| Hekate's Dominions |
| Hekate in Homer and Hesiod |
| Hekate and the Golden Fleece |
| The Dark Side |
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Hekate was the daughter of the Titans, Perses and Asteria, and honored above all other Immortals by Zeus. When Zeus and his supporters defeated the Titans and forced them into submission, Zeus found no fault with Hekate ... she retained all honors and powers she had before the great War of the Titans.
Hekate's powers and responsibilities are varied and many but they all seem to revolve around prosperity for the deserving humans on the face of the earth, but her dominion also encompassed the sea and all things in the heavens. She is always included in the prayers and sacrifices of pious people because she can give prosperity to anyone she pleases and likewise, she can bestow hardship to those who displease her.
One curious fact that seems to stand out when comparing the works of the poets Homer and Hesiod is that Hesiod proclaims Hekate to be the mother of the six-headed beast, Skylla, with Phoibos Apollon as the father. Homer, on the other hand, does not mention Hekate in the Iliad or the Odyssey ... this is especially interesting because Skylla is a major character in the Odyssey and it seems unlikely that Homer would neglect such an important detail as Hekate being Skylla's mother. Homer and Hesiod are usually placed in the same time period (circa 750 BCE) and it seems that they would have had access to essentially the same information.
When the diabolical Ares (god of war) kidnapped Persephone and took her to the Underworld, Hekate told Demeter, Persephone's mother, that she heard screams but had not seen the actual abduction and could not say who had stolen the young girl ... Helios (Sun), who usually sees all happenings on the earth and sea, was busy accepting offerings and did not see young Persephone being taken from her friends and playmates but still knew that the deed was the work of Zeus and Hades. Hekate took flaming torches in each hand and assisted Demeter in the search for Persephone.
Hekate was honored and praised by young and old alike ... she is even called upon to turn the eyes of young girls from their young lovers and dote on gray-haired old men who may have lesser powers but still have hearts full of desire.
Hekate's association with Zeus was intertwined with the Oracle of Trophonius at Lebadeia, Boeotia. The underground location of the oracle led to the assumption that Trophonius was a manifestation of Zeus of the Underworld.
In the epic the Argonautika by Apollonius of Rhodes, Ieson (Jason) and the Argonauts encountered Medeia, one of the daughters of king Aietes ... Medeia was the granddaughter of Helios (Sun) and the niece of the Dread Goddess, Kirke (Circe) ... most importantly, Medeia was a priestess of the goddess Hekate ... she was the most notorious priestess of Hekate in the ancient world ... her days were spent perfecting her art in Hekate's temple and her fame as a mistress of potions was second only to her aunt, Kirke.
The Quest for the Golden Fleece was a pivotal event in Greek prehistory. In order for Ieson to claim the throne of Iolkos, which was ruled illegally by King Pelias, Ieson gathered the greatest heroes of the day to accompany him to the distant land of Kolkhis in order to retrieve the Golden Fleece. By accomplishing this feat, Ieson would prove he was a worthy leader and loved by the Immortals. The Golden Fleece was the property of the King Aietes of Kolkhis and guarded in the Garden of Ares by a giant serpent-dragon ... gaining possession of the fleece was not going to be an easy task.
King Aietes was not inclined to relinquish the Golden Fleece to Ieson without a test of the young man's strength and cunning. Aietes feigned cooperation and said he would give Ieson the Golden Fleece if he could harness two fierce bronze-footed bulls, plow a field and plant dragon's teeth in the furrows. The dragon's teeth would grow into Earth-Born warriors who would try to kill Ieson, unless he could kill them first.
Ieson met with Princess Medeia and together they pondered how he could survive the ordeal and win the Golden Fleece without having to fight Aietes's army or resort to common thievery. As a skilled priestess of Hekate, Medeia made a potion from flowers that grew from the blood Prometheus shed while he was chained to the nearby Caucasus Mountains. Medeia bathed seven times in fresh water and then, dressed in black on a moonless night, called seven times to Hekate by the name Brimo, Night-Wanderer, and Sovereign of the Dead. The earth trembled and a bellowing cry came from under the ground ... at this sign from Brimo, Medeia severed the flesh-textured root of the plant and placed it in a fragrant band strapped to her bosom ... she then concocted a potion, which was made from the plant, and gave Ieson instructions as to how to enact its powers.
In order to gain the protection of Hekate, Ieson was told to dress in dusky garments and go alone to the river at midnight and bathe ... he was to dig a rounded pit, build a large pyre and sacrifice a whole ewe. As he prayed to Hekate, he was to pour honey from a goblet and not be alarmed or retreat if he heard the sound of feet or the baying of hounds, for these were signs that Hekate was near and had heard his prayers. At dawn, Ieson was instructed to steep the charmed potion in water and anoint himself as if it was oil and then sprinkle the charmed water on his weapons and shield. These precautions would make the spears of the Earth-Born warriors ineffective and make him immune to the fire snorted by the supernatural bulls. Ieson did as he was told and, with the protection of Hekate, subdued the supernatural bulls and defeated the Earth-Born warriors.
Despite the honor Hekate receives from Zeus and the good things she represents, Hekate has a dark side that is absolutely terrifying. Her temple in the Underworld is called The Shades and is indicative of the cruel side of her nature.
As she was maturing, Hekate was bold and lawless ... she was fond of hunting but if there were no beasts to kill, she would vent her bloodlust on human prey. Her ingenious ability to mix deadly poisons led to the creation of a particularly lethal drug called akonite which she tested on strangers who haplessly wandered into her realm ... she would also sacrifice strangers at the temple of Artemis. Her infamy was well known in the ancient world and she was feared for her pitiless cruelty.
Those who honor Hekate have nothing to fear ... those who disrespect or deny her divinity will receive no mercy ... ever.
Theogony
Catalogues of Women and Eoiae
Great Eoiae
Homeric Hymn the Demeter
Epigrams of Homer
The Argonautika by Apollonius of Rhodes
Library of History by Diodorus of Sicily