Hecate

Categories: Greek goddesses | Roman goddesses | Lunar goddesses | Witchcraft | Crossroads mythology

Hecate, Hekate (Hekátē), or Hekat was originally a goddess of the wilderness and childbirth originating from Thrace, or among the Carians of Anatolia (Burkert 1985 p171). Popular cult venerating her as a mother goddess integrated her persona into Greek culture as 'Εκατη. In Ptolemaic Alexandria she ultimately achieved her connotations as a goddess of sorcery and her role as the ‘Queen of Ghosts’, in which guise she was transmitted to post-Renaissance culture.

Representations

The earliest depictions of Hecate are single, not triplicate. Farnell (1896) states:

The evidence of the monuments as to the character and significance of Hekate is almost as full as that of the literature. But it is only in the later period that they come to express her manifold and mystic nature. Before the fifth century there is little doubt that she was usually represented as of single form like any other divinity, and it was thus that the Boeotian poet imagined her, as nothing in his verses contains any allusion to a triple formed goddess. The earliest known monument is a small terracotta found in Athens, with a dedication to Hekate (Plate XXXVIII. a), in writing of the style of the sixth century. The goddess is seated on a throne with a chaplet bound round her head; she is altogether without attributes and character, and the only value of this work, which is evidently of quite a general type and gets a special reference and name merely from the inscription, is that it proves the single shape to be her earlier from, and her recognition at Athens to be earlier than the Persian invasion.

Pausanias stated that Hecate was first depicted in triplicate by the sculptor Alkamenes in the Greek Classical period of the late 5th century. Some classical portrayals, such as the one illustrated below, show her as a triplicate goddess holding a torch. Others continue to depict her in singular form. In Egyptian-inspired Greek esoteric writings connected with Hermes Trismegistus, and in magical papyri of Late Antiquity she is described as having three heads: one dog, one serpent and one horse. Hecate's triplicity is expressed in a more Hellene fashion, with three bodies instead, where she is shown taking part in the battle with the Titans in the vast frieze of the great altar of Pergamum, now in Berlin. In the Argolid, near the shrine of the Dioscuri, the 2nd-century CE traveller Pausanias saw the temple of Hecate opposite the sanctuary of Eilethyia; "The image is a work of Scopas. This one is of stone, while the bronze images opposite, also of Hekate, were made respectively by Polycleitus and his brother Naucydes, son of Mothon. (Description of Greece ii.22.7)

A 4th century BCE marble relief from Crannon in Thessaly was dedicated by a race-horse owner. It shows Hecate, with a hound beside her, placing a wreath on the head of a mare. This statue is in the British Museum, inventory number 816.

Her attendant and animal representation is of a bitch, and the most common form of offering was to leave meat at a crossroads. Sometimes dogs themselves were sacrificed to her (a good indication of her non-Hellenic origin, as dogs (along with donkeys) very rarely played this role in genuine Greek ritual).

Mythology

Despite popular belief, Hecate was not originally a Greek goddess. She is unknown to Homer and in fact the earliest written references to her are in Hesiod's Theogony. The place of origin of her cult is uncertain, but it is thought (Burkert 1985 p171) that she had popular cult followings in Thrace. Her most important sanctuary was Lagina, a theocratic city-state in which the goddess was served by eunuchs (Burkert). Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay in the originally-Macedonian colony of Stratonicea (Strabo, Geography xiv.2.25). In Thrace she played a role similar to that of lesser-Hermes, namely a governess of liminal points and the wilderness, bearing little resemblance to the night-walking crone. Additionally, this led to her role of aiding women in childbirth and the raising of young men.

There was a fane sacred to Hecate as well in the precincts of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, where the eunuch priests, megabyzi, officiated (Strabo, xiv.1.23).

Hesiod records that she was among the offspring of Gaia and Uranus, the Earth and Sky. In Theogony he ascribed to Hecate such wide-ranging and fundamental powers, that it is hard to resist seeing such a deity as a figuration of the Great Goddess, though as a good Olympian Hesiod ascribes her powers as the "gift" of Zeus:

"Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods.... The son of Cronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea".

