Let me just start by saying that this post isn’t a retelling of a singular myth like the other 3 have been, this is just me telling you about who the heck Hecate and why shes just so stinking cool .

Hecate is the only daughter of two titans named Perses and Asteria, when she was born she had a lot of power due to her parentage but also with her natural talent to manipulate the air, earth, sea, fire and other mystical things around her. She was named the goddess of magic, ghosts and sometimes the moon. she once used her power over flame to help the goddess Demeter look for her daughter in a snowstorm using her two torches that she is portrayed with.

Her magic got her a very large following in the city Athens. Statues of her likeness were put over doorways of the home to ward away restless spirits. speaking of her likeness when Hecate is portrayed she depicted in a triple form. This triple form is to represent three moon phases – The Full Moon, The Half Moon and the New Moon. Each body is made up of a different material- The right is stone, The left is bronze and the center is flesh. She is also portrayed with having a torch, a key, serpents, daggers and many other items having to do with witchcraft or sorcery. Hecate also has familiars that she is often seen with, one of them is a black dog and the other is a polecat.

The metamorphosis myths are the myths where people are turned into animals and vice versa. Hecate’s two familiars both originate from said metamorphosis myths. Her black dog was once the Trojan queen Hekabe who lept into the sea after the fall of Troy. Her polecat was once a maiden named Galinthias who tried stopping the birth of Herakles and was then punished by The Fates for deceiving them. Hecate being very merciful turned them both into her familiars so they wouldn’t have to suffer short mortal lives.

In conclusion Hecate is a very powerful yet sympathetic goddess who deserves more credit than she gets. 10/10 great goddess would put statue over my door again.