On any trip to Greece, it helps to have some knowledge of the Greek gods and goddesses. The Greek goddess Hecate, or Hekate, is the dark goddess of the crossroads of Greece. Hecate rules over the night, magic, and the places where three paths meet. The main sanctuaries of the Hecate temples were in the regions of Phrygia and Caria.
Hecate’s appearance is dark and beautiful, but with a mysterious touch to that beauty befitting a goddess of the night (although the true goddess of the night is Nyx). Hecate’s symbols are her place, the crossroads, two torches, and black dogs. She is sometimes shown holding a key.
Defining traits
Hecate is defined by her powerful magic, being comfortable with night and darkness and in a wild environment. It is uncomfortable in cities and civilization.
Origin and family
Persis and Asteria, two titans of the pre-Olympian generation of deities, are the legendary parents of Hecate. Asteria may be the original goddess associated with the Asterion mountain range on the island of Crete. Hecate is generally believed to have originated in Thrace, a wild region of northern Greece that is also known for its Amazon tales. Hectate has no spouse or children.
Interesting tidbits
The Greek name Hecate may derive from a frog-headed Egyptian goddess named Heqet, who ruled magic and fertility and was a favorite of women. The Greek form is hekatos, which means “one who works from afar,” a probable reference to his magical powers, but may also refer to his possible origins in Egypt at a distance.
In Greece, there is some evidence that Hecate was originally viewed as a much more benevolent cosmic goddess. Even Zeus, the King of the Olympian Gods, is said to have revered her, and there are indications that she was considered an almighty goddess. Hecate was sometimes seen as a Titan, like her parents, and in the battle between the Titans and the Greek gods led by Zeus, she aided Zeus and thus was not banished to the underworld with the rest of them. This is especially ironic since, after this, he seems to have been associated more with the underworld, not less.
Other names for Hecate
Hecate Triformis, Hecate of the three faces or three forms, corresponding to the phases of the moon: dark, waxing and waning. Hécate Triodos is the specific aspect that presides over the crossroads.
Hecate in literature
Hecate appears in many plays and poems as the personification of darkness, the moon, and magic. She appears in Ovid ‘s Metamorphoses . Much later, Shakespeare referenced her in Macbeth , where she is mentioned in the scene of the three witches boiling their terrible ale together.