Her gifts towards mankind are all-encompassing, Hesiod tells:

"Whom she will she greatly aids and advances: she sits by worshipful kings in judgement, and in the assembly whom she will is distinguished among the people. And when men arm themselves for the battle that destroys men, then the goddess is at hand to give victory and grant glory readily to whom she will. Good is she also when men contend at the games, for there too the goddess is with them and profits them: and he who by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich prize easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents. And she is good to stand by horsemen, whom she will: and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hecate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, easily the glorious goddess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away as soon as seen, if so she will. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. The droves of kine and wide herds of goats and flocks of fleecy sheep, if she will, she increases from a few, or makes many to be less".

Hecate was carefully attended:

"For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hecate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her".

Hesiod emphasizes that Hecate was an only child, the daughter of Asteria, a star-goddess who was the sister of Leto, (the mother of Artemis and Apollo). Grandmother of the three cousins was Phoebe the ancient Titaness who personified the moon. Hecate was a reappearance of Phoebe, a moon goddess herself, who appeared in the dark of the moon.

His inclusion and praise of Hecate in Theogony is troublesome for scholars in that being at the time a relatively minor and foreign goddess, he seems fulsomely to praise her attributes and responsibilities in the ancient cosmos. It is theorized (Johnston, Restless Dead) that Hesiod’s original village had a substantial Hecate following and that his inclusion of her in the Theogony was his own way to boost the home-goddess for unfamiliar hearers.

As her cult spread into areas of Greece it presented a conflict, as Hecate’s role was already filled by other more prominent gods in the Greek pantheon, above all by Artemis, and by more archaic figures, such as Nemesis.

There are two versions of Hecate that emerge in Greek myth. The lesser role integrates Hecate while not diminishing Artemis. In this version (Johnston, Restless Dead), Hecate is a mortal priestess (commonly associated with Iphigeneia) who scorns and insults Artemis, eventually leading to her suicide. Artemis then adorns the dead body with jewelry and whispers for her spirit to rise and become her Hecate, and act similar to Nemesis as an avenging spirit (but solely for injured women). Such myths where a home god sponsors or ‘creates’ a foreign god were widespread in ancient cultures as a way of integrating foreign cults. Additionally, as Hecate’s cult grew, her figure was added to the myth of the birth of Zeus (Johnston, Restless Dead) as one of the midwives that hid the child, while Cronus consumed the deceiving rock handed to him by Gaia.

The second version helps to explain how Hecate gains the title of the ‘Queen of Ghosts’ and her role as a goddess of sorcery. Similar to totems of Hermes—herms— placed at borders as a ward against danger, images of Hecate, as a liminal goddess, could also serve in such a protective role. It became common to place statues of the goddess at the gates of cities, and eventually domestic doorways. Over time, the association of keeping out evil spirits, lead to the belief that if offended Hecate could also let in evil spirits. Thus invocations to Hecate arose as her the supreme governess of the borders between the normal world and the spirit world (Johnston, Restless Dead).

Eventually, Hecate’s power resembled that of sorcery. Medea, who was a priestess of Hecate, used witchcraft in order to handle magic herbs and poisons with skill, and to be able to stay the course of rivers ^{Citation needed}, or check the paths of the stars and the moon.

Implacable Hecate has been called "tender-hearted", probably because she was concerned with the disappearance of Persephone, and addressed Demeter with sweet words when the goddess was distressed.

Although she was never truly incorporated among the Olympian gods, the modern understanding of Hecate is derived from the syncretic Hellenistic culture of Alexandria. In the magical papyri of Ptolemaic Egypt, she is called the she-dog (or bitch), and her presence is signified by the barking of dogs. She sustained a large following, though, remaining a goddess of protection and childbirth. In late imagery she also has two ghostly dogs as servants by her side.

In modern times Hecate has become a prevalent figure in women’s religions, and a version of Hecate has been appropriated by Wicca and other modern magic-practising religions.

Relations in the Greek Pantheon

Hecate is a pre-Olympian chthonic goddess. The Greek sources don't offer a story of her parentage, beyond the Theogony, or of her relations in the Greek pantheon: Sometimes Hecate is a Titaness , daughter of Perses and Asteria, and a mighty helper and protector of mankind. Her continued presence was explained by asserting that, because she was the only Titan that aided Zeus in the battle of gods and Titans, she was not banned into the underworld realms after their defeat by the Olympians.

