Hekate

HEKATE

1. Write a basic introduction for the Deity.

Hekate is a Goddess Who is from the Titanic generation of the Greek Deities, and one of a relatively small number of Titans Who end up in a better position, in many respects, after the war of the Titans’ overthrow than They likely would have had before it. In one of the earliest Greek mythological texts, Hesiod’s Theogony, Hekate is praised a bit overmuch, and a long passage on Her is given, which has prompted many to theorize that Hesiod might have had a particular devotion to Her, or that he was reflecting a local tradition which held Her in high esteem…no matter the case, what he wrote is very interesting. He says that as a result of the favor Zeus showed Her, She has a share over what is in heaven, on the earth, and at sea…which in many respects means She is more powerful than a huge number of the other Deities. Hekate also appears in the myths associated with Demeter, Persephone, and the Eleusinian Mysteries–in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, for example. She often appears in triplicate form–not as three aspects, but simply as triple-in-form–and under a variety of different epithets. In cultic contexts, She is associated with magic, the dead, night, the moon, ghosts, and liminality. She also had an interesting cosmological role in The Chaldean Oracles, a late antique text associated with theurgy. Whatever Her origins might be, and what the “official” poleis religions might have preferred or said about Her and what was associated with Her, Hekate was a Goddess that did not go away, and various popular traditions attest to Her importance throughout antiquity.

2. How did you become first aware of this Deity?

Yet again, She is a Deity that was mentioned specifically in the Dungeons & Dragons book Deities & Demigods as “Goddess of witchcraft.” This didn’t sound very appealing to me, in many ways, so I didn’t pursue her much more during my teenage years. Interestingly, the first time I heard anyone pronounce Her name aloud was in my honors English class during sophomore year of high school, when we were doing various Greek things (and I had a rather unusual experience with Antigone…I can tell that some other time, though!), and two girls in the class did a Wayne’s World spoof for their report on video, in which they gave a “Top 10” list of the “Best Greek Babes,” and amongst those was “Andromache–she had a ‘fragrant bosom,’ scha-wing!” and then #1 was “Hekate, goddess of witchcraft,” and that’s all they said on Her. Anyway, that always stuck out in my mind. Then, of course, when I got into paganism, I heard more about Her, often in ways that I didn’t really resonate with nor appreciate (understandably, I think, given it was Wiccan and “Maiden, Mother, Crone”-focused). It wasn’t until about 2007-2008 that my cultus to Her began in earnest, and it has continued ever since.

3. What are some symbols and icons of this Deity?

The moon, and particularly the dark moon/new moon. Hounds, especially black hounds, are also an animal closely associated with Her. Hekate’s attributes also often include keys (Her epithet Kleidouchos, “Key-Holder,” reflects this), torches (Her epithets Phosphoros and Lampadephoros, “Light-bringing,” reflect this), occasionally whips or knives, and the three-way crossroads are also closely connected to her. She is often shown in triplicate form; while there are other triads of Goddesses in Greek religion, they are not “three bodies of the same Goddess,” so to speak, which is one of the things that makes Her somewhat unique.

4. Share a favorite myth or myths of this Deity.

I do like Hesiod’s “hymn” to Her from the Theogony (trans. H.G. Evelyn-White, with slight emendations of spelling and capitalization), the section on Her of which is summarized above, but it is very worth reading in full:

And she [Asteria] conceived and bare Hekate whom Zeus the son of Kronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless Gods. For to this day, whenever any one of men on Earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hekate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the Goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her. For as many as were born of Gaia and Ouranos amongst all these She has her due portion. The son of Kronos did Her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was Her portion among the former Titan Gods: but She holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in Earth, and in Heaven, and in Sea. Also, because She is an only child, the Goddess receives not less honour, but much more still, for Zeus honours Her. Whom She will She greatly aids and advances: She sits by worshipful kings in judgement, and in the assembly whom She will is distinguished among the people. And when men arm themselves for the battle that destroys men, then the Goddess is at hand to give victory and grant glory readily to whom She will. Good is She also when men contend at the games, for there too the Goddess is with them and profits them: and he who by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich prize easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents. And She is good to stand by horsemen, whom She will: and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable Sea, and who pray to Hekate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, easily the glorious Goddess gives great catch, and easily She takes it away as soon as seen, if so She will. She is good in the byre with Hermes to increase the stock. The droves of kine and wide herds of goats and flocks of fleecy sheep, if She will, She increases from a few, or makes many to be less. So, then. albeit Her mother’s only child, She is honoured amongst all the deathless Gods. And the Son of Kronos made Her a nurse of the young who after that day saw with their eyes the light of all-seeing Dawn. So from the beginning She is a nurse of the young, and these are Her honours.

