Last modified on October 2, 2008, at 12:39

Hestia

Hestia was the goddess of the hearth (fire) in Greek mythology. She was the first born child of Cronos and Rhea, and was swallowed by her father at birth. Later, Zeus forced Cronos to disgorge the six siblings he had swallowed, and Hestia, being the first in became the last out and thence both the oldest and youngest of the Cronides. Hestia was wooed by Apollo and Poseidon but she refused both and asked Zeus to let her remain a perpetual virgin.

With the hearth as a domestic focal point it also served as her altar and Hestia would receive the first offering at every sacrifice in the household. Although one of the three great goddesses of the first generation of Olympians, there are few great stories about her.