Is the Goddess Hestia in Your Life? Page 1 in a blog series

In our hours of quiet – perhaps during tea or coffee break -- we might mull over our choice to inhabit certain spheres of life. This is a time when the realm of archetypes can bring its gifts to us. The archetype of Hestia, Greek goddess of hearth and home, became known to me at such a moment, when I first read Jean Shinoda Bolen’s book, Goddesses in Everywoman: A New Psychology of Women.

I was then a busy householder with two young sons living at home. At that time the women’s liberation movement was emphasizing the importance to women of breaking free from stereotypes and cultivating the assertiveness and skill to be in the “working” world. I thought of myself as one who, to all appearances, was following a rather traditional path, at least for the time being. It hadn’t occurred to me that my choice in life had elements of the Hestia archetype.

What exactly is an archetype? you might be wondering. An archetype is an “image” we carry within our psyche. Archetypes are patterns which guide our development. These “blueprints” remain common to human beings across historical time. They can give direction and meaning to our lives.

You might also wonder, as I did when I first picked up Bolen’s book, How could an ancient goddess of hearth and home be relevant to modern women, who are choosing to move about in the larger world? Well, Hestia’s mythic story reveals that she wasn’t exactly the equivalent of a 1950s housewife.

To consider why or how Hestia might be relevant to us, we will first look at her mythic story. And we will ask who and what she was to the Greeks, who revered her throughout the ancient world.



Statue of Hestia


Some elements of Hestia’s story seem strange to our modern ears. Hestia was the first-born child of Kronos and Rhea. She was swallowed by her father at birth, just as were her siblings, because the older god, who was ruler, feared being displaced by one of his children. Zeus later forced Kronos to disgorge Hestia and her siblings. As the first to be swallowed she was also the last to be disgorged, and so was named as both the eldest and youngest among the siblings. When her brothers Apollo and Poseidon sought for her hand in marriage, Hestia refused and asked Zeus to let her remain an eternal virgin. He agreed and she took her place at his royal hearth. She had no throne, but tended the sacred fire in the hall on Olympus.

Hestia and fire were one and the same to ancient Greek consciousness: Hestia was the fire on the hearth. Considering that the ancient Greeks perceived fire as a primary element, it isn’t surprising that Hestia was the first-born child of Kronos and Rhea and therefore the oldest of the twelve Olympian gods.

I doubt that the common people in ancient Greece thought of gods and goddesses in terms of archetypes -- even though their famous philosopher Plato introduced the notion of a realm of Forms which resembles the idea of archetypes. Rather, Hestia was felt by the ancient Greeks to be a spiritual presence in the living flame at the center of the home, temple, and city. Even today our modern understanding of the chemistry of fire doesn’t completely account for fire’s living qualities, I dare say.

According to Bolen, Hestia’s symbol was the circle. Her first hearths were round, and so were her temples. When she was present, she made both places holy. Her significance was found in rituals, symbolized by fire. “In order for a house to become a home, Hestia’s presence was required,” says Bolen.

Hestia’s story tells us she was a virgin goddess. As such, she was inviolable. Okay, but what does inviolability have to do with fire? I “hear” you asking. Well, we know we can’t “fool around” or flirt with fire, not without serious consequences, so fire is inviolable in this respect. Then too, most of us think of our hearth and home as the place that is, or should be, inviolable. This belief was held by the ancient Greeks, to the extent that someone forced to take refuge could find sanctuary by the hearth of a Greek home.

In addition to her traditional fire attributes, Hestia has more intangible qualities as an archetype. For example, Bolen remarks that Hestia shares “focused consciousness” with two other virgin goddesses, Artemis and Athena. (In Latin, the word for “hearth” is focus.) However, the inward direction of Hestia’s focus is different, says Bolen. Externally oriented Artemis or Athena focuses on achieving goals or implementing plans, while Hestia concentrates on the inner life. The Hestian mode allows us to get in touch with our values by bringing into focus what is personally meaningful. Through this inner focusing, we can perceive the essence of a situation. Bolen’s choice of the word “essence” is a reminder that fire was an essential element in the ancient Greeks’ schema of the four elements: fire, air, water, and earth.

Today I’m keeping Bolen’s observations about Hestia’s intangible qualities brief – brief enough to be tantalizing, I hope, for I want to whet your appetite to learn more about Hestia. Further on in this blog series, we’ll look more into her intangible qualities.

Are you already wondering if Hestia is in your life, dear BraveHearts? Next Monday we’ll look at her importance to the ancient Greeks. Stay tuned!

Notes -

Bolen’s book has since been republished as Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives. Bolen points out that we can have more than one archetype in our lives, and at other phases in our lives we might shift to expression of a different archetype.

My definition of archetypes paraphrases depth psychologist Carl Jung’s definition.

©2010 by Chickee Atalla, author of the soon to be released Conversations with the Goddess: Encounter at Petra, Place of Power

http://www.conversationswiththegoddess.net