5. Who are members of the family/genealogical connections of this Deity?

Hekate is usually said to have been the daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria, though She is also occasionally said to have been a daughter of Nyx, or of Demeter, or of Zeus (I find all but the last of those alternate possibilities plausible, personally!). She is generally thought to be a virgin Goddess, and like several others of that distinction (e.g. Artemis) can assist in childbirth, and is thus given the epithet Kourotrophos as a result; but She does sometimes have children attributed to Her, including Circe, Medea, and Skylla–the latter by Phorkys.

6. What are some other related Deities and entities associated with this Deity?

Demeter and Persephone are closely related to Hekate, both in terms of Hekate giving Demeter information about Persephone’s abduction, and also leading Perseephone back from Hades on a yearly basis. She also has a very close relationship with Chthonic Hermes. In a few cases (e.g. Lukian of Samosata’s Philopseudes, but also visually), Hekate is pictured with Cerberus. Through various associations in the PGM corpus, She is closely associated with or becomes part of a triad with Persephone, Artemis, and Selene.

She has no historically-attested relationship in any cultic or textual setting with Antinous; however, in modern practice, many people (myself included!) regularly honor Her at the beginning of rituals for Antinous.

7. Discuss this Deity’s Names and epithets.

Hekate’s name seems to mean “worker from afar,” which is interesting in itself, and fits with my own experience–She hasn’t been an up-close-and-personal Goddess for me very much thus far, but Her presence can be felt in a more abstract and removed fashion pretty regularly when She is a part of rituals.

Epithets for her include Soteira (“Savior”), Enodia (“On the Way”), and Triodia (“Of the Crossroads”), amongst several others. A frequent name for her also seems to be Brimo, but this can also be an epithet of other Goddesses (e.g. Demeter, Persephone, Cybele, the Erinyes, etc.), or can sometimes even be considered a separate Goddess.

There is another that I hope to speak about more in the future…

8. Discuss variations on this Deity (aspects, regional forms, etc.).

A passage in Pausanias suggests that Daeira, usually said to be an Okeanid nymph, was the consort of chthonic Hermes, and gave birth to the eponymous king of Eleusis, and it is suggested that Daeira might actually be Hekate, or a form of Hekate.

The title Despoina (borne by Hekate, Artemis, and Persephone) meaning “Mistress” is said to have been the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon in Arcadia, as most extensively detailed by Pausanias, and this as well might be a reference to Hekate, if not being an entirely separate Goddess.

It has also been suggested that Krataeis mother of Skylla with Phorkys, and Perseis mother of Circe and Pasiphae with Helios, might also have been forms of Hekate. All of these suggestions have factors to suggest them, but I remain somewhat skeptical of the easy identity of all of these figures with one another.

Through syncretism, Hekate ends up connected to Ereshkigal, the Thracian Goddesses Bendis and Kotys, and as Trivia with Diana Trivia in Roman contexts.

She also has one attested combined form with Hermes in a PGM spell calling upon “Hermes, Hekate, Mermekate.”

This list is not exhaustive.

9. What are some common mistakes people make about this Deity?

As mentioned in #2 above, I’d say the main thing that people often get wrong about Hekate due to Her triplicate form is an assumption that there is a “Maiden, Mother, Crone” dimension to Her, which there is little if any evidence for in any of the surviving sources on Her. She tends to be portrayed as a virgin Goddess, which gives the “Maiden” side of the equation a lot of weight; the sources attributing motherhood to Her are relatively rare, though, so that sort of eliminates the middle term of the equation. Other than “witchcraft” being connected with “old women,” there’s little if anything to suggest in any way that She has a “Crone” dimension, though. It’s amazing how much people are attached to the MMC model, though (thanks, Robert Graves!), to the point that they’ll distort the evidence to then make Her fit the model. I even heard, at a presentation on the Eleusinian Mysteries a few years ago at the Esoteric Book Conference, that because Hekate has some knowledge of Persephoen’s whereabouts, that therefore She forms the “Crone” part of the triad with the other Goddesses in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (with Persephone as “Maiden”–which is fair enough!–and Demeter as “Mother”–which is also fair enough!), which stretches the evidence to the breaking point, I think.

10. What are common offerings for this Deity (both historically and via your own experience)?

The “Hekate’s deipnon” is something that people commonly do, and which I’ve done on several occasions. It consists of various food offerings left at a crossroads by night, and can include things like eggs, onions, sweepings from the floor of one’s house (which is probably more for the dead than for Her), and a variety of other things.

