What is Hestia the goddess of?
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the hearth
Hestia tends the sacred flame of the hearth: the centre of every home and community.
💡 Did you know? When a family moved, they took embers from the old hearth so as not to break Hestia's fire.
All questions with answers
What did Hestia vow forever?
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eternal virginity
Hestia rejected all suitors (including Apollo and Poseidon) and remained a virgin.
💡 Did you know? Her calm and neutrality made her the only goddess never caught up in a mythic quarrel.
What share did Hestia receive at every sacrifice?
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the first and the last
As goddess of the hearth, Hestia was honoured first and last at every sacrifice.
💡 Did you know? The state hearth in the town hall (prytaneion) of every city was also dedicated to her.
What is Hestia called by the Romans?
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Vesta
For the Romans, Hestia is Vesta, goddess of the hearth and protector of the sacred state fire.
💡 Did you know? In Rome the Vestal Virgins tended her fire; if it went out, it was seen as a disaster for the state.
Whose daughter is Hestia?
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of Cronus and Rhea
As the firstborn daughter of Cronus and Rhea, Hestia is the eldest of the Olympian siblings.
💡 Did you know? Because Cronus swallowed her first and disgorged her last, she was seen as both eldest and youngest.
What is Hestia's most important symbol?
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the flame
Hestia was rarely shown as a figure, mostly as the blazing hearth fire itself.
💡 Did you know? New colonies took embers from the hearth of the mother city: a sacred bond to home.
In which building did Hestia's civic fire burn?
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in the prytaneion
At the seat of every Greek polis.
💡 Did you know? Colonists carried embers from there to their new city.
To whom did Hestia yield her Olympian seat according to legend?
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Dionysus
Thus the count of twelve Olympians was preserved.
💡 Did you know? She preferred to stay quietly at the gods' hearth.
Which two gods wooed Hestia in vain?
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Poseidon and Apollo
She turned both down, with Zeus's blessing.
💡 Did you know? In return she received honorary shares of all sacrifices.
What special position does Hestia hold among Cronus's children?
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the firstborn
Swallowed first, disgorged last.
💡 Did you know? Hence she is called eldest and youngest at once.
Who tended the Roman counterpart of her fire?
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the Vestal Virgins
Six priestesses watched over the eternal flame.
💡 Did you know? If it went out, it counted as a public calamity.
Who stood under sacred protection at Hestia's hearth?
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suppliants
Whoever sat at the hearth could not be touched.
💡 Did you know? Hospitality was a sacred duty to the Greeks.
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