Hecatê

Hecatê, a mysterious goddess who was apparently unknown to the Greeks of Homeric times and may be of oriental origin. She makes her first appearance in Hesiod as a goddess having power over earth, heaven, and sea. This triple power may perhaps give the clue to the fact that in art she is occasionally represented as a triple figure. It also explains the fact that ultimately, and especially in Orphic literature, she came to be identified with many other goddesses, such as Artemis, Eileithyia, Selene, Iris, Persephone, Aphrodite, Gaia, Hestia, Isis, Physis, and the Bona Dea. Owing to the extent of her domain she was especially able to grant the wishes of her votaries and to give them the fulfilment of their desire in battle, in athletic and other contests, in the popular assembly, and in the law-courts. But her power was above all displayed in the matter of ghosts and bogeys; she was able not only to ward off the visits of such hags but also to send them. Indeed, besides sending an Empusa or an Antæa, she also herself appeared as a bogey, with torch and sword, and snakes for hair; or she might appear as a dog, a mare, a lioness, or a cow. As her appearance was the sign for dogs to bark, so she was supposed to be accompanied by a train of Stygian dogs. The origin of this figure is uncertain; she is claimed as a moon goddess, and her name is interpreted in accordance with this view as indicating the action of light at a distance. It makes against this theory, however, that the lunar functions of Hecate are not mentioned by any author earlier than Sophocles, and that they do not become prominent in her worship until post-classical times, and then only 'in the systems of the later mythologists' (see Class. Rev. June 1888). Her intimate connection with the spirits of the dead would rather point to her having originally been a goddess of the nether world, for the earth is regarded as the abode of the spirits of the departed. This would explain her connection with the mysteries, and the propitiatory offerings made to her in atonement for sin. Finally, the unsatisfactory explanation of her name just given may be safely set aside, as too abstract, in favour of the interpretation of the name as meaning 'dog' (Hecate: Ger. hund: Eng. hound: : Gr. hekaton: Hund-red. See Class. Rev. Nov. 1889). This harmonises with various points in the ritual of Hecate; dogs were offered to her at cross-ways (which are favourite haunts for ghosts), she herself is termed fond of dogs, and sometimes appeared leading Cerberus.