It is also told that she is the daughter of Demeter or Pheraia, which appears understandable due to the fact that Hecate, like Demeter, was a goddess of the earth and fertility; or, alternatively, that she may even be a daughter of Zeus.

Like many ancient mother or earth-goddesses she remains unmarried and has no regular consort. On the other side she is the mother of many monsters, such as Scylla.

Other names and epithets

• Chthonian (Earth/Underworldgoddess)
• Crataeis (the Mighty One)
• Enodia (Goddess of the paths)
• Antania (Enemy of mankind)
• Kurotrophos (Nurse of the Children and Protectress of mankind)
• Artemis of the crossroads
• Propylaia (the one before the gate)
• Propolos (the attendant who leads)
• Phosphoros (the light-bringer)
• Soteira ("Saviour")
• Prytania (invincible Queen of the Dead)
• Trioditis (gr.) Trivia (latin: Goddess of Three Roads)
• Klêidouchos (Keeper of the Keys)
• Tricephalus or Triceps (The Three-Headed)

Queen of Ghosts

Queen of Ghosts is a title associated with Hecate due to the belief that she can both prevent harm from leaving, but also allow harm to enter from the spirit world. Hecate thus has a role and special power in graveyards.

This association also played a large part in the idea of Hecate as a lunar goddess.

Goddess of the Crossroads

Hecate had a special role at three-way crossroads, where the Greeks set poles with masks of each of her heads facing different directions ^{Citation needed}

The crossroad aspect of Hecate stems from her original sphere as a goddess of the wilderness and untamed areas. This led to sacrifice in order for safe travel into these areas. This role is similar to lesser Hermes, i.e. a god of liminal points or boundries.

Hecate should not be confused with Trivia "the three ways" in Roman mythology. Eligius in the 7th century CE reminded his recently converted flock in Flanders "No Christian should make or render any devotion to the gods of the trivium, where three roads meet, to the fanes or the rocks, or springs or groves or corners" (for details, see Druid).

Goddess of Sorcery

The goddess of sorcery or magic is Hecate's most common modern title.

Emblems

Traditionally, Hecate is represented as carrying torches, very often has a knife, and may appear holding a rope, a key, a phial ^{Citation needed}, flowers ^{Citation needed}, or a pomegranate ^{Citation needed}.

The torch is presumably a symbol of the light that illuminates the darkness, as the Greeks secured Hecate in her role as the bringer of wisdom. Her knife represents her role as midwife in cutting the umbilical cord (possibly symbolized by the rope), as well as severing the link between the body and spirit at death. This may be the origin of the traditional ritual knives of witches. The Key is significant to Hecate's role as gatekeeper, being the one who could open the doors to sacred knowledge. The Orphic Hymns list her as the "keybearing Queen of the entire Cosmos." The pomegranate was seen by the Ancient Greeks as the fruit of the Underworld, though it was also used as a love-gift between Greek men and women. This may be because a pomegranate was eaten by Persephone, binding her to the Underworld and to Hades.

Important to note is the similarity of symbols and objects held by Hecate and other Dark-Mother-Goddesses the world over. Most often, symbols like the knife and rope represented the Dark Mother's ability to cut loose the bonds of the physical realm, thus showing her as midwife and nurse not only to children but to the dying as well.

In the so-called "Chaldean Oracles" that were edited in Alexandria, she was also associated with a serpentine maze around a spiral, known as Hecate's wheel (the "Strophalos of Hecate", verse 194 of Isaac Preston Cory's 1836 translation). The symbolism referred to the serpent's power of rebirth, to the labyrinth of knowledge through which Hecate could lead mankind, and to the flame of life itself: "The life-producing bosom of Hecate, that Living Flame which clothes itself in Matter to manifest Existence" (verse 55 of Cory's translation of the Chaldean_Oracles).

Animals

The she-dog is the animal most commonly associated with Hecate. She was sometimes called the 'Black she-dog' and black dogs were once sacrificed to her in purification rituals. At Colophon in Thrace, Hecate might be manifest as a dog. The sound of barking dogs was the first sign of her approach in Greek and Roman literature. Her festival in mid-August, celebrated by sacrificing black bitches to ward off the stormy season, gave rise to the expression "the dog-days of summer" ^{Citation needed}. The frog, significantly a creature that can cross between two elements, is also sacred to Hecate ^{Citation needed}. As a triple goddess, she sometimes appears with three heads-one each of a dog, horse, and bear or of dog, serpent and lion.

