ARTEMIS
The goddess Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and the daughter of Leto
and Zeus. She was the patroness of hunting, and the protector of the weak.
The deer and the cypress tree were sacred to her. Artemis was a virgin and
devoted to the hunt, but she also used her weapons against her enemies.one of her followers, Artemis killed
him. When another hunter, Actaeon,
spied on her while she was bathing,
she turned him into a stag and he
was killed by his own hounds.HESTIA
The daughter of Cronus and Rhea, Hestia was the
goddess of the hearth and domesticity. Unusually for
an Olympian goddess, Hestia remained a virgin – in
spite of the fact that both Poseidon and Apollo were
in love with her. She had sworn an oath upon the
head of Zeus that she would always be chaste and
never marry. Another way in which she difered from
the other Greek deities was that she did not travel.
Instead, she lived her life on Mount Olympus,
becoming the symbol of home and family. She had
no throne, but was responsible for tending the
sacred fire at Mount Olympus.
Hestia represented domestic
stability and the hearth was her
altar. In every sacrifice, the first
ofering was made to Hestia.HECATE
The goddess Hecate is a shadowy figure – some say
her parents were Titans, some that she was a daughter
of Zeus. Hecate had many diferent aspects. As the
moon goddess, she travelled across the night sky in
her chariot, casting her cold light across the whole
cosmos. She was also worshipped as a goddess of the
Underworld. In addition, as she
was the goddess of childbirth, she
was often invoked to ease the
pain of labour. Crossroads
were sacred to Hecate, and
oferings of meat were often
left by the ancient Greeks at
places where three roads met.THE GREEK GODDESSES
Triple Hecate
Hecate was sometimes portrayed as a triple
goddess carrying a torch (symbolizing lunar
fire), a serpent (representing immortality),
and a knife (symbolic of midwifery).Artemis the huntress
The Greeks portrayed Artemis
as a young woman carrying
a bow and arrows. She
is often shown with a
stag to symbolize her
role as the patroness
of hunting.Artemis with her family
Zeus and Leto had two children – Apollo,
who became the god of music, and Artemis
(far left), the goddess of the hunt.Selene
The Greek moon goddess Selene was
often confused with Hecate. She was
usually depicted with a windblown veil
resembling the arched canopy of the
sky, and a half-moon on her head.Hestia and the hearth
The Greeks made their domestic
hearths into shrines where the
goddess Hestia was worshipped.Mount Olympus
Hestia tended the fire on Mount Olympus.
Since it was shrouded in clouds, the Greeks
believed it to be the home of the gods.
When the hunter Orion tried to rape31