11. Talk about festivals, days, and times sacred to this Deity.

I suspect, due to Her connection with Diana Trivia, She has been said to have a festival on August 13th, the Ides of August, which is actually the Roman festival of Diana of Lake Nemi, and which was also celebrated in Rome’s temple of Diana on the Aventine. She is most frequently associated with the new moon, the noumenia, in the Greek calendars followed by many modern Hellenic polytheists.

Also, though I kind of hate to say this, I suspect that a huge number of genero-pagans end up honoring Her at Samain, since that time is associated with the dead and the otherworld and liminality and so forth…so, while perhaps not historically attested, and eclectic-in-a-bad-way, nonetheless the associations are appropriate.

12. What are some places associated with this Deity and Their worship?

In addition to the three-way crossroads and cemeteries, She was worshipped in a huge number of places in the ancient Greek world, including but not limited to Athens, Eleusis, Ephesus, Samothrace, and various places in Thrace, Thessaly, and Sicily, amongst many others.

13. What modern cultural issues (if any) are closest to this Deity’s heart?

To be honest, I’m not sure; but I’d suspect that homelessness and the downtrodden, as well as care of (and lack thereof) of the dead, are important to Her based on her traditional associations.

14. Has worship of this Deity changed in modern times?

Outside of certain localities, I think Hekate’s active cultus in ancient times would have been relatively rare, whereas now it seems almost de rigeur. I also think–perhaps not unlike Kali in Hindu practice–within ancient Greece people might have been somewhat quiet and circumspect with discussing Hekate publicly (outside of Her major cult locations) due to Her connection with magic and things that aren’t necessarily “socially acceptable” and aren’t topics for polite conversation amongst the general population, whereas in the modern period we seem to not be so worried about this…as polytheists, we’re a bit outré to most sensibilities anyway, so why does it matter?

15. Are there any mundane practices that are associated with this Deity?

Monthly house-cleaning and travel–especially by road.

16. How do you think this Deity represents the values of Their pantheon and cultural origins?

In Her own way, I think that Hekate’s liminality means that She both challenges and simultaneously upholds the values of ancient Greek culture. The dead, magic, and so forth are things that must be handled with care, and which can transgress against the common standards and morals even if they are handled correctly and respectfully; and yet, having those standards and values in place, and having the borders and what is in or out of them defined in a clear fashion, is also necessary to cultural construction, and because She is involved in that definition as well as the transgressions that can and do occur in it, Her liminal role is thus heightened and highlighted because She ends up playing a “both/and” role in terms of Her challenge to the culture and Her maintenance of it. This might be part and parcel of Her Titanic heritage, in a certain sense, and might be a reason why She has this role rather than someone else from the more “conventional” Olympian generation of Deities.

17. How does this Deity relate to other Deities and other pantheons?

Following on from the previous section’s reflections, I wonder if Hekate somewhat fulfills a role for the Greeks like Set did for the Egyptians. Goddess-related things that were foreign to the Greeks–including many of the Anatolian peoples and cultures where they eventually colonized, not to mention Magna Graecia and the Italian and Sicilian cultures–seem to have ended up getting conflated with or syncretized to Hekate for them very often. I wonder if this liminal role, therefore, means that Hekate is kind of a Goddess of syncretism, in certain respects, and ends up being a super-syncretistic Goddess as a result as well.

18. How does this Deity stand in terms of gender and sexuality?

Just fine. (???!!!???)

I can’t say for certain, but I think that given Her fused form of Hermekate with Hermes, She’s probably fine with gender diversity of various sorts, while not being gender-diverse Herself (or at least for very long). Sexually, I’m not sure what we can say about her…I don’t think She disapproves of sexuality, but at the same time, She could be a contender for an asexual Goddess, if indeed the traditions attributing motherhood to Her are anomalous. Who knows?

19. What quality or qualities of this Deity do you most admire?

It may be because I have gothic tendencies (!?!), but there is just something appealing about a dark chthonic Goddess in my opinion…not in a “that’s sexy way” (though that can be the case, but I’ve never found it to be the case with Her personally, not because She isn’t attractive but because that’s just not the nature of Our relationship), but in an “I’d like to get to know Her and hang out with Her” sort of way.

