HESTIA

Hestia, or Vesta in Roman mythology. The eldest daughter of Zeus and the oldest of Rhea and Kronos. She was a virgin goddess. She, along with Artemis and Athena, were maiden divinities (unmarried goddess’s). She was wooed by Poseidon and Apollo, but she swore by the head of Zeus to remain a virgin. She is the Goddess of hearth, fire, and home. Hestia represented personal security, happiness and the sacred duty of hospitality. She presided over domestic life. Her symbols are the sacred flame, and circle. Though she had no throne of her own, she tended the sacred fire in the hall of Olympus and every hearth on earth was her altar. She was believed to dwell in the inner part of every home and invented the art to building homes. She was looked upon as presiding at all the sacrifices and as goddess of sacred fire of the altar, she had a share in the sacrifices in all the temples of the gods. As sacrifices were offered, she was first invoked (called upon), and first part of the sacrifice was offered to her. The sacrifices consisted of fruit, water, oil, wine, and cows of only one year of age. Hestia was the gentlest of all the gods. She symbolized the alliance of the metropolis (“mother-city”) with the smaller settlements which were founded in the colonies. This was looked at as a drawing together of the people who were wide spread. The Romans built a temple dedicated to her in the Forum. She had many temples and shrines dedicated to her, but she mainly lived over the hearths of every home, altars of the gods, and the public hearth of the city. She was described as gentle, peace-loving, pure, mild, gentle, forgiving, serene, dignified, calm, secure, stable, welcoming, and above the rest: well-centered. It was a difficult task for primitive people to make and preserve fire. Fire in the hearth was tended to with care and worshipped as a