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| Gods & Goddesses
Hestia/Vesta
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Image Copyright (C) Hrana Janto Used with Permission |
Hestia/VestaThe VirginPantheon: Olympian Element: Fire Sphere of Influence: Home and Family Preferred colors: Green Associated symbol: Hearth Best day to work with: Friday Suitable offerings: First fruits, water, oil, wine, hearth fire. Associated Planet: Venus |
Firstborn daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Sworn to remain a virgin forever, she is the Goddess of ordinary folk, and rises above of politics and quarrels. She teaches the values of family life and the rewards of hard work. Hestia never took human form, so no statues were ever made of her. Hestia was seen only in the fire of the home hearth, treated as an honored guest and helpful to her hosts. As the hearth goddess, Hestia symbolized family unity. As goddess of the public hearth, she embodied the social contract. A virgin forever, she tends the Eternal Flame on Mount Olympus. | |
Additional Information on Hestia from WikipediaInformation is unedited and uncheckedGreek myth (Olympian)In Greek mythology, virginal Hestia is the goddess of the hearth, of the right ordering of domesticity and the family, who received the first offering at every sacrifice in the household, but had no public cult (religion)|cult. In Roman mythology her approximate equivalent was Vesta (god)|Vesta, who personified the public hearth, and whose cult round the ever-burning hearth bound Romans together in the form of an extended family. Her name means "home and hearth": the household and its inhabitants. Hestia symbolizes the alliance between the colonies and their mother-cities and is the oldest daughter of Rhea (mythology)| Rhea and Cronus, sister to Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Demeter. Originally listed as one of the Twelve Olympians, Hestia was later removed in favour of Dionysus. Afterwards, she tended the sacred fire on Mt. Olympus. Her altars included every family hearth. Immediately after their birth, Cronus swallowed Hestia and her siblings except for Zeus, who later rescued them and led them in a war against Cronus and the other Titan (mythology)|Titans. Hestia vowed to forever remain a virgin and refused Poseidon and Apollo (god)| Apollo when they came calling. ---- Hestia was also sometimes the name in Greek mythology of one of the Hesperides. ---- 46 Hestia is an asteroid. ---- Hestia is also the title of a science fiction novel by C. J. Cherryh. This text is made available under the GNU Free Documentation License Agreement. The full text of this article is available for download here. (Hestia) | |