During the Medieval period in western Europe, Hecate was reverenced by witches who adopted parts of her mythos as their goddess of sorcery. Because Hecate had already been much maligned by the late Roman period, Christians of the era found it easy to vilify her image. Thus were all her creatures also considered "creatures of darkness"; however, the history of creatures such as ravens, night-owls, snakes, scorpions, asses, bats, horses, bears, and lions as her creatures is not always a dark and frightening one. (Rabinowitz)

In modern wicca, neo-Paganism, and goth culture all wild animals are sacred to Hecate, though creatures of darkness, such as ravens, owls, and snakes best represent her. Dragons have been included in this list more recently, but are not a traditional Greek association with this goddess. Several images of Hecate show her holding a snake because snakes have long been connected with chthonic powers and the powers of life, death, and rebirth (see Serpent).

Plants and Herbs

The yew, cypress, hazel, black poplar and willow are all sacred to Hecate ^{Citation needed}.

The leaves of the black poplar are dark on one side and light on the other, symbolizing the boundary between the worlds. The yew has long been associated with the Underworld.

The yew has strong associations with death as well as rebirth. A poison prepared from the seeds was used on arrows ^{Citation needed}, and yewwood was commonly used to make bows and dagger hilts. The potion in Hecate's cauldron contains 'slips of yew'. Yew berries carry Hecate's power, and can bring wisdom or death. The seeds are highly poisonous, but the fleshy, coral-colored 'berry' surrounding it is not. If prepared correctly, the berry can cause visual hallucinations (Ratsch).

Many other herbs and plants are associated with Hecate, including garlic, almonds, lavender, myrrh, mugwort, cardamon, mint, dandelion, hellebore, and lesser celandine. Several poisons and hallucinogens are linked to Hecate, including belladonna, hemlock, mandrake, aconite (known as hecateis), and opium poppy. Many of Hecate's plants were those that can be used shamanistically to achieve varyings states of consciousness.

Places

Wild areas, forests, borders, city walls and doorways, crossroads, and graveyards are all associated with Hecate.

It is often stated that the moon is sacred to Hecate. This is argued against by Farnell (1896, p.4):

Some of the late writers on mythology, such as Cornutus and Cleomedes, and some of the modern, such as Preller and the writer in Roscher's Lexicon and Petersen, explain the three figures as symbols of the three phases of the moon. But very little can be said in favour of this, and very much against it. In the first place, the statue of Alcamenes represented Hekate Επιπυργιδια, whom the Athenian of that period regarded as the warder of the gate of his Acropolis, and as associated in this particular spot with the Charites, deities of the life that blossoms and yields fruit. Neither in this place nor before the door of the citizen's house did she appear as a lunar goddess.

We may also ask, why should a divinity who was sometimes regarded as the moon, but had many other and even more important connexions, be given three forms to mark the three phases of the moon, and why should Greek sculpture have been in this solitary instance guilty of a frigid astronomical symbolism, while Selene, who was obviously the moon and nothing else, was never treated in this way? With as much taste and propriety Helios might have been given twelve heads.

Despite this, neo-Paganism still often includes Hecate among the lunar goddesses ^{Citation needed}.

Festivals

Hecate was worshipped by both the Greeks and the Romans who had their own festivals dedicated to her. According to Ruickbie (2004:19) the Greeks observed two days sacred to Hecate, one on the 13th of August and one on the 30th of November, whilst the Romans observed the 29th of every month as her sacred day.

Cross-Cultural Parallels

The figure of Hecate can often be associated with the figure of Isis in Egyptian myth (mainly due to her role as sorceress). In Hebrew myth she is often compared to the figure of Lilith and later on the Whore of Babylon, as both were symbols of liminal points and Lilith also has a role in sorcery. As with all 'mother-goddess' figures, some scholars ultimately compare her to the Virgin Mary.

Before she became associated with Greek mythology, she bore a large resemblance to Artemis (wilderness, and watching over wedding ceremonies), and Hera (child rearing and the protection of young men or heroes, and watching over wedding ceremonies).

