Hecate (redirected from Hekate)

Hecate (hĕk`ətē, hĕk`ĭt), in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of ghosts and witchcraft. Originally she seems to have been an extremely powerful and benevolent goddess, identified with three other goddesses—Selene (in heaven), Artemis (on earth), and Persephone (in the underworld). From the three supposedly came her image in Greek art as a figure with three bodies or three heads. Generally she is identified as a spirit of black magic, Persephone's attendant, with the power to conjure up dreams, phantoms, and the spirits of the dead. In the upper world she haunted graveyards and crossroads and was invisible to all eyes except those of the hounds who attended her.

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Hecate

Greek goddess of magic and spells. She probably originated in Asia Minor. Hesiod held her to be the daughter of the Titan Perses and represented her as the bestower of wealth and the blessings of daily life. She witnessed the abduction of Persephone by Hades and assisted in the search for her. Pillars called Hecataea were erected at doorways and crossroads to ward off evil spirits. She was sometimes depicted as three bodies back to back, so that she could look in all directions at a crossroads.

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Hecate

personification of the moon before rising and after setting. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 726–727]

See : Moon

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Hecate

mysterious goddess of Hades; associated with sorcery. [Gk. Myth.: Howe, 115]

See : Witchcraft