces of classical art of the goddess with a dog by her side.

Hecate was an only child, a rarity in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Perseus and Asteria. Asteria was the daughter of two Titans, Phoebe and Coeus. Asteria was also the sister of Leto. Leto was a mortal, who was one of the parents of the twin gods, Artemis and Apollo. The other parent was the lightning god, Zeus. Asteria was also seen as the star goddess, of shooting stars and of oracle. She was a Titan. This is the reason that Hecate is seen as a Titan. Hecate is seen as a pre-Olympian goddess, because she was seen in the beginning of time rather than later with gods like Cronus and later, Zeus. Asteria was seen fleeing into the Aegean Sea as a quail in order to escape the oncoming Zeus, it is obviously seen that he chose Leto rather than Asteria because she fled into the Aegean Sea before Zeus could get to her.

Hecate is seen in different ways in Ancient Greek writings. An example of this would be the writings of Theogony. In this writing, she is depicted more as a household goddess and a goddess of humble household worship rather than the temple goddess that she was actually seen as in Greek mythology. This did have a positive effect on the goddess’s myth, though. It spread the knowledge of the goddess and made her more popular than what she was at the time. In Athens, she was seen as a goddess that was worshipped in daily life. This was along with the more popular gods and goddesses of Zeus, Hermes, Hestia, and Apollo. They were the main gods and goddesses of the household. In some ways, she was seen as a foreign goddess, who was later accepted in Greek mythology. The reasoning behind this was the numerous amounts of art and statues that were seen for worship of Hecate, but it was seen at a later time in different parts of the world. Sometimes she is seen as a helper or protector of the humans. She is seen in a more positive way than other Titans because she was on the Olympian side of the Battle of Gods and Titans, which took place in order to get rid of the brutal ruler, Cronus. She was also not sent to the underworld after this war. The Titans who were against Zeus in the war were sent to the underworld or were greatly punished in a different way, such as Atlas holding up the world.