Hecate (ÅêÜôç)

Hekate's History

Hekate is a goddess shrouded in mystey, for there is continuing debate about Her name, origin and character. There are few legends about Her,and no fixed geneology. Some say that Hekate is the daughter of Erebus and Nyx, ageless Goddess of the night, while others believe that She is one of the Furies or the last surviving Titan except for Zeus. Hesoid claims that She was born of the Titan Perses and the star goddess Asteria. Musaeus claims She was born to Asteria and Zeus, Euripides says She is a daughter of Leto, while Thessalian legend has it that Hekate is the daughter of Admetus and a Pheraean woman.

It's likely that Hekate's attributed birth changed as different social groups adopted Her worship, but no Greek Clan or Tribe ever claimed decent from Hekate. Both facts support the theory that She originated outside Greece.

Hekate probably originated in the mythology of the Karians in southwest Asia Minor, and was integrated into Greek religion around the sixth century BCE. However, there is evidence that Hekate evolved from the Egyptian midwife goddess Heqit, (alternatively spelt 'Heket' or 'Hekat'.) The frog headed goddess Heqit assisted with the daily birth of the Sun and was associated with the apparently magical germination of the seemingly lifeless corn seed. In pre-dynastic Egypt the matriarch and wise woman of the tribe was called the 'heq'. It's interesting to note that Hekate is associated with childbirth.

Hekate's name has several possible meanings. 'She who works Her will' is the most commonly accepted, but 'the far-off one' or 'far-darting one' are also suggested. Such names suggest that Her power is far reaching.

An alternative derivation, 'most shining one', is bourne out in representations of Hekate from the forth century BCE which show a young goddess of both beauty & power, carrying a torch & wearing a headdress of stars. 'Hekate' is the female equivalent of 'Hekatos', an obscure epithet of Apollo, with whom She is sometimes associated.

The Olympians 'adopted' Her after they had defeated the Titans, but She was not of the same kind, & never lived amongst them. During this time Hekate's power was still recognized: Zeus gave Her dominion over Heaven, Earth & Sea, & they shared the right to grant or withhold gifts from humanity. Hekate was worshipped as Goddess of abundance & eloquence, & She is still generous to those who recognize Her.

According to the Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities, Hekate 'was only worshipped at night by torchlight'.

Hekate is sometimes referred to a triple goddess. Classically She was part of a group with Persephone and Demeter. Contrary to modern Pagan assumptions, Demeter represents the old crone woman, Persephone the wife woman, and Hekate is the Maiden. Every early Greek representation of Hekate shows Her as a young woman. It is only much later that She is represented as Crone.

In Mytilene on the eastern coast of the Aegean Sea, near what was Troy, there are Temples of Demeter, where the women would go to the annual festival of Eleusis to celebrate fertility rites. There is ample evidence that Hekate was honored there too, perhaps as a guide for initiates into the Mysteries.

But Hekate's power was to fade. In later myths She is represented as a daughter of Zeus who rules the Underworld & the waning Moon. The Greeks began to emphasize Her darker aspects; Hekate as Goddess of the Dead & Queen of Witches. She was increasingly depicted as roaming the earth on moonless nights in the company of baying dogs and the hungry spirits of those dead who were not ready to die, those who were murdered or not given appropriate burial rites.

Edith Hamilton's Mythology says of Hecate: " She was associated with deeds of darkness, the Goddess of the Crossways, which held to be ghostly places of evil magic. An awful divinity".

Hamilton appears to be drawing on the later Greek poets for her decription. Comparing late and early verses on Hekate will make my point clearer.

For Valerius Flaccus, Hekate is dark and terrifying:

“[Medea] wearies heaven above and Tartarus beneath with her complains; she beats upon the ground, and murmuring into her clutching hands calls on the Queen of Night [Hekate] and Dis [Haides] to bring her aid by granting death, and to send him who is the cause of her madness down with her to destruction.” – Valerius Flaccus, The Argonautica 7.311, Latin Epic from around the 1st AD.

