Hecate-who is she?

[Sobek]

really. thats different, most of my texts refer to her as the crone. but they arent exactly ancient greek either.

[LaFiamma]

really. thats different, most of my texts refer to her as the crone. but they arent exactly ancient greek either.

iwhich books are you reading?

[Sobek]

Mostly pages about deities on the internet, some magic books.

[LaFiamma]

Mostly pages about deities on the internet, some magic books.

If you're interested at all in the Greek gods, I suggest taking a look at some of the original texts...Hesiod, Homer, etc...some of them are long, but most translations are not especially difficult to read.

I also suggest checking out any of Karl Kerenyi's books, especially The Gods Of The Greeks...a lot of his books are out of print and very expensive (He has a book on Apollo that's a 76-page softcover that I've yet to find for less than $75, and even more often find it for upwards of $150) but others are very easy to find- you can often get The Gods Of The Greeks used on Amazon for under $5

[Comus]

I think this is beacuse the 'Crone' aspect of the triad is associated with darkness and decay? Perhaps?

[LaFiamma]

I think this is beacuse the 'Crone' aspect of the triad is associated with darkness and decay? Perhaps?

thing is, this triad is a modern invention. there may have been one or two, but I don't know of any culture that ever had a designated "maiden/mother/crone" grouping. Referring to Hekate as "The Crone" is a fairly recent thing, probably within the last 70 years, if not less. She may have been cited as "a crone" in the past, but I've yet to come across it in any of the original works. Actually, there are only a few texts which really give much mention of Hekate at all.

[Comus]

I have seen pictures of ancient sculptures depicting three goddesses, and referred to as a triad...(obviously not the modern 'maiden/mother/crone' though)

http://www.unc.edu/celtic/catalogue/triplism/index.html

[LaFiamma]

I have seen pictures of ancient sculptures depicting three goddesses, and referred to as a triad...(obviously not the modern 'maiden/mother/crone' though)

http://www.unc.edu/celtic/catalogue/triplism/index.html

Oh, yeah...i'm not saying that any grouping of three is new. There have been the Norns, the Graces/Charites, some sources say there were three Muses originally, which eventually became 9.

but the Maiden/Mother/Crone grouping...the Greeks didn't tie Artemis, Selene and Hekate all together as the "aspects of the moon" as people do now.

It doesn't so much bother me that people see them that way as that many try to say it's an ancient thing, or they get all bent out of shape when they can't find a deitiy within a pantheon to take one of the slots...recently I saw a thread on another forum where a girl was upset because she had realized that some goddesses can't fit into the "earth goddess" category, and some gods can't fit into the "sun god category" and Oh Noes, how will she ever fit them into her understanding....

sorry, don't mean to rant at you, you haven't done anyhitng to deserve it, I just don't like this whole idea of sorting the gods out like you would your laundry...where the heck does the Dionysus sock belong anyway?

[Sobek]

i love the greek gods, more specifically the Olympians. i have difficulty finding info on the Titans which also interests me. when it comes to gods of different cultures my strongest interests usually lean towards the hierarchy of Gods and a little of the lesser gods.

[LaFiamma]

i love the greek gods, more specifically the Olympians. i have difficulty finding info on the Titans which also interests me. when it comes to gods of different cultures my strongest interests usually lean towards the hierarchy of Gods and a little of the lesser gods.

hmm, interesting.

I have a hard time thinking of the pre-Olympian gods as being "lesser" than the Olympians...older, definitely.

When I was in junior high school, learning about the Greek myths, I was only interested in the Olympians because the Titans were portrayed as evil monsters by the text that we were reading at the time, but some years later, I stumbled on the myth of Selene and Endymion and thought that no such story could be written about an evil monster (Heck, there isn't a lot to her mythology, but I don't think I know of any other deities whose mythology doesnt include them doing somehtign nasty to someone)

What about the non-Olympian, non-Titan gods? There are a lot of those....

[Sobek]

i only use the term "lesser" because they are not in the hierarchy of gods.

[LaFiamma]

i only use the term "lesser" because they are not in the hierarchy of gods.

eh...I think they're in the hierarchy, thay're just not so up there as to get as much mention.


one other note on Hekate, I was reading Theogeny yesterday, and it also cites her as being a nurse of small children and babies

[spinneyhex]

I suppose it is how Hecate comes across to you. To me she came as Crone, I don't mean withered hag, I mean someone who has been through it all and has wisdom of experience. Birth, life and Death
Im sure individual dealings are all different.

[Butterfly1984]

I have done some workings with her as well which have helped me a lot. I have always seen her as the Witches Goddess, Wise One but I tend to not group Gods and Goddesses together, it starts to get confusing. I find the Greeks and Egyptians most interesting. Aaron and I are looking to go to Greece this summer so I can see all the ruins and things. I so can´t wait!!!

[Lucine]

where the heck does the Dionysus sock belong anyway?

In the wine barrel?