Hekate's Many Names (Part 1 of 3)

This has been long in the working... Several months ago I was asked by Sorita D'Este to research Hekate's Epithets, as many of those that are commonly listed are... well, detached from reality.

This initial post is a list of those Titles which have a clear history with Hekate. It is by far the longest list, with a diverse selection of sources. I have tried my best to clarify any confusion over translations. Highlighting indicates that I am unhappy with the evidence I have thus far found, even if it is a decent second or tertiary source.

If you have a better source for an Epithet, please let me know!

Part 2 will share epithets that while having history, have little to no connection to Hekate, but which seem appropriate to Her in some way.
Part 3 will be, perhaps, be the most difficult to accept, as it will be a list of those epithets that have no basis in reality.

The reason this is being shared here is so that I can continue to fine tune the list. So please, give voice to your own sources and the like.

A Thousand Lights for Hekate by Sara Croft (me), 2012

Epithets with  Historical Precedence (Epithet: Meaning: Source and Notes if Applicable) 

?: Subduer of All: Greek Magical Papyri Hymn IV 2714-83
?: Fawn-slayer: Hymn to Selene-Hekate-Artemis, Greek Magical Papyri IV 2714-83.
?: Greatest Overseer: Hymn to Selene-Hekate-Artemis, Greek Magical Papyri IV 2714-83.
?: Untamed: Hymn to Selene-Hekate-Artemis, Greek Magical Papyri IV 2714-83.
?: Who Pours Forth Arrows: Hymn to Selene-Hekate-Artemis, Greek Magical Papyri IV 2714-83.

A

Agriope : Wild-eyed, Fierce-faced, Savage-watcher, wild-voiced : A name associated with Eurydice, Orpheus' wife, likely came to be attached to Hekate when the two were conflated. From Orpheus and His Lute: Poetry and the Renewal of Life by Elisabeth Henry, SIU Press, 1992 p. 3. Also, Maass' Opheus, 1895.
Aktiophis: of unknown meaning: various hymns to Selene and Hekate in the Greek Magical Papyri.
Alexeatis: Averter of Evil:  A 5th c. BCE inscription to Enodia mentioned by Sarah Iles Johnston in Restless Dead.
Ameibousa: One that transforms: Oracle Table from Pergamon dedicated to Hekate. (Special thanks to Florian Schlie for the information.)
Amphiprosopos: Double-faced: The Chaldean Oracles, also Reading Plotinus: A Practical Introduction to Neoplatonism by Kevin Corrigan.
Anassa: Queen:  The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Angelos: Messenger: The Chaldean Oracles. Associated with numerous Gods. Karl Kerenyi discusses the shared role of Angelos between Hermes and Hekate in Hermes: Guide of Souls.
Aphrattos: Unnamed One:  In "Taranto" by Enzo Lippolis, Salvatore Garraffo, Massimo Nafissi by the Instituto per la Storia e l'Archeologia della Magna Grecia, 1995, p. 194-5.
Apotropaios: Averting, Averter: Supplementum epigraphicum Graecum (SEG) 42 1816.
Atala: Tender, delicate: Hesiod's Hymn to Demeter.
Atala Phroneousa: Gay-Spirited: The Homeric Hymn to Demeter. 
Azostos: Ungirt, without a belt: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.

B

Basileia: Queen, Princess:  The Orphic Hymn to Hekate. Also, Farnell's Cults of the Greek States vol. 2, p. 507.
Borborophorba: Eater of Filth: Greek Magical Papyri, 1402, 1406.
Boukolos: Ox-Herder: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Brimo: Angry One, The Terrifying, of Crackling Flames : Apollonios Rhodios 3.861-63, 1246. Also applied to Persephone, Demeter, and Cybele.

C

Chrysosandalos: of Golden Sandals:  The Hymn of Hekate-Erechkigal, Greek Magical Papyri LXX.
Chthonian: of the Earth: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.

D

Dadophoros: Torchbearer:  Well-attested in sculpture and coins.
Daeira: The Knowing One, Teacher: A nymph and lover of Hermes who was sometimes conflated with Persephone and Hekate, according to the Perseus Project.
Despoina: Mistress:  An Arkadian Goddess of Fertility and daughter of Demeter. Identified with Persephone, Artemis, and Hekate.
Dione: The Goddess: Dione is a Goddess in her own right that came to be conflated with Hekate. From the Oracle Table of Pergamom. Source: Hekate die dunkle Gottin by Thomas Lautwein.

