Hestia / Vesta
Goddess of the hearth, home and family
Hestia is the quiet goddess of the hearth, the fire at the centre of every home. She has almost no adventures of her own, yet the Greeks honoured her in every house and at every sacrifice — she was the first and last god named at every meal.
How they were born
Hestia was the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and the eldest of the Olympian gods. Cronus feared that one of his children would overthrow him, so he swallowed each of them the moment they were born — Hestia first of all. She lived inside her father until her youngest brother Zeus grew up, forced Cronus to disgorge his siblings, and led them in the war against the Titans. Because she was swallowed first and freed last, Hestia was both the eldest and the youngest of the Olympians.
The greatest stories
Swallowed by Cronus
Cronus had overthrown his own father, Uranus, and a prophecy warned him that one of his children would do the same to him. So as Rhea gave birth to each child, Cronus swallowed the baby whole: first Hestia, then Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Rhea hid her sixth child, Zeus, and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead. Zeus grew up in secret on Crete, then returned and made Cronus vomit up all five of his brothers and sisters, alive and unharmed. The freed children joined Zeus in the ten-year war against the Titans, and Hestia took her place among the gods of Olympus.
The Suitors She Refused
Two of the most powerful gods wanted to marry Hestia: Poseidon, god of the sea, and Apollo, god of the sun and music. Hestia wanted neither of them. She went before Zeus and swore a great oath that she would remain a virgin forever, and Zeus honoured her vow. In return he gave her a place of honour no other god held: she would sit at the centre of every home and every temple, and she would receive the first portion of every sacrifice. Along with Athena and Artemis, she became one of the three virgin goddesses of Olympus, untouched by Aphrodite's power over love.
Priapus and the Donkey
One of the few funny stories about Hestia tells of a feast of the gods, after which the guests lay down to sleep outdoors. Priapus, the rustic god of gardens, crept toward the sleeping Hestia, meaning to assault her. Just as he reached her, a donkey that was tethered nearby let out a loud bray, waking everyone. Hestia was saved, Priapus fled in shame, and the donkey became a sacred animal in Hestia's honour. The story is a reminder that Hestia's peace was guarded, and that even the smallest creature could protect the hearth.
The Hearth in Every Home
Hestia had almost no temples of her own, because she did not need them — her shrine was the hearth in every house. Each morning the fire was lit in her name, meals were cooked over it, and the family gathered around it. When a new colony was founded, settlers carried a flame from the public hearth of their mother city to kindle the hearth of the new one, so Hestia travelled with them. At every sacrifice, the first offering went to Hestia, and at every meal a portion was thrown into the fire for her. In Rome she was worshipped as Vesta, and her sacred flame was tended by the Vestal Virgins, who kept it burning for over a thousand years.
Family & connections
Symbol, animal & weapon
Fun facts
- Hestia's name literally means 'hearth' in Greek, and she is the only Olympian whose name is also the thing she rules over.
- She was both the eldest Olympian, because she was born first, and the youngest, because she was the last to be freed from Cronus.
- In many lists of the Twelve Olympians, Hestia gives up her seat to Dionysus, god of wine — a tradition that fits her character, since she preferred the quiet centre of the home to a throne on Olympus.
- Every Greek town kept a public hearth burning in her honour in its prytaneum, or town hall, and the fire there was never allowed to go out.
- In Rome, as Vesta, her flame was tended by six Vestal Virgins, and if the sacred fire ever went out it was considered a terrible omen for the city.
Gallery — sculpture & art
