"The Mistress
of the Hearth"
Hestia is the
ancient greek goddess of hearth and home. She dwells
in the flames of every altar and fireplace. In Rome
she was known as Vesta and an important state
goddess. Although an important deity in Greek
religion, she is rarely shown in art, and has
virtually no mythology and iconography. She ruled
over domestic life and was very protective.
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You
are about to enter the shrine of the
ancient greek goddess Hestia. (Entrance at the bottom of this page)
Hestia
is that what I would call a real forgotten goddess. If you
search for her on the internet, you'll find many hotels and
companies named after her, but very little information about
her specific role in the greek religion. The books don't
provide much more than one of the 12th Olympians.
Cause there is little known about her tales and myths and
only a few images of her have been found, one can assume that
Hestia was a ancient goddess even to the greek people.
My believe is that her role as the protectress of the
fireplace, which is the most important place in a house
(bringing warmth in winter, warm food all day, light in the
house) is a direct transformation of the Magna Mater. Hestia
is a true earth goddess, because she chose not to live on the
olymp, but to dwell with mankind on earth. Her most important
part in every-day rites of the ancient greeks is paid to
little attention to.
Click here to have only a
short info about her.
Selection
Homeric Hymns 29.1 :
Hestia, in the
high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk
on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest
honor: glorious is your portion and your right. [5] For
without you mortals hold no banquet, --where one does not
duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and
last.
And you, Slayer
of Argus, Son of Zeus and Maia, messenger of the blessed
gods, bearer of the golden rod, [10] giver of good, be
favorable and help us, you and Hestia, the worshipful and
dear. [9] Come and dwell in this glorious house in friendship
together; [11] for you two, well knowing the noble actions of
men, aid on their wisdom and their strength.
Hail, Daughter of
Cronos, and you also, Hermes, bearer of the golden rod! Now I
will remember you and another song also.
Other Names and Titles
Hestia: greek word for
hearth, pronounced: HE est tuh
{hes'-tee-uh} I have found no other
names.
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Relations in the Greek Pantheon
Hestia is
the firstborn of the Olympians (sic!), a daughter of
Rhea and Cronnos, and sister of Zeus.
Ancient
Texts on her birth:
But Rhea was
subject in love to Cronos and bore splendid children,
Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera
(455 Hesiod Theogony)
But he again
bound and shut them up in Tartarus, and wedded his
sister Rhea; and since both Earth and Sky foretold
him that he would be dethroned by his own son, he
used to swallow his offspring at birth. His firstborn
Hestia he swallowed, then Demeter and Hera, and after
them Pluto and Poseidon.
(Pseudo-Apollodorus
Library 1.1.5)
She was a virgin-goddess,
and when wooed by Poseidon and Apollo, swore by the
head of Zeus to remain a virgin. She had no throne,
but tended the sacred fire in the hall on the Olympus
and every hearth on Earth was her altar. She is the
gentlest of all the Olympians.
Homeric
Hymns 5.20:
[20] and shady woods and
the cities of upright men. Nor yet does the pure
maiden Hestia love Aphrodite's works. She was the
first-born child of wily Cronos and youngest too, by
will of Zeus who holds the aegis, --a queenly maid
whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed.
Being a virgin goddess;
she was therefore also one of only three who are
immune to the spells of Aphrodite, the other two were
Athene and Artemis.
Hestia is rarely mentioned in
the myths. She did not join the conspiracy to
overthrow Zeus, nor did she take part in disputes or
wars such as the battle against the giants or the
Trojan War. When Dionysus came to the Olymp, she left
her seat to him.
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The Vesta-Temple in
Rome/Capitol
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Hestia, you who tend the holy
house of the lord Apollo,
the Far-shooter at goodly
Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks,
come
now into this house, come, having one mind [5] with Zeus
the all-wise --draw near,
and withal bestow grace upon my song.
(Homeric Hymns 24.1)
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Her
Image Representation
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"The
Mistress of the Hearth"
is
commonly envisioned as the living flame or portrayed
as a virgin maiden, who covers her head with a veil.