E

Eileithyia: nurse of Childbirth: Goddess of midwives, conflated with Artemis and Hekate.
Einalian: of the Sea: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Empylios: at the Gate:  See the Orphic Argonautika 902, as well as an inscription in a museum associated with the Temple of Zeus in Nemea.
Enodia: of the Path:  Pausanias' Description of Greece 3.14.9,  Hippocrates Of Sacred Disease, and The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Ephodia:  travelling expenses... of uncertain appelation with Hekate.  Inscription in a museum associated with the Temple of Zeus in Nemea.
Epiphanestate Thea: the Most Manifest Goddess:  "The Priviledges of Free Nontributary States" by Sulla, 81 BCE.
Epipurgidia:  on the Tower: Pausanias's description of Athens.
Eukoline: Good tempered:  grave stele in Athens. Additionally Kallimachos refers to Hekate Eukoline. Additionally, could be applied to Eileithyia.
Eurippa: Horse-finder:  Robert Brown, Semitic Influence in Hellenic Mythology, Williams and Norgate, 1898.

G

H

Hecatoncheires : Hundred-handed:  The Chaldean Oracles
Hegemonen: Guide: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.

I

J

K

Kleidoukhos: Keeper of the Keys: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Kore: Maiden: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Kourotrophos: Child's nurse, nurse of youths: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate. Shared with Artemis and Eilytheia.
Kratais: The Strong One, of the Rocks: Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautika.
Krokopeplos: Saffron-cloaked: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.

L

Laginitis: of Lagina, possibly: The city of Idrias had a temple to Hekate Laginitis. : See A History of Discoveries at Halicarnassus, Cnidus, and Branchidae, vol. 2 by Charles T. Newton, R.P. Pullan, 1863.
Lampadephoros: Lamp-bearer, torch-bearer, who warns of nighttime attack. : Associated with the Mysteries of Phrygia.  The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia by William Ramsay.  Suidas describes a statue dedicated to Hekate the Torchbearer for saving the city of Byzantium from Philip of Macedon.
Leaina: the Lioness:  Porphyry, Fragmenta III, 18. See also Kraus' Hekate, p. 32-33.
Liparokredemnos: of the bright-headband, Bright-coiffed: The Homeric Hymn to Hekate.

M

Maera: Shining:  In Ovid's Metamorphoses connects the story of a woman Maera turned into a dog with Hekate.
Megiste: Greatest:  Sarah Iles Johnston mentions this Hellenistic Carian epithet in Restless Dead, p. 206.
Monogenes:  Only Child: Hesiod's Theogony, 11.404-452.
Munychia: of unknown meaning, possibly of the village Munychia. An epithet of Artemis associated with the Attic military port of the same name. See Women of Classical Mythology by Robert Bell, Oxford, p.312. Also Farnell, p. 473.

N

Nykteria: of the Night: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Nykti: of the Night: From the Oracle Table of Pergamom. Source: Hekate die dunkle Gottin by Thomas Lautwein.
Nymphen: Bride: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.

O

Opaon: Follower: The Homeric Hymn to Hekate. 

Ourania: Celestial, Heavenly: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Ouresiphoites: Wanderer in the Mountains: the Orphic Hymn to Hekate. 

