MythosData

greekdeitiesolympianshearthhomesacrifice

Hestia

Goddess of the hearth, first-born of Cronus and Rhea — and "youngest too", since Cronus disgorged her last. The Hymn to Aphrodite says she refused Poseidon and Apollo and swore by Zeus's head to remain a maiden, receiving instead "her place in the midst of the house"; every banquet pours to her first and last, and at Olympia she was sacrificed to before Zeus.

Why this wins its question: The encyclopaedia says "goddess of the hearth, often replaced by Dionysus". This object gives the lines where her oath, her portion and her libation are actually stated, and Pausanias's confirmation that she came first at Olympia.

Key takeaways

  • First-born and last disgorged — the Hymn to Aphrodite states the paradox in one line (HH5 22–23).
  • Her virginity is an oath sworn on Zeus's head, rewarded with the centre of the house and the first and last libation.
  • She has almost no narrative — the primary texts give her honours, not adventures — which is why the Twelve can drop her for Dionysus.

Claims

Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.

  1. Hestia is the first child named of Cronus and Rhea: Rhea "bore splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera" and the rest, each swallowed at birth (Theog. 453–459); Apollodorus: "His firstborn Hestia he swallowed" (Apollod. 1.1.5).

    confidence 0.95Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  2. The Hymn to Aphrodite explains the paradox: "She was the first-born child of wily Cronos and youngest too, by will of Zeus" — first born, last disgorged — "a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed"; she refused, "touching the head of father Zeus" swore "a great oath ... that she would be a maiden all her days", and Zeus "gave her an high honor instead of marriage": "her place in the midst of the house" and "the richest portion", with a share in every temple (HH5 21–32).

    confidence 0.94The Homeric Hymns — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  3. Her rite in the Hymns: "without you mortals hold no banquet — where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last" (HH29 4–6); the same hymn pairs her with Hermes as the two who "aid on [men's] wisdom and their strength" in the house (HH29 7–13). The shorter hymn has her tending "the holy house of the lord Apollo" at Pytho (HH24 1–5).

    confidence 0.94The Homeric Hymns — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  4. At Olympia the Eleans "sacrifice to Hestia first, secondly to Olympic Zeus" (Paus. 5.14.4); in the Athenian Prytaneum, where Solon's laws were inscribed, stood figures of Peace and Hestia (Paus. 1.18.3).

    confidence 0.92Pausanias, Description of Greece — tr. W. H. S. Jones (Loeb, 1918–1935), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  5. Herodotus lists Hestia, with Poseidon, the Dioscuri, Hera, Themis, the Graces and the Nereids, among the few gods whose names did not, in his view, come to Greece from Egypt (Hdt. 2.50.2).

    confidence 0.9Herodotus, Histories — tr. A. D. Godley (Loeb, 1920), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  6. Hestia is absent from Homer's fullest muster of the gods at Troy, in which Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes and Hephaestus go to the Greeks and Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Leto, Xanthus and Aphrodite to the Trojans (Il. 20.31–40); she is a goddess of the house, not the battlefield, and the question of her seat among the Twelve is treated in the twelve-olympians guide.

    confidence 0.85Homer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primary

Questions answered

Who are the parents of Hestia?
Hestia is the first child named of Cronus and Rhea: Rhea "bore splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera" and the rest, each swallowed at birth (Theog. 453–459); Apollodorus: "His firstborn Hestia he swallowed" (Apollod. 1.1.5). source
Why is Hestia both the eldest and the youngest?
The Hymn to Aphrodite explains the paradox: "She was the first-born child of wily Cronos and youngest too, by will of Zeus" — first born, last disgorged — "a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed"; she refused, "touching the head of father Zeus" swore "a great oath ... that she would be a maiden all her days", and Zeus "gave her an high honor instead of marriage": "her place in the midst of the house" and "the richest portion", with a share in every temple (HH5 21–32). source
Who wanted to marry Hestia?
The Hymn to Aphrodite explains the paradox: "She was the first-born child of wily Cronos and youngest too, by will of Zeus" — first born, last disgorged — "a queenly maid whom both Poseidon and Apollo sought to wed"; she refused, "touching the head of father Zeus" swore "a great oath ... that she would be a maiden all her days", and Zeus "gave her an high honor instead of marriage": "her place in the midst of the house" and "the richest portion", with a share in every temple (HH5 21–32). source
Why is Hestia given the first libation?
Her rite in the Hymns: "without you mortals hold no banquet — where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last" (HH29 4–6); the same hymn pairs her with Hermes as the two who "aid on [men's] wisdom and their strength" in the house (HH29 7–13). The shorter hymn has her tending "the holy house of the lord Apollo" at Pytho (HH24 1–5). source