Egyptian origin Ī possible theory of a foreign origin for the name may be Heqet ( ḥqt), a frog-headed Egyptian goddess of fertility and childbirth, who, like Hecate, was also associated with ḥqꜣ, ruler. Beekes rejected a Greek etymology and suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Though often considered the most likely Greek origin of the name, the Ἑκατός theory does not account for her worship in Asia Minor, where her association with Artemis seems to have been a late development, and the competing theories that the attribution of darker aspects and magic to Hecate were themselves not originally part of her cult. Artemis would have, at that point, become more strongly associated with purity and maidenhood, on the one hand, while her originally darker attributes like her association with magic, the souls of the dead, and the night would have continued to be worshipped separately under her title Hecate. Supporters of this etymology suggest that Hecate was originally considered an aspect of Artemis prior to the latter's adoption into the Olympian pantheon. This has been suggested in comparison with the attributes of the goddess Artemis, strongly associated with Apollo and frequently equated with Hecate in the classical world. Another Greek word suggested as the origin of the name Hecate is Ἑκατός Hekatos, an obscure epithet of Apollo interpreted as 'the far reaching one' or 'the far-darter'. However, no sources suggested list will or willingness as a major attribute of Hecate, which makes this possibility unlikely. For example, ἑκών 'willing' (thus, 'she who works her will' or similar), may be related to the name Hecate.

Whether or not Hecate's worship originated in Greece, some scholars have suggested that the name derives from a Greek root, and several potential source words have been identified. The origin of the name Hecate (Ἑκάτη, Hekátē) and the original country of her worship are both unknown, though several theories have been proposed. Hecate was closely identified with Diana/ Artemis in the Roman era. The Romans often knew her by the epithet of Trivia, an epithet she shares with Diana, each in their roles as protector of travel and of the crossroads (trivia, 'three ways'). Intrinsically ambivalent and polymorphous, she straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition.' Regarding the nature of her cult, it has been remarked, 'she is more at home on the fringes than in the centre of Greek polytheism. In the post-Christian writings of the Chaldean Oracles (2nd–3rd century CE) she was also regarded with (some) rulership over earth, sea, and sky, as well as a more universal role as Savior ( Soteira), Mother of Angels and the Cosmic World Soul. Hecate was one of several deities worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the oikos (household), alongside Zeus, Hestia, Hermes, and Apollo. Her oldest known representation was found in Selinunte, in Sicily. Her place of origin is debated by scholars, but she had popular followings amongst the witches of Thessaly and an important sanctuary among the Carian Greeks of Asia Minor in Lagina.

Her earliest appearance in literature was in Hesiod's Theogony in the 8th century BCE as a goddess of great honour with domains in sky, earth, and sea. She is variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, night, light, magic, protection from witchcraft, the Moon, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, graves, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery. Hecate is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, or snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depicted as three-formed or triple-bodied. Paired torches, dogs, serpents, keys, knives, and lions.Įreshkigal (used as an epithet in a late Greek magical text) The Hecate Chiaramonti, a Roman sculpture of triple-bodied Hecate, after a Hellenistic original ( Museo Chiaramonti, Vatican Museums)

Persephone goddess costume