Hecate
From Wikinfo
Hecate was the ancient mother Goddess, venerated in Thrace (ancient Bulgaria). It is unknown to what extent she resembled her later incarnation in the Hellenic tradition, but it is generally accepted that she was probably worshipped as the supreme being of the Thracians.
By the time her cult had gained prominence in Greece, she had taken on quite a different character. Like many polytheists, the ancient Greeks were in the habit of absorbing Gods from many different cultures into their pantheon, tailoring them to meet the needs of the time. Hecate became popularly known as the Goddess of witches, Queen of the dead, and presided over the dark moon, in Hellenic times. Although she was treated with a measure of respect hardly attributed any other Goddess in Greece, she did become associated with many unsavoury qualities.
If men exhibited signs of femininity in their youth, it was said that Hecate had corrupted their dreams. Dreams were believed to be her element, and the waning moon was a time to ward against her powers lest the dreamer go mad.
During the times when the moon waned, Hecate's followers took food the the crossroads at night. They were required to place the food there at the juncture, and leave, without looking back because it was forbidden to view the Goddess in her dark aspect.
Zeus granted Hecate dominion over the realm of the dead known as Tartarus. This was where souls were supposed to have been punished. Although, Hades and Persephone were generally accepted to be the King and Queen of the Underworld, Hecate was also addressed as "The Great Queen Who Dwells Below," and her power was never challenged by the other Gods. Persephone herself shunned the company of her husband, and instead sought Hecate, who taught her the secrets of the dead. This story was probably concocted to explain the redundancy of two Goddesses, dwelling in Hades together, presiding over roughly the same functions, but Persephone was already, herself, an established Death Goddess, whose name meant "The Dread," by the time Hecate's cult became popular in Greece. Thus, Persephone was given the task of judging the dead, and Hecate, the task of punishing them, assuming they were damned.
Hecate's name meant "One Hundred" in ancient Greek, and even today the word for "One Hundred" in modern Greek is a derivative (roughly pronounced "Hecaton"). It is not known what the significance of this name is, and how it came to be associated with the ancient Thracian Goddess.
Hecate's cult played a somewhat subversive and clandestine role in Hellenic Greece, but it has risen in prominence again, since the advent of Neo-Paganism. Hecate's association with the supernatural, the moon, and fertility, have made her almost an emblematical deity for modern Wiccans and Druids.
In iconography Hecate was depicted with three faces, representing the three phases of the moon. She was accompanied by a dog (sometimes Cerberus, the three headed dog, who guarded the gates to the underworld) and carried torches in either hand. In the story of Jason and the Argonauts, Medea is the high priestess, in the temple of Hecate, at Cholchis. Cholchis (prehistoric Georgia) was considered by the Greeks to be the centre of Hecate's worship.
Hecate plays an important role in Marion Zimmer Bradley's popular novel "The Firebrand," in which she is referred to as "Serpent Mother." This depiction is not wholly fanciful as she was also often depicted with serpents coiled about her arms, in iconography.
Hecate also appears in a minor role in Shakespear's Macbeth.