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Her Role
In
her role as the goddess
of home life she dispensed domestic happiness and
blessings, and was said to be the inventor of
domestic architecture. She was believed to dwell in
the inner part of every house and to preside at all sacrifices.
The
idea of a perpetual
flame to represent the center of one's ordinary life
in home and village took on more universal
significance to embrace the notion of centricity in
the earth and even the universe. Consequently, Hestia
shared some attributes of the goddesses of the earth
and underworld, such as Cybele, Gaea, Demeter,
Persephone, and Artemis.
Her
festival of old was held
on the 8th of June. The roman Augustus founded
another festival on the 28th of April for Vesta.
There is some evidence that
it was common to swear in her name:
Aristophanes
Plutus 395 :
Blepsidemus:[395] Are you
telling the truth?
Chremylus: I am.
Blepsidemus: Swear it by Hestia.
Aeschines
On the Embassy 45:
[2.45] On our
return, then, after we had rendered to the senate a
brief report of our mission and had delivered the
letter from Philip, Demosthenes praised us to his
colleagues in the senate, and he swore by Hestia,
goddess of the senate, that he congratulated the city
on having sent such men on the embassy, men who in
honesty and eloquence were worthy of the state.
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Her
Signs and Symbols
The presence of Hestia was found in
the center of the fire - and Hestia's fire served to make
sacred whatever place it dwelled in.
Hestia's deep abiding presence was felt
and seen only in the center of her warming fire.
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Offerings
Her power extends over altars and
hearths and States,
and therefore all prayers and sacrifices
began or ended with praying and sacrificing to Hestia,
because she is the guardian of the innermost things.
Sacrifice: Sweet wine (according to: Homeric
Hymns)
Food burned in the flames of the
fireplace.
From every meal that was cooked on the fireplace of the
house,
they laid a portion of that meal on the hearth or
burned it in the flames as a sacrifice to Hestia.
Her sacrifices also were first fruits,
water, oil, and year-old cows.
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Cult
Centers
There
were few Greek temples
devoted specifically to Hestia, but every household
is believed to have worshipped her on the housealtar
and at the fireplace of the house.
The
Romans called her Vesta, and
build a temple for her in the Forum Romanum.
Aeschines
On the Embassy 45: 2,45,n1.:
The hearth of the
Prytaneum, the headquarters of the standing committee
of the senate, was regarded as the common hearth of
the state; a statue of Hestia was in this hall, and
in the senate-house was an altar of that goddess.
The Roman version of
Hestia, the goddess Vesta , began by only being
worshipped in the homes of Roman families as a
household deity. However, Vesta soon evolved into a
state goddess. The people of Rome built the Temple of
Vesta in the Forum Romanum (Roman Forum).
The temple was built in
the third century b.c. It is said that Numa Pompilius
set up the service of Vesta. Pompilius was the second
king of Rome, preceded by only the founder Romulus.
Numa Pompilius was well known for his introduction of
public worship and wise legislation. It was in the
temple of Vesta that the sacred fires of Rome burned.
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Short Information
on Hestia
Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth
fire and home,
hence presiding over domestic life.
She is the firstborn daughter of Rhea and Cronus and sister of
Zeus.
Hestia,
in the high dwellings of all,
both deathless gods and men who walk on earth,
you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honor:
glorious is your portion and your right.
Homeric Hymns 29.1
References
Hesiod, Theogony 453;
Apollodorus 1.1.5; Homeric Hymn to Aprodite 22, 24, 30;
Pausanias 2.35.2, 5.14.5, 5.26.2, 10.5.3, 10.11.3;
Callimachus, Hymn to Delos 325, Hymn to Demeter 129;
Diodorus Siculus 5.68; Homer, Odyssey 14.159;
Eustathiuson Homer's Iliad 735, Odyssey 1579; Pindar,
Nemean Odes 11.1, 11.5, 11.6; Plato, Cratylus 401;
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.65;
Plutarch, Numa 11; Parthenius, Love Storis 18.
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