Hecate in later culture

Hecate makes an appearance in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (c 1606); she is represented as a goddess or demon who commands the three witches. There is some evidence to suggest that the scene was not written by Shakespeare, but was added during a revision by Thomas Middleton, who used material from his own play The Witch (1615).

Hecate is used by William Blake in a number of his paintings and poems.

Hecate in market-driven culture

More recently, Hecate has appeared in Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics.

She is also heavily mentioned in the popular TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer by wiccans and other characters casting spells.

Hecate in neo-Paganism

In modern times, she has become popular in neo-Paganism and Wicca, largely due to her association as the goddess of sorcery.

In modern neo-Paganism Hecate can take numerous roles. Modern Neopagans, particularly Hellenistic sects in the United States, often view Hecate as a goddess of Magic. Hecate is not seen as a necessarily benevolent goddess, and her favor is often seen as fickle. Hecate is thought to grant magical power to those who please her, and sometimes punish those who displease her. Examples of punishment may include inflicting madness in some cases, or sickness, posion, and disease in others. However Hecate is not thought to be malevolent, and to those who gain her favor she is thought to grant boons, including relief from pain, ease in child birth, the curing of disease and physical ailments, and (some believe) unnatural longevity. In regards to unnatural longevity, some believe that Vampires and other immortals may exist among us as examples, but it's worthy of note that no such immortal has ever been found outside of various myths and works of fiction. Hecate is believed by many to be unconcerned with mortals unless they earn her attention, reserving most of her favor for innately magical beings and favoring her Nymphs above all else.

Worship of Hecate can take many forms. In some cases animal sacrifices have been alleged. Most modern pagans very actively discourage the practice of animal sacrifice, in part due to fear of being associated with Satanism and in part due to concerns for the humane treatment of animals.

Hecate is thought to favor those who show conviction, commitment, and adoration for her, which leads many to conduct chanting and prostration in hopes of gaining favor and magical power. The most common forms of worship include prostration, chanting adoration for Hecate, fasting, the collecting of lanterns, the burning of oils and incense, and the burning and bread and other foods as sacrifices. According to some pagan websites Hecate is worshipped by both men and women evenly.

Many groups worship Artemis instead due to Hecate's supposedly fickle nature and lack of benevolence. Other gods commonly worshipped by such groups are Theia and Hyperion.

References

Primary sources

• Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days. An English translation is available online
• Pausanias, Description of Greece.
• Strabo, Geography

Secondary sources

• Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical. Oxford, Blackwell. 1987. ISBN: 0631156240
• Farnell, L.R. Hecate in Art. Oxford, Oxford University Press, The Cults of the Greek States series. 1896
• Johnston, Sarah Iles. Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate's Role in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature. 1990.
• Johnston, Sarah Iles. Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece. 1991.
• Mallarmé, Stephane. Les Dieux Antiques, nouvelle mythologie illustrée. Paris. 1880.

Bibliography

• Burkert, Walter, 1985. Greek Religion (Cambridge: Harvard University Press)
• Johnston, Sarah Iles. Hekate Soteira: A Study of Hekate's Role in the Chaldean Oracles and Related Literature. 1990.
• Johnston, Sarah Iles. Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece. 1991.
• Kerenyi, Karl. The Gods of the Greeks. 1951.
• Rabinowitz,Jacob. The Rotting Goddess. 1990. A neopagan work, whose claims to scholarship have been much criticised.
• Ruickbie, Leo. Witchcraft Out of the Shadows: A Complete History. Robert Hale, 2004.

External links

• Frequently Asked Questions about Hekate
• Encyclopaedia Britanica 1911: "Hecate"
• Hekate: Guardian at the Gate
• Theoi article on Hecate
• Hecate in Early Greek Religion
• Hekate in Greek esotericism: Ptolemaic and Gnostic transformations of Hecate
• cast of the Crannon statue, at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

• 100 Hekate is an asteroid.
• Hecate is also the stage name of Breakcore artist Rachael Kozakast:Hécate

bg:Хеката cs:Hekaté da:Hekate de:Hekate es:Hécate eo:Hekato fr:Hécate it:Ecate lt:Hekatė nl:Hekate ja:ヘカテ pl:Hekate pt:Hécate sv:Hekate