It's All Geek to Me:
tales of the Greek Gods by Leah Samul
Samhain 1988: Hecate, the Underworld, and Projection
Even when there was evidence of matriarchal religion that had survived into the heavily patriarchal Greek theology, it seemed that scholars either ignored it or found a way to down-play it. One of the most salient examples of this is Hecate.
Although Hecate is one of my long-time favorites, I didn't expect to find very much on her in the literature. Imagine my surprise when I when I began to read Hesiod, one of the most ancient and well respected sources on the Greek deities. Hesiod lived roughly around 800 B.C. and, along with Homer, was accepted by the Greeks themselves as an authority on the gods. Hesiod spends more uninterrupted lines on Hecate than on any other deity. I will quote here directly from Norman O. Brown's very readable translation of Hesiod's Theogonies, which is probably the only readable thing Norman O. Brown has ever done:
"Asteria conceived and gave birth to Hecate, whom Zeus the son of Cronus exalted above all with honors. He gave her fine gifts: he assigned to her rights both in the earth and in the barren sea, and the immortal gods honor her greatly. To this day men on earth call on Hecate whenever they wish to make propitiation with the rich sacrificial offerings which the law commands. The man whose prayer is favorable received by the goddess acquires great honor and wealth with ease.
"Such is the power of Hecate; she has a share in the rights and privileges of every of one of the gods born of Earth and Sky. Nor did the son of Cronus forcibly deprive her of the properties she had received at the hands of the earlier generations of gods, the Titans; she still retains rights on earth and in the sky and on the sea, as assigned in the beginning by the first