P

Pandina: possibly something about whirling or rotating, but largely unknown. : See The Numismatic Circular and Catalogue of Coins, Tokens, Commemorative and War Medals, Books and Cabinets, vol. 16, Spink & Son, 1908, p. 10308
Pantos Kosmou Kleidokhos: Keeper of Keys of the Kosmos: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Parthenos: Virgin: The Chaldean Oracles.
Patrogenes: Father-begotten: The Chaldean Oracles.
Perseian: daughter of Perseus: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Pheraea: of Pheraea, daughter of Zeus and Pheraea (daughter of Aeolus): theoi.com/cult/hekatecult.html
Phileremos: Lover of Solitude: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Phoebe: Bright: From the Oracle Table of Pergamom. The epithet is also associated with Artemis and Apollo. Source: Hekate die dunkle Gottin by Thomas Lautwein.
Phoinikopeza: Ruddy-footed: Pindar's Paean 2. Also applied to Demeter.
Phosphoros: Light-bearer: Artemidoros. See also Euripides Helen, 569.
Phroune: She-toad:  JGR Forlong's Encyclopedia of Religions or Faiths of Man pt. 1 p. 269. This is also one of the sources of the idea that Hekate and Heqet might share common origins.
Physis: Nature: The Chaldean Oracles.
Prodomos: Of the Vestibule, literally Before the House: Aristophanes' Fragment 388.
Propolos: She Who Leads, Guide, Companion: see archimedes.fas.harvard.edu 's entry on the term Propolos.
Propylaia: One before the Gate:  See Tooke's Pantheon of the Heathen Gods and Illustrious Heroes by Francois Pomey, 1823, p. 178.
Prothyraea: Before the Gate: The Orphic Hymn to Prothyraea doesn't explicitly use Hekate's name, but carries many of Her traits, and  it uses the names of Diana and Eileithyia, both of who were conflated with Hekate.
Psychopompe: Soul-Guide:  a psychopomp is a class of beings with the responsibility of guiding souls into the afterlife, rather than an epithet. Hekate certainly qualifies.

R

Rexichthon: Earth-cleaver: Hymn to Selene-Hekate-Artemis, Greek Magical Papyri IV 2714-83.

S

Skotia: of the Dark, of the Gloom:  Diodorus I describes Hekate Scotia as worshiped in Egypt. The title was also associated with Aphrodite in Egypt.  The Day of Yahweh by William Arthur Heidel, 1929, p. 516.
Skylakitin: Lady of the Dogs: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Soteira: Savior: see Hekate Soteira by Sarah Iles Johnston for a great exegesis. This epithet has been given to many different Gods and Goddesses.
Speirodrakontozonos: Girt in Serpent Coils: See Michael Italicus' Letter 17, as quoted in Stephen Ronan's The Goddess Hekate.

T

Tauropolos: Bull-herder: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate
Tergeminus: of Triple-Birth: An Elementary Latin Dictionary by Charlton T. Lewis, American Book Co. 1890.
Thea Deinos: The Dread Goddess: Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica 3.1194
Therobromon: Roaring like a Wild Beast, of the City of the Beast: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.
Triaucheros: with Three Necks: Lycophron's Alexandra 1186.
Triceps: Three-formed: Ovid's Metamorphoses 7.194.
Trikephalos: Three-headed: numerous sources, coins, and statuary.
Trimorphos: Three-formed: numerous sources, coins, and statuary.
Trioditis: Of the Three Roads: Athenaeus.
Trivia: Of the Three Ways: The name for the Roman Goddess of the Three Roads.
Tymbidian: sepulchral: The Orphic Hymn to Hekate.

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Zerynthia: of Mount Zerynthia: See Gimbutas' Old Europe, p. 197. Likely named after Zerynthos in Lagina.
Zonodrakontos: Covered in Snakes, Intertwined with snakes: The Chaldean Oracles.
Zootrophos: Nourisher of Life: The Chaldean Oracles. 

Expect Part 2 sometime in the next few days. :)

ETA: Five Epithets were added, thanks to Florian Schlie! You are awesome, my friend. 

44 Days of Witchery: Day 5

A Favorite Goddess: Hekate

I'm pretty much a walking fan club for the Light-bearing Savior, Hekate. Much maligned in literature, much loved by her people, Hekate is the Goddess known as the Gentle-Hearted, the Guide, the Protector, and also the Queen of Phantoms, the Destroyer, the Invincible.
Her earliest images are of a young maiden sitting on a throne, or running with torches (though those images can also represent Artemis). The image of her with three forms seems to have been born in Athens.
As the Goddess of Crossroads, she is more associated with three-way junctions than with four. As locations where suicides and criminals were buried (and in some societies where criminals were executed), she does hold sway over the Restless Dead.

In my own personal experience, she is kind, but firm with her needs. She almost always has me hard at work, if not on an offering then on my self. Doing the work with my own inner demons is, of course, the harder of the two.
She loves to communicate with visions and dreams.

When she first came into my life, she intimidated me into a tiny ball, but now, I wouldn't have it any other way. She pushes me in new directions, reminds me of the majesty of life, and generally has made my life a better one.

She is one of my first thoughts in the morning, and my prayer before I sleep.