20. What quality or qualities of Them do you find the most troubling?

If one has ever done the Hekate’s deipnon and not had it be an intense, frightening, heart-pounding experience, then I’d say one is doing it wrong. If one doesn’t come into contact with that numinous but uncanny, disturbing, and scary-as-Tartaros energy and presence with Her on a regular basis, one isn’t getting the full experience…and yet, doing that too often, and not doing it in a way that allows it to impact oneself and yet doesn’t let it take over, can be extremely dangerous. Anyone who wishes to stay safe and sane had best keep their distance, therefore, and when one does try to encounter Her, one does so dancing on a knife’s edge. If one doesn’t find that to be the dictionary definition of “troubling,” then I’d suggest one get a better dictionary.

21. Share any art that reminds you of this Deity.

I’m going to do something unusual here, and rather than give iconography of Hekate, I’m going to give something that reminds me of Her, rather than something which depicts Her. Thus, I present a painting by Hieronymus Bosch, “Hell,” from The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things.

22. Share any Music that makes you think of this Deity.

23. Share a quote, a poem, or piece of writing that you think this Deity resonates strongly with (outside of their own myths or scholarship about Them).

It would honestly be completely contrived of me to try and come up with something here…nothing is coming to mind readily, which only means that for me, She is distinct enough that She’s either there or not, and I can’t make Her be there for things that don’t already have Her there, so to speak…It may sound like a cop-out, but there we are!

24. Share your own composition which is a piece of writing about or for this Deity.

I’ve written several prayers and poems for Her, but here’s one that might not get noticed that often:

Hekate

Khaire Hekate Chthonia, with Cerberus at Your side;
Khaire Hekate Soteira, Who brings every blessing;
Khaire Hekate Enodia, protecting those who ride;
Khaire Hekate Kourotrophos, in virtue children dressing;
Khaire Hekate Phosphoros, two bright torches bearing;
Khaire Hekate Trimorphe, with heads of dog and goat;
Khaire Hekate Trioditis, at crossroads wayfaring;
Khaire Hekate Apotropaia, Who keeps sailors afloat;
Khaire Hekate Nyktipolos, wanderer in the night;
Khaire Hekate Skylagetis, huntress with Her hounds;
Khaire Hekate Liparokredemnos, Whose hair gives light;
Khaire Hekate Brimo, Who howls frightening sounds;
Khaire Hekate Atalos, the maiden undefiled;
Khaire Hekate Perseis, Who destroys with ease;
Khaire Hekate Propylaia, the gatekeeper She’s styled, and
Khaire Hekate Kleidouchos, Who holds the gates’ keys.
Over heavens, earth, and ocean, sovereign goddess supreme,
Khaire Hekate, may I visit You again in hymn and in dream.

25. Share a time when this Deity has helped you.

Over late 2015 and into later 2016, when a helluva lot of difficulties ended up besetting me, I was doing the Hekate’s deipnon on a more regular basis, and I think the results were very good.

26. Share a time when this Deity has refused or has been unable to help you.

Despite the above, things aren’t perfect, and improvement in some areas has been slow (if at all)…but, it’s still worth having done, and bringing the Goddess more frequently into my devotional life specifically and directly, rather than as a part of other rituals and such (which She often has been within my Antinoan practice).

27. How has your relationship with this Deity changed over time?

While I think She’ll always remain a bit aloof and abstruse, I encounter and am devoted to Her much more now, and over the last twelve years or so, than I had been previously.

28. What are the worst misconceptions about this Deity that you have encountered?

That “witchcraft” is really one of the only reasons that one might get involved with Her…this is the flaw in the thinking regarding the “spheres of influence” and the rather Bulfinchian approach to mythology (which spills through in things like Dungeons & Dragons…the influence of which I cannot discount, since that’s where I first heard of Her!), where every Deity is seen as the “God/dess of _____” and nothing else. While I do some magic from time to time, I’m hardly a witch by most people’s definitions…and yet, Hekate is in my top 6 for the number of images of Her that I have in my Shrine (with the others being Antinous, Anubis, Hermes, Isis, and Hathor).

29. What is something you wish you knew about this Deity but don’t currently?

I’d love to know if She did have any historically attested relationships with Antinous, outside of a syncretistic syllogism context with Diana of Lanuvium, Artemis of Ephesus, or Selene.

30. Do you have any interesting or unusual UPG to share?

One of the reasons She became more and more important to me around 2007-2008 was because I found out how deeply connected She is not only to dogs/hounds generally, but also to cynocephalic forms and to cynanthropy in Greek tradition, with Hekabe being one such example of the latter connected directly to Hekate…and the “wife of Ephesus” story attributed to Kallimachus.

31. Any suggestions for others just starting to learn about this Deity?

Get out there and do the deipnon, whether on the night of the new moon or not…it will tell you much more about Her than anything you can read.