But in the 5th and 6th BC, a very different picture emerges:

"[Hekate] the golden-shining attendant of Aphrodite." -Greek Lyric I Sappho or Alcaeus, Fragments, C6th BC

"Torch-bearing Hekate, .. holy .., daughter of great-bosomed Nyx." -Greek Lyric IV Bacchylides, Fragments, C5th BC

(Quotes taken from www.theoi.com/Ouranos/Hekate.html)

In fact no other Greek deity attracted such atmosphere of 'evil and debased superstition' (Farnell, The Cults of the Greek States p. 503).

How did Hekate become transformed from a popular, bright young Goddess into a dark and terrifying hag?

Perhaps we will never know for certain, but there are some facinating clues.

Hekate has long been associated with crossroads where three roads meet. In ancient Greek religion the soul was judged at a place where three roads meet. One road led to the Elysian Fields, one to the Fields of Asphodel, and the third road to Tartarus. So any crossroads where three roads meet might symbolize this place of judgment, and be seen as a sacred place.

But crossroads are also seen as ominous and dangerous places. In many traditions this is where suicides and criminals were buried. Were the two aspects associated or confused in some way? It's notable that it is specifically crossroads where three roads meet that are sacred to Hekate, whereas any crossroad is deemed as ominous.

The Romans adopted Hekate, and Her role shifted again. Hekate became an aspect of the moon Goddess, Diana Triformus: Diana (the Full moon, associated with Earth), Proserpina (the lunar phases, associated with Heaven), and Hekate (the New moon, associated with the Underworld.)

As the power of the Solar Gods rose, Hekate became increasingly demonized, until by the Middle Ages She was reduced to a parody of an evil crone.


hekate.timerift.net/history.htm

Mythology

Hekate's best known role in Greek myth is in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Demeter’s beloved daughter Persephone, the goddess of spring, was playing in the meadows when Hades emerged from the Underworld and captured Her. Hekate knew what had happened:

"Hekate with the bright headband, who heard from Her cave".

Hymn to Demeter
(Translation by Robert Von Rudloff)

Hekate reveals the truth to Demeter, and together they go to try and rescue Persephone. It is finally agreed that Persephone shall spend part of the year in the Underworld with Hades and the rest on Earth with Demeter. Hekate henceforth acts as guide for Persephone on Her journeys between the worlds.

Aconite, (also known as Hecateis, Monkshood or Wolfsbane), is a highly poisonous plant that is sacred to Hekate. According to myth, the plant sprang up where drops of the saliva of Kerberos fell to earth when Hercules dragged the dog-beast from the Underworld.

In later myths Hekate appears as a daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hekate was sent to the Underworld after incurring the wrath of Hera for stealing a pot of rouge for Europa, who was one of Zeus's lovers. Hekate fled to Earth and hid in the house of a woman who had just given birth. In late Classical Greece contact with childbirth was impure, so Cabiri plunged Hekate into the Underworld river Acheron to cleanse Her. From then on Hekate remained in the Underworld.

This story tells us as much about attitudes in late Greece as it does about Hekate. Whereas in earlier times Hekate appears to have been honored as a goddess of childbirth, now birth is 'impure'. There may be connections between the red rouge in this myth and the red henna that was used by worshippers to stain their hands and feet.

The witch Medea of Colchis called herself a daughter of Hekate and invoked her mother for success in her magical arts. When Jason of the Argonauts rejected her, she called upon Hekate for revenge against him.

The enchantress Circe, the lover of Odysseus, is also closely associated with Hekate worship.

In Book 6 of the Aeneid Aeneas travels to the underworld with Sibyl of Cumae. It was Hekate who originally took Sibyl there and showed her all the punishments of Tartarus. Hekate gave Sibyl the power to control and tend the Avernus Wood, the passageway to the entrance of the underworld. To allow passage for Aeneas, Sibyl sacrificed four black bullocks to Hekate, who then allowed Sibyl and Aeneas passage through the entrance and across the Styx.

