Goddess looking in three directions: Who is Hecate?
Hecate is a virgin goddess associated with the moon, night, the dead, the underworld, witchcraft, crossroads, and thresholds. Hecate is often depicted as a woman with three faces looking in three different directions.
Although Hecate was once considered a powerful Greek goddess of sorcery, compared to the Twelve Olympians, for example, Hecate was not an important god.
The goddess of Greek mythology, Hecate, is remembered primarily for her associations with magic and witchcraft. But throughout history, his domain has also included the moon, night, crossroads, borders, ghosts, and witchcraft. Although Hecate was once considered a powerful Greek goddess of sorcery, compared to the Twelve Olympians, for example, Hecate was not an important god.
Hecate or Hekate is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. She is variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, protection from witchcraft, the Moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, graves, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery.
Therefore, there are very few myths revolving around this Greek goddess of magic. However, the goddess Hecate plays a particularly important role in the Greek myth of Persephone's abduction.
The Powers of Hecate, the Greek Goddess of Witchcraft
The goddess Hecate is generally believed to be the daughter of Perses and Asteria, both of the second generation of the Titans. Still, some claimed she was the daughter of Zeus and Hera or Pheraea.
In any case, it is widely accepted that the goddess Hecate was not originally a member of the Greek pantheon. In fact, his cult is said to have originated in ancient Thrace, or perhaps Caria in Anatolia. Those who truly worshiped Hecate believed that the goddess had power over the heavens, earth, and seas, thus making her an incredibly powerful goddess.
Hecate, whose name derives from the Greek word hekatos meaning "remote worker", not only had the power to bestow wealth, good luck, and wisdom to those she favored, but she also had the power to withhold these gifts from those she deems unworthy. She was honored by all the gods, including Zeus.
In the works of the 4th-century tragedies Sophocles and Euripides, Hecate is depicted as the goddess of sorcery, while only a century ago, as seen in the works of Aeschylus, she was depicted as a much more powerful and enlarged goddess.