The Hesiodic Portrait of Hekate

Today we’ll be discussing Hekate’s earliest literary appearance in Hesiod’s Theogony!

If you’ve been looking into Hekate for a little while, you may notice that she doesn’t get mentioned very much in literature. She doesn’t have a Homeric Hymn, except for being mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. She does have an Orphic Hymn though! And she has few, short, mentions in mythology.

You can find them all on Theoi.com.

Interestingly, many of her mentions are from C2nd A.D., much later than a lot of earlier literature about the Greek gods (Theoi). You may notice, as well, how she is charactertised as a goddess who shows grace and mercy to characters transformed into animals, these being the origins of her “familiars” that we hear of today.

Though let’s go back to Hesiod’s Theogony! The Theogony is considered Hekate’s literary origins, and this depiction of her in the epic is even more interesting, for how different she appears compared to the Chthonic, restless dead leading, night-wandering Hekate we often associated the goddess with in modern times (this is due to a variety of reasons that we can get into for another Hekatogia).

You can find Hekate’s mentions in Hesiod’s Theogony here.

Hesiod depicts Hekate as a great goddess of immense power and tîmai (honours, esteem, worship). Some scholars theorise that Hekate must have been a primary goddess from Hesiod’s home town for how he wrote about her, though this isn’t confirmed. This is to say that we don’t have strong confirmation of Hekate being worshipped in the way she is depicted in the Theogony. The closest is Hekate at the Temple of Lagina, where she was also seen as a great goddess and was a patron of Stratonikeia.

Deborah Boedeker even writes in “Hecate: A Transfunctional Goddess in the Theogony?” (which will be linked in further reading below) that the way Hekate is depicted with such honour over many functions and honours may make her a paradigm (a pattern, a model) for Zeus, King of the Gods. I suggest reading further into this article to understand what this means!

What are Hekate’s honours?

What is she depicted to have domain over in Hesiod’s Hymn to Hekate? Let’s first go over the quotes from the Theogony, and then I’ll write a list in a way that may be easier to untangle.

  • “He [Zeus] gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea.”
  • “…also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods.”
  • “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”
  • “…she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea.”
  • “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”
  • “And she is good to stand by horsemen”
  • “…and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hekate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker [Poseidon], 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.”
  • “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 Eos (the Dawn). So from the beginning she is a nurse of the young (kourotrophos)”

Our streamlined list of Hekate’s honours in Hesiod’s Theogony:

  • The earth
  • The sea
  • The sky/heavens (particularly “starry heavens” as well)
  • High honour among the gods
  • Ability to grant favour to mortals
  • Ability to award wealth to mortals
  • Ability to grant victory, dignity, judgement
  • Particularly, she honours and grants aid to:
  • Kings
  • Those “in the assembly”, perhaps a group of people, though not a particular one. Perhaps of the common people
  • Warriors
  • Athletes
  • Horsemen
  • Fisherpeople or those who work with the sea
  • Farmers (of livestock, particularly. Note that agriculture isn’t mentioned)
  • The young

Wow! Right? When we really look at how Hekate is depicted in the Theogony, she truly is a goddess of high honour and grants many boons across the board from favour, to victory, to wealth, to aid, while having domain over all the realms (note: realms “visible” to mortals – excluding, for example, Olympos and Tartarus).

And where did she get these honours?

  • “Hekate whom Zeus the son of Kronos honoured above all”
  • “The son of Kronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods”
  • “Also, because she is an only child, the goddess receives not less honour, but much more still, for Zeus honours her.”

Her honours existed from her origin as a Titan, being a close descendant of Gaia, Ouranos and Pontus (at least in this interpretation. There are a few regarding her family tree). She also received more honour from Zeus, when he became King of the Gods, King of the Olympians. I think this is incredible.

Does this mean anything for us, as modern worshippers?

It could! From my experience, many haven’t read Hesiod’s writing on Hekate or other writings that seek to interpret it (I’ve linked two articles in further reading for your exploration. They are some of my favourite articles on Hekate). We do see, occasionally, quotes pulled from this hymn that help explain some of Hekate’s commonly mentioned domains in modern worship, such as this being her origins of having domain over all the realms, and therefore is the key-keeper between them (note: key-keeping isn’t mentioned in this hymn).

Though if we wanted, we could draw on this depiction even more, and perhaps call upon the honours written here. If you wanted, this depiction of her could transform the way you see her and the petitions you may request of her. While we have little confirmation of how this depiction of Hekate was truly worshipped in ancient worship, much of what we know of the gods these days is taken from mentions in mythology, and while cult/worship and mythology aren’t 1:1, we can still be inspired by these writings.

If Hekate is a deity you closely work with, it wouldn’t be remiss to pray to her for aid, or wealth, or for her to grant you favour in a judgement (of many sorts), or success in sports/competitions, or work at sea, or an increase of stock maybe in your pantry or freezer, or protection of your young.

Of course we do acknowledge that there are other hellenic deities who have domain over some of these things, such as Haides for wealth, or Ares, Athena and Hermes for success in sports/competitions, or Poseidon for work at sea — though it’s not uncommon to first go to the deities you feel closest to. You may find different deities have different interpretations of your prayers! In ancient worship too, the pantheon as it was seen in Attica wasn’t the same as other cities or even in rural places — the gods were honoured in ways that suited the lifestyles or cultures of different places. Such as how agricultural deities and nymphs were more prominent where farmers lived, though wouldn’t be elsewhere. If Hekate does happen to be a prominent deity for you and one you do feel comfortable approaching for these topics (and you’re open to her interpretation of your prayers), then this is a fine approach.

Does this depiction of her have to change your worship?

Nope! If the aspects of Hekate you resonate with exist only partially in these Hesiodic honours and mostly elsewhere, that’s okay too.

One last note to finish up, I find it so cool how connected Hesiod depicts Hekate to mortals. In an intriguing way, Hekate’s domain over the “earth”, given she isn’t connected to agriculture, and apart from her connection to livestock, (and aside from her connection to the underworld, which isn’t clear in this poem), could be interpreted as domain over the mortals and civilisations of earth with how many roles of society are mentioned in her honours, and how “whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hekate”. She may be closer to us than we think.

Prayer to Hesiod’s Hekate

Hail to the goddess of high honour, Hekate!
The bard Hesiod weaves us a tale of your splendor.
Gifts, awarded to you by the King of Gods and the Titans of the old generation.
You have a share of the heavens, of the sea, of earth.
You sit by mortals and graciously lend us your will and favour.
You protect our young and vulnerable, oh merciful goddess.
May you see your humble worshippers from the assembly,
And distinguish us, in our worship, in our actions, in our honour.
May you grant us aid, wealth, and victory!
Oh goddess, who finds the games and battles of mortals pleasing,
Beloved descendent of Gaia, Ouranos and Pontus,
Daughter of Asteria and Perses,
She honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods,
And Zeus, son of Kronos, King of the Gods,
Receive our prayers favourably,
And if ever we have offered you rich sacrifices,
May we be worthy of being granted your boons.

Further Reading

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