In the fourth book of the Aeneid Hekate is invoked by Dido. Aeneas had left her heartbroken, so she called upon Hekate to curse the Trojans before she flung herself on her dagger. Her curse was effective; not only did the Trojans wander around for many years, when they finally reached Rome, Aeneas was killed in the fighting.



hekate.timerift.net/myth.htm

Sacred to Hekate

"Lord Helios and the sacred flames, weapon of Hekate Enodia, which she bears when leading in Olympos and in her haunts by the sacred three-ways on Earth crowning herself with oak leaves and twisting coils of wild serpents."

The Root Cutters, Sophokles
(Translation by Robert Von Rudloff)

Certain creatures and plants in the natural world are sacred to Hekate, and several Gods and Goddesses are associated closely with Her. There are also times & places that are especially sacred to Hekate, appropriate offerings, significant symbols and historical evidence regarding Her Priesthood.

The Natural World

All wild animals are sacred to Hekate & She sometimes appears three headed as dog, horse & bear or dog, snake & lion. But the creatures of darkness & of the earth are most sacred to Her; ravens, owls, crows, snakes & dragons. The frog, significantly a creature that can cross between two elements, is also sacred to Hekate and the Egyptian goddess Heqit.

The yew, cypress, hazel, black poplar and the willow are all sacred to Hekate. The leaves of the black poplar are dark on one side & light on the other, symbolising the boundary between the worlds.

The yew has long been associated with the Underworld. It is the longest living creature in Europe, and naturally 'resurrects' itself: As the central trunk dies, a new tree grows within the rotting core. This ability may be why it is so often found in graveyards as a symbol of eternal life. In Brittany it is believed that the yew sends a root to the mouth of each corpse, allowing the spirit to escape and be reborn.

The yew has strong associations with death as well as rebirth. A poison prepared from the seeds was used on arrows, and yew wood was commonly used to make bows and dagger hilts.

The potion in Hekate's cauldron contains 'slips of yew'. Yew berries carry Hekate's power, & can bring wisdom or death. The seeds are highly poisonous, but the fleshy, coral-colored 'berry' surrounding it is not, and if prepared correctly can bring inspirational visions.

There is a yew grove which I consider to be a sacred to Hekate that I sometimes visit for ritual work and meditation.

Many other herbs and plant were associated with Hekate, including garlic, almonds, lavender, myrrh, mugwort, cardamon, mint, dandelion, hellebore, and lesser celadine. Several poisons and hallucinogens are linked to Hekate, including belladonna, hemlock, mandrake, aconite (Classically known as hecateis), and opium poppy.

Dandelion tea is used to call spirits and is said to enhance psychic ability.

Snakes:
In ancient Greece snakes were the creatures most commonly associated with the dead, and it was commonly believed that the dead could appear as snakes. Several images of Hekate show Her holding a snake. Snakes have long been connected with chthonic powers and the uncommon wisdom of the Other world. I believe that the way the snake sheds it's skin to be 'reborn' symbolises the changes we all make in our lives, the transformations that Hekate can help us through.

Dogs:
The dog is the animal most commonly associated with Hekate, and She was sometimes addressed as the 'Black she dog'. Black dogs were once sacrificed to Her in purification rituals, and at Colophon in Samothrace Hekate could manifest as a dog. The sound of barking dogs is the first sign of Her approach in Greek and Roman literature:

"The Earth began to bellow, trees to dance
And howling dogs in glimmering light advance
Ere Hekate came."
The Aeneid, book VL. Virgil.

Ovid writes that Hekate could be conjured up from darkness "with long howls." There is evidence of an old belief that the souls of the unburied dead could appear as dogs. Hekate is sometimes identified with the with three-headed dog Kerebos, who guards the entrance to Hades, and there may be connections with the Egyptian dog-headed god Annubis, who conducted souls to the Underworld.

Dogs were also associated with deities like Hekate with who watched over childbirth, probably because of the ease with which the bitch gives birth.

