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Hestia was the first-born child of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea.
The Titans were the children of Ge (Earth) and her son-consort Ouranos (Heavens). The Titans were a new breed of Immortal and quickly demonstrated their inclination to be self-indulgent ... Ouranos named them Titans because the name meant Stretchers and Strainers—they stretched and strained the bounds of propriety and abused their seemingly limitless powers.
Hestia's father Kronos was the youngest of the Titans and had come to his mother's aid by ridding her of Ouranos's continued meddling in her affairs. Kronos mutilated his father and was told that although he had acted in his mother's best interest, he too would be dethroned by one of his children. To avoid such a fate, Kronos decided to swallow any children born to his sister-wife Rhea. Hestia was the first child to be born and Kronos promptly swallowed her.
Kronos devoured four more children after Hestia. Rhea was determined to save her sixth child from the same fate. She substituted a stone for the young male child ... Kronos promptly swallowed the stone, oblivious to the deception. Rhea named the child Zeus and hid him on the island of Krete.
Hestia and her brothers and sisters matured inside Kronos's vast being. Zeus also matured and finally attacked his Kronos with such violence the swallowed children were disgorged. Hestia was the last to be spewed forth and so she is considered the youngest AND the oldest ... the first-born child of Rhea (oldest) and the last to be freed from Kronos's belly (youngest). Hestia is the sister of Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, and Hera.
Hestia and her brothers and sisters waged a war on the Titans. It's difficult to imagine what role Hestia played in the actual fighting but since she had as much to lose as her siblings, it's unthinkable that she did nothing to help win the War of the Titans. After Kronos and the other Titans were defeated, they were relegated to Tartaros (the Pit). Hestia and her brothers and sisters chose Mount Olympos as their home and called themselves Olympians.
As one of the Olympians, Hestia was primarily known as the goddess of the hearth ... the protector of home and family ... the goddess of humble domestic joy. She shares her love of the common people with Hermes and is credited with appreciating the good works people do. She has never wed but still protects orphans and missing children, and chooses to spend her time, not on Mount Olympos, but on earth with the mortals she loves and protects. Her worshipers sing:
There could be no feast of plenty if the first and last libations of sweet wine were not poured in honor of Hestia.
Hestia is also one of only three Olympians who are immune to the spells of the goddess of love, Aphrodite ... the other two are Athene and Artemis. When Poseidon, lord of the sea, and Apollon sought to marry Hestia, she touched the head of Zeus and swore a great oath that she would remain a maiden all her days.
Hestia is one of the few Immortals who is always welcomed by mortals and Immortals alike because of the grace and sincerity she radiates. Her presence was always a welcome addition to the sacred dwelling of Apollon at Delphi consequently, a perpetual fire was kept burning in Hestia's honor at Delphi and Zeus's temple at Olympia. Whenever new colonies were founded, fire was taken from Delphi to the new settlement to insure Hestia's blessings.
Starting at the top and going clockwise: Ares and Aphrodite, with a small representation of Eros between them, followed by Zeus, Athene, Apollon, Hera, Poseidon, Hephaistos, Hermes, Hestia, Artemis, and Demeter.