Hekate, Queen of Heaven, Earth and Sea
Who ensouls the world,
She who is the bringer of New Life
and the Guardian who accompanies the Dead into the World Beyond.
Hekate, Mistress of the Wild Beasts,
Whose light-bearing presences
Warms the souls of those who speak your names
and Guides us through towards new mysteries.
Hekate, Gentle Nurse,
Whose call strikes fear,
She who stands at the limit
where ever that might be.
Offer thanks to her,
She was there when we were born.
Offer thanks to her,
She will welcome us when we pass onward.
Offer thanks to her,
Her Mysteries are the secret that shall never be spoken, but felt and known.

Hekate and a Tarot Spread

I want to share with you a tarot spread inspired by Hekate. As a goddess, she inspired Shakespeare's three witches in the infamous opening scene of Macbeth, which helped to create her modern conception of Hekate as a crone. For the 5th century Greeks, Hekate was described as a maiden goddess of roads and witches. Her name was invoked at three way crossroads and, yes, by witches.

Her epithets describe a goddess of immense beauty and power. Zeus honors her, and she rules earth, sky, and sea. She stands watch over birth as well as death.
For the later mystics, she came to be understood as the Goddess who Ensouls the world.

Hekate's Crossroad Spread

This spread was created for me at a time when I was really mired and stuck immobile in my life. My obligations were simultaneously telling me to remain where I was and to move on to grad school, and I needed insight.

As a result, it works best for moments when you feel like you are in between, such as deciding whether to quit a job or between any other situation. That said, it can be used outside of that situation with some thought and consideration.



Card 1: Significator: This card represents the querent, and may be chosen or pulled. It may refer to how the querent is behaving or the situation that they are facing.

Card 2: The Path: Represents the situation, or the recent past that has brought the querent to the crossroad.

Card 3: The Rope: Represents the limitations that the querent is experiencing, or the responsibilities that the querent has. This may also indicate other influences not described in the prior cards.

Card 4: The Knife: Represents the factors that the querent can discern about the situation, what the True Will thereof might entail, or things that must be culled from one's life in order to proceed in the situation.

Card 5: The Triodotis/Herm: Represents the central fact of the situation, the crux of the decision.

Card 6: Torch the First: Describes the first option before the Querent.

Card 7: Torch the Second: Describes the second option before the querent.

Card 8: The Cavern: Represents Hekate's chthonic character. Hekate's cavern is a door to the underworld, and a place from which the ancestors can lend insight as well as the Goddess.

Card 9: The Stars: Represents Hekate's celestial character. Hekate's stars are a door to the deepest aspects of the soul. The guidance offered here can reflect the will of the divine or offer a glimpse of the future as it presently stands.*


*By the mere chance of doing a spread and accepting that knowledge means that the future changes.

The image above is Hekate from Pirner, 1901. :)

Tomorrow is Huge for me

and it's all about Hekate.

The house is as spotless as I can get it without making it feel sterile, the food prep is almost finished, and my offerings are ready I think.

I have preserved figs, double dipped dark chocolate and white chocolate blackberries and cherries, the fixings for gyros and Greek salad and a lemonade that has watermelon in it. A friend is making homemade real Baklava. Another friend is bringing more food, and I'm making that Southern classic, sun tea (with Moroccan Mint in it).

There are eight people that I know are coming, most of whom celebrated The Rite of Her Sacred Fires a year ago with me. This time, though, my best friends - who couldn't be there last year - will join us.

Last Spring, I was surfing on Facebook and came across a request from Sorita D'Este for Art and Articles for a book on Hekate, and I got a nudge to show her my two paintings of Her.


Hekate v.1 by ~Neheti on deviantART


torchlit hekate by ~Neheti on deviantART

To my eternal joy and gratitude, both were accepted and I became a contributor to one of the most amazing projects: Hekate: Her Sacred Fires. That May, at the Full Moon, the first Rite of Her Sacred Fires joined thousands of followers of Hekate together.

Even then, I knew that this would become an annual thing. The ritual was amazing and pretty private that night.

Tomorrow we do it again, and I am blitzed with joy and pre-party jitters.

If I had the room, I'd have invited everyone I could think of in Texas, and there would be much scarier logistics. :)

Thankfully, my very not interested in any of this husband is amazing and wonderful and happy to help me out with all of this.

Now to go off and brew some non-hallucinatory kykeon for tomorrow.