The dog is also well known as a guardian of the house, standing at the font door to stand watch, and this seems to relate to Hekate's role as guardian (Hekate Propylaia).


Gods and Goddesses

Hekate has close links with Hermes. As messenger of the Gods, it was Hermes who would sometimes guide the dead to the Underworld, & some say that Hekate & Hermes were lovers who parented Circe. Hekate also had a son, Museus, the 'muse man'. Statues to Hermes (Herms) often stood with those to Hekate (Hecteria). In later myth Hermes transmitted Hekate's predictions from the Underworld. Hekate was associated with several other gods including Apollo, Pan, Asclepius, and Zeus in various forms.

At various times Hekate has been identified with other deities such as Ereschigal, the Babylonian goddess of the Underworld, the Thessalian Enodia and Brimo, the Sicilian Angelos, Iphigenia and especially Artemis. In fact later Orphic literature scarcely differentiates between Hekate and Artemis as far as titles and power are concerned. (See the Oxford Classical Dictionary and Farnell's The Cults of the Greek States for details).

Edith Hamilton's Mythology describes Hekate as: "the Goddess with three forms, Selene in the sky, Artemis on earth, Hekate in the lower world and in the world above when it is wrapped in darkness. She was associated with deeds of darkness, the Goddess of the Crossways, which held to be ghostly places of evil magic. An awful divinity".

She is closely associated with Persephone and in Roman times, Diana. In later times Hekate shared Hernes' reputation of leading the 'Wild Hunt'.

In later myths Hekate is accompanied by the Erinyes (also called the Furies), who hounded those who broke the taboos of insult, disobedience or violence to a mother.


Sacred times & places

Crossroads

Hekate is most properly worshipped in liminal places, especially at a crossroad where three roads meet. The Ancient Greeks would erect statues (hecataea) of Hekate Trevia ('Hekate of the Three Ways') at crossroads in Her honour. Here travelers may ask for protection on their journeys, or witches meet to learn Her mysteries.

It's commonly suggested that the crossroads symbolise Hekate's triple nature & all seeing ability, but there are deeper mysteries. After crossing the Styx, a newly dead ancient Greek soul found themselves at place where three roads meet to be judged. One road led to the Elysian Fields, the abode of the blessed, reserved for the great and the heroic. The second path led to the Fields of Asphodel, for all who'd led a blameless but ordinary life. Criminals or those who had angered the Gods followed the third road to Tartarus, a sunless land of punishment. (See page 194 of Mythology, edited by C. Scott Littleton.)

Was Hekate there to guide them? There is no record that She was, but if not it's a very odd coincidence that She is worshipped where three roads meet and is a Goddess of Death.

It's also worth noting that though a soul would normally drinking from the Pool of Lethe and loose all memory of their former selves, the Mysteries of Elusis, which Hekate was part of, were said to teach the soul to remember past this point.


Other Times and Places

The ancient grove near Lake Averno in Italy has long been sacred to Hekate.

Samhain is especially significant to Hekate, but several Festival days are celebrated in Her honour: The 13th August is the time to ask for Her blessing on the coming harvest, for as Goddess of Storms Hekate has the power to destroy the crop before it can be cut.

Sunset on November 16th marks the beginning of the Night of Hekate. If you only honour Her once in the year, this is the time to do it! In Ancient Greece animal sacrifices would have been made, but leaving a Hekate's Supper at the Crossroads is a more appropriate offering today. But some things haven't changed: In the past and the present those who follow Hekate are often initiated into Her mysteries on this night.

November 30th is the Day of Hekate at the Crossroads.

In some traditions January 31st is the night that Hekate hands Her torch to Brigid, whose arrival is celebrated at Imbolc. This seems to parallel the cycle of the Holly King and the Oak King, who each rule one half of the year: Hekate carries the torch through the dark half of the year, while Brigid takes it for the light half. Some suggest that Hekate and Brigid are sisters who share the torch.

