Hecate-who is she?

[Tinevisce]

I've been curious to know lately-who is Hecate, and what are the things she's attributed to?What pantheon is she from?

[Wolf*]

Greek patheon, goddess of witchcraft, ghosts and the dead. I'm reading from a list in a book, so I don't have any details, sorry ^^;

[Tinevisce]

No biggie, Wolf.Something is better than nothing, right?

[Arren]

lol ok... hope this helps

hmmm *goes and looks at bookshelf*

here we go:

Hecate:

Goddess of Magic also known as "influence from afar" in Greek apparently.
oh, also known as Hecuba. Also mentioned as the moon goddess.

hmm theres a lot of history behind her but i doubt you'll be interested in most of that.

She's been connected to death and the netherworld... assosiated with ghosts and the hounds of hell etc etc

People used to appease her by blood sacrifices of lambs and puppies.

She's usualy imagined as a having three heads, that of a horse, a dog and a lion, or sometimes even with three complete bodies.


Theres lots more interesting things about her but i can't be bothered to type it all up... hehe

Winds of Fortune...

[Fox Flame*]

In her Greek form, Hecate is the Goddess of Witchcraft and the Crossroads. The crossroads were thought to be the meeting places of spirits and Gods that aide witchcraft. She was also the Goddess of the outcasts of the physical and spiritual worlds, so offerings were left at crossroads to please the spirits that traveled with her. She is usually depicted with three heads, representing the crossing of three paths. She usually carries a dagger, a key, and a rope.

Mythologically, she was the only Titan that Zeus allowed to stay in power.

She also has her home in Hades, and she is a traveler between Worlds. She helps our prayers reach the Gods, and she also holds the keys to the Mysteries.

This isn't even half of it, and I'm just talking about her Greek form. You could try picking up Hecate in Greek Religion by Ilmo Robert Von Rudloff and Rober Von Rudloff. Good luck.

[Hera#76]

Try looking in these websites for short and more detailed explanations.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hecate.html

http://hekate.timerift.net/

http://www.pinn.net/~swampy/hecate.html

These seem to be pretty informative. Hope they help.

[vampira]

Goddess of Witchcraft, ghosts, and the dead.

[_Hecate_]

Hecate is the Greek goddess of the crossroads. She is most often depicted as having three heads; one of a dog, one of a snake and one of a horse. She is usually seen with two ghost hounds that were said to serve her. Hecate is most often mispercepted as the goddess of witchcraft or evil, but she did some very good things in her time. One such deed was when she rescued Persephone, (Demeter's daughter, the queen of the Underworld and the maiden of spring), from the Underworld. Hecate is said to haunt a three-way crossroad, each of her heads facing in a certain direction. She is said to appear when the ebony moon shines.

Her main area of work was goddess in the world of the dead, of night and darkness, mistress of all the witchcraft and black arts. We must remember that before Christianity the underworld was not the evil place it is considered today...then, it was the resting place of the dead.

[Fox Flame*]

We must remember that before Christianity the underworld was not the evil place it is considered today...then, it was the resting place of the dead.

I'm assuming you're talking about the Greek Underworld?

Even in pre-Christian Paganism, the Greek Underworld contained the Elysian Fields (Paradise for Heroes), Oblivion (ambiguous realm for average people), and Tartarus (punishment for the wicked).

Tartarus was the closest to "evil" you could get: the losing Titans were banished there, and the unjust are tortured there by the Erinyes.

[Tinevisce]

Thank you, for all your info.
Thanks, hera#76 for those links-those were very helpful...

[[aphrodite]]

I know her as the dark goddess, I have done a little workings with her.
I don't mean DARK like EVIL so no-one panic, but yes as others have said, the dead.


Blessed be
APHRODITE
XXX

[Raven451]

Hecate is all of what has been mentioned and is also considered to be "the Crone " aspect of the Triple Goddess..

Bright Blessings,

Lori

[LaFiamma]

Hecate is all of what has been mentioned and is also considered to be "the Crone " aspect of the Triple Goddess..

Bright Blessings,

Lori

some people interpret Artemis/Selene/Hec(k)ate as the goddesses of the Hellenic pantheon which represent the waxing/full/waning phases of the moon and therefore a triple goddess. This is not universal and is a fairly new thing- the greeks did not have a "triple goddess" grouping of maiden/mother/crone, and in most- if not all- classical Hellenic mythology/literature, neither Hecate nor Artemis is actually associated with the moon. This is a modern invention and most goddesses do not fit into this "triple goddess" grouping without some contemporary tweaking.

[Sobek]

i love Hecate, she is also referred to as "the Crone"

[LaFiamma]

i love Hecate, she is also referred to as "the Crone"

Referred to by whom?

In modern times, theres been this trend of buddying up various goddesses into a Maiden/Mother/Crone triumverate, but the people back in the day, to whom the gods first revealed themselves, did not have such groupings...at least on such a widespread scale that we see today. Perhaps some cultures did...I've yet to find any that actually assigned this grouping.

In any event, I have never heard of the Greeks referring to Hecate as "The Crone" (And I've been reading the primary sources, the Homeric Texts, Hesiod etc.) some of her epithets do include:

Chthonian (Earth/Underworld goddess)
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)