Hestia
From Wikinfo
Hestia is a character from ancient Greek mythology. Her Roman equivalent was Vesta.
She is the goddess of the hearth, gentleness, domesticity and the family. Her name means "home and hearth": the household and its inhabitants.
Hestia symbolizes the alliance by between the colonies and their mother-cities and is the oldest daughter of Rhea and Cronus, sister to Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Demeter. Immediately after their birth, Cronus swallowed Hestia and her siblings except for Zeus, who later rescued them and led them in a war against Cronus and the other Titans.
Originally listed as one of the Twelve Olympians, Hestia was later removed in favour of Dionysus. Afterwards, she tended the sacred fire on Mt. Olympus. Her altars included every family hearth on earth.
Hestia vowed to forever remain a virgin and refused Poseidon and Apollo when they came calling.
Hestia was also sometimes the name in Greek mythology of one of the Hesperides.
Hestia is also the title of a science fiction novel by C. J. Cherryh.
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Hestia" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hestia, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