All this may seem very odd, given that Hekate is Greek and Brigid Celtic. But traditional beliefs that evolve over time may have little to do with historical origins. Both Goddesses are very ancient, and have been worshipped in Britain for centuries, so who is to say what relationship may have developed between them?

Hekate is traditionally worshipped on the eve of the New Moon or the 30th of the month, when 'Hekate's Suppers' would be prepared. The Greeks originally reckoned time by lunar months, so this day originally fell on the 30th. Later, when Greece adopted a reformed calendar which no longer took account of the lunar cycle, the 30th. remained sacred to Hekate. The 30th. of the month of the month was also sacred to the dead. This was the time to purify the house and to take offerings to Hekate.


Offerings

In the past a black puppy dog, black bull or a black ewe lamb was seen as a suitable sacrifice, but personally I would recommend an offering of food, traditionally known as 'Hekate's Supper'. Appropriate food for these feasts include red mullet, (a scavenging fish that was taboo in other cults), sprat, breadstuffs, raw eggs, cheese, garlic, cake and honey. In Ancient Greece none of the household would touch the food for 'Hekate's Supper', but for those of us making an offering as Her Priesthood this is probably not a concern.

Ideally the offerings are left at a crossroads and you should leave without looking back.

Plutarch reports that these offerings were not only for Hekate but also to placate the apotropaioi, the restless ghosts. K.F Smith suggests that these offerings are in fact a "variation of the primitive cult of the dead." (See his Hekate's Suppers in Ronan).

Little round cakes called amphiphôn decorated with lit miniature torches were also offered on the eve of the New or Full Moon. Smith suggests that this practice was derived from Hekate's close relationship to Artemis.

This practice has a very long history. The Christian Church was still trying to stop people leaving offerings at the crossroads as late as the 11th Century, and it is certainly carried on today so it is entirely possible that there is an unbroken tradition.

In my personal experience, Hekate particularly appreciates honey & magic mushrooms if you have them - Well, it is supposed to be a sacrifice!

Distinct from Hekate's Supper, but related, were the offerings derived from sacrifices made to Hekate in the home to purify and bless the household. The katharsia was what was left of the sacrifice itself, typically the body of the dog which had been offered, while the katharmata was anything related to the sacrifice but not actually used in the ceremony (e.g. waste blood and water).


Symbols

Several symbols and objects are particularly associated with Hekate, some of which appear on my altar to Her. She is almost always shown carrying torches, very often has a knife, and may appear holding rope or scourge, a key, a phial, flowers or a pomegranate. The Greek cross (one with equal arms) is a symbol of Hekate at the crossroads.

I believe that Hekates' knife represents Her role in cutting the umbilical cord from birth to life as well as severing the link between the body and spirit at death. It may have been the origin of the athame of Wicca.

At Hekate's main Carian sanctuary at Lagina near Stratonicea the ritual carrying of a sacred key was part of Her cult. According to a hymn to Selene-Hekate, She keeps the keys that 'open the bars of Kerberus.' Sophocles wrote of a key on the tongue as an element of the Eleuisian mysteries.

Hekate appears as a single figure or with three faces or bodies. Three has long been a sacred number, and this seems relevant to the mystery of Hekate.

Red henna was used by worshippers to stain their hands and feet, probably symbolising blood.


Priesthood

Hekate was served by Priestesses and Priests, some of whom were ritually castrated and transgendered (the Semnotatoi). Her priesthood were also known as Demosioi, a name which suggests belonging to a tribe.

The main functions of Hekate's priesthood were casting horoscopes, performing spells, and maintaining the temples and sacred groves. A key function seems to have been directing choruses of flower-garlanded children, singing hymns of praise to Hekate.

Those who serve Hekate today do so in many different ways. My own role has three main elements: to honor Hekate, to learn about Her, and to tell others what I know.



hekate.timerift.net/sacred.htmudkvkihgiijbkj21xasq

Well, I'm just gonna have to start letting you know when I post a god or goddess ain't I? Very nice work! I think if we were to get a new member interested in the goddess Hekate they will have allot of good reading to do.