Hekate

**monsno_leedra** · 06 Jun 2016 15:18

Sort of a survey question here but want to get opinions. So the question is:

Is Hekate actually being properly addressed by calling her a goddess? Figure myth wise she is a Titan who predates the Olympian Gods / Goddesses. Myth wise the other Titans are not referred to as Gods / Goddesses generally. Myth wise I really can't say the protogenoi are even referred to as gods / goddesses. Name wise yes for all of them but you don't really hear them being called Gods / Goddesses.

**DavidMcCann** · 07 Jun 2016 08:52

The term "god" was never restricted to Olympians. Hesiod twice used "goddess" in connection with Hecate: Theogony 435 and 442.

**habbalah** · 10 Jun 2016 00:30

The Titans and Titanesses are still gods in Their own right, aren't They? Metis and Mmemosyne are considered Goddesses of prudence/wisdom/cunning and memory, respectively, correct, and They're both Titanesses?

**anunitu** · 10 Jun 2016 03:23

Just a jump in here,if you get a chance Habbs,perhaps a few pics of your new diggs.

**monsno_leedra** · 10 Jun 2016 06:34

Originally Posted by habbalah

The Titans and Titanesses are still gods in Their own right, aren't They? Metis and Mmemosyne are considered Goddesses of prudence/wisdom/cunning and memory, respectively, correct, and They're both Titanesses?

They're still gods an goddesses but I think we loose just what they were in modern usage. If we look to the ancient mythology yes the common person knew they were gods / goddesses but also knew they were the elder gods / goddesses ie Titans. Granted not the Protogenoi who made everything but still the gods / goddesses before the Olympians. So when they spoke of them, or even thought of them, I think it would be safe to presume they automatically placed them in the category of Titans. Implying all the fears, taboo's, stories, etc about and upon them as Titans.

Figure in some of the stories a great attempt is undertaken to show that Hekate was a Titan that sided with Zeus and she is rewarded for that fact. Figure realistically she is given nothing new or expanded by siding with him. She is simply allowed by him to retain those powers and sphere's of influence she had to begin with. The fact she might be from another pantheon and brought into the Hellene structure or actually a Titan and merged into the Olympian Pantheon I do not think really matters mythology wise to their time. All that really would matter I think is that she was not originally with Zeus or the Olympian's, she sided with Zeus in the battle between the Gods and Titans and in so doing was both acknowledged and became part of that pantheon.

Yet she also stays pretty much out of the recorded mythology of the Olympians and their deeds, arguments, etc. Which could be perceived in the sense that she wasn't like the Olympians which would potentially apply to her Titan / foreign origins. The outsider as it were yet still recognized by the leader, ie Zeus, so was given a pass. But still influencing how she would be seen in normal society and her place in their spiritual world.

I think if we look to her as simply another Olympian then she looses all she really was. In some ways loosing just what it meant to have been recognized by Zeus as both a Titan and being allowed within that pantheon to retain her original powers and influences.

As a devotee it sort of strikes me as ...Look there goes another female Olympian. named perhaps yet perhaps not. Yet when Hekate is spoken of she is not a nameless female but very specifically recognized as a woman and named right from the start of known mythology for her. Always on the fringes buy always known and named and moving outside the Olympian Pantheon though also moving within it at the same time. Which I think has to be due to her Titan back story and acknowledging she is not an Olympian.

Of course I recognized I am biased in my conclusions and how I read the material and what I "Think" it is presenting or suggesting.

**habbalah** · 10 Jun 2016 15:51

Originally Posted by anunitu

Just a jump in here,if you get a chance Habbs,perhaps a few pics of your new diggs.

I have videos going up for the youtube channel soon! Back on topic:

Originally Posted by monsno_leedra

I think if we look to her as simply another Olympian then she looses all she really was. In some ways loosing just what it meant to have been recognized by Zeus as both a Titan and being allowed within that pantheon to retain her original powers and influences.

As a devotee it sort of strikes me as ...Look there goes another female Olympian. named perhaps yet perhaps not. Yet when Hekate is spoken of she is not a nameless female but very specifically recognized as a woman and named right from the start of known mythology for her. Always on the fringes buy always known and named and moving outside the Olympian Pantheon though also moving within it at the same time. Which I think has to be due to her Titan back story and acknowledging she is not an Olympian.

Coming as a non-devotee of Hers, mind you, I guess I never saw Her as "just another Olympian". I don't view any of the Olympians as "just another Olympian", for that matter. But, i understand what you mean. Hekete always struck me as being very...separate, for lack of a better word. Not in a way that's bad or good, but more onto Herself than anything else.