By: Lyric Coleman
Hecate – one of the lesser known Greek goddesses. Hecate is the goddess of magic, crossroads, witchcraft, sorcery, ghost, & necromancy in ancient Greek myths & religion. She symbolizes forged wisdom, intuition, the cycles of death, & the renewal that permeate all existence – but let me go more in depth, starting with her backstory.
Hecate (pronounced heh-kuh-tee) is the daughter of the Titan Perses & the nymph Asteria. She was accepted in early Greek Religion but she may have also derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Manor. She bestows wealth and blessings of daily health along with having power over the heavens, the earth, & sea. Hecate was the chief goddess that presided over magic and spells. According to Britannica, Greek Mythology, & Theoi.com, Hecate witnessed the abduction of Persephone & aided Demeter in the search of her daughter with a torch in hand. For this reason, the pillars called “Hecataea” stood at crosswords & doorways to keep away evil spirits. During the search, she was also accompanied by packs of dogs. In many of the myths, they describe her familiar animal origins – the black she-dog & the polecat.
The dog named “Hekabe” (Hecuba) was the Trojan Queen that had leapt into the sea after the fall of Troy who was transformed by the goddess herself. According to several sources, the polecat was either the witch Gale who was turned as a punishment for her incontinence, or Galinthias, the midwife of Alkemene (Alcmena), who was transformed by Eileithiya & taken in by Hecate.
According to Theoi.com, Hecate’s name means “worker from afar”, which comes from the Greek word “hekatos.” which is the masculine form of her name. The masculine form is also a common epithet of the god Apollon. Although she is mainly based in Greek Mythology, Hecate also appears in Roman Mythology. During the Roman Era, according to thecollecter.com, Hecate was also known to be amalgamated with the goddesses Artemis & Selene (particularly in Roman poetry). Her Roman name is also Trivia. Roman poets mostly encouraged her trimorphic depictions by calling her “Hecate-Selene” along with similar variations. Back in Greece, Hecate was usually depicted on a Greek vase painting as a woman holding twin torches. In some variations she was dressed in a knee-length maiden’s skirt & hunting boots, like Artemis.
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