Information AboutHecate |
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Hecate, '''Hekate''' (''Hekátē''), or '''Hekat''' was originally a goddess of the wilderness and childbirth originating from 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. Today she is often seen as a goddess of Witchcraft . REPRESENTATIONS The earliest depictions of Hecate are single faced, not triplicate. Lewis Richard Farnell 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. 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 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 Eunuch s . Lagina, where the famous temple of Hecate drew great festal assemblies every year, lay close to the originally Macedon ian Colony of Stratonikea 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. goddess of the crossroads; drawing by Stephane Mallarmé in ''Les Dieux Antiques, nouvelle mythologie illustrée'' in Paris , 1880.]] 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, ''Geography'', 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 her 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 ''’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 Hecate is a mortal priestess who is commonly associated with Iphigeneia and 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 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 . 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 , 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 Feminist -inspired Neopagan religions, and a version of Hecate has been appropriated by Wicca and other modern magic-practising traditions. RELATIONS IN THE GREEK PANTHEON Hecate is a pre-Olympian 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 banished into the underworld realms after their defeat by the Olympians. It is also told that she is the daughter of Demeter or Pheraia. Hecate, like Demeter, was a goddess of the earth and fertility. Sometimes she is called 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
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 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 , that is, a god of Liminal points or boundaries. Hecate is the Greek version of '' 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", acts the Druid s often did. 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 , flowers , or a Pomegranate . 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. In the so-called "). 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. The Frog , significantly a creature that can cross between two elements, is also sacred to Hecate . 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) Plants and herbs The Yew , Cypress , Hazel , Black Poplar , Cedar , and Willow are all sacred to Hecate . 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 , and yew wood 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 , Almond s, Lavender , Thyme , Myrrh , Mugwort , Cardamon , Mint , Dandelion , Hellebore , and Lesser Celandine . Several poisons and Hallucinogen s 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, Neopaganism still often includes Hecate among the lunar goddesses . 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 the Whore Of Babylon in later Christian tradition. Both were symbols of Liminal points, and Lilith also has a role in sorcery. Some scholars ultimately compare her to the Virgin Mary . Before she became associated with Greek mythology, she had many similarities with 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 LITERATURE .]] Hecate is a character in William Shakespeare 's tragedy '' Macbeth '', which was first played circa 1605; she is represented as a goddess or demon who commands the three witches. There is some evidence to suggest that the character and the scenes or portions thereof in which she appears (Act III, Scene v, and a portion of Act IV, Scene i) were not written by Shakespeare, but was added during a revision by Thomas Middleton , who used material from his own play '' The Witch '', which was produced in 1615 . Most modern texts of ''Macbeth'' indicate the interpolations. The most obvious indication that Hecate's role was not written by Shakespeare is the sudden distrubance of his steady iambic pentameter. Her talking does not match her writer's normal rhythm and this may be a suspicious sign. Hecate was used by William Blake in a number of his paintings and poems. HECATE IN POPULAR CULTURE More recently, Hecate has appeared in Mike Mignola 's '' Hellboy '' comics. She was also often mentioned in the popular TV series '' Buffy The Vampire Slayer '' by Witches and other characters casting spells. Hecate is referred as "Goddess of creatures great and small." Hecate Enthroned is an English Black Metal band. Hecate is also the name taken by one of the Twenty Titans in ''Legends of Dune'' by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. In '' Charmed ,'' Hecate appears as a demon who comes to earth every two hundred years to seduce a mortal man and with him have a child, then kill him and raise the baby to become a demon. Hecate is a minor god in the video game . Hecate is also a spellcasting summon availiable in the popular online RPG , Rising Force Online HECATE IN MODERN MAGIC In modern times, she has become popular in Paganism and Wicca , largely due to her association as the goddess of sorcery. In modern Paganism, Hecate can take numerous roles. Modern Neopagans , particularly ''Hellenistic'' Sect s 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 childbirth, and the curing of disease and physical ailments. Worship of Hecate can take many forms. In some cases Animal Sacrifice s have been alleged. Most modern pagans 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 the hope 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 . In modern some modern pagan beliefs, wild animals are sacred to Hecate. However, creatures of darkness — such as Raven s, Owl s, and Snake s — are most commonly used. Dragon s 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. Snakes have long been connected with Chthonic powers and the powers of life, death, and rebirth (see Serpent ). QUEEN OF GHOSTS Queen of Ghosts 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 . REFERENCES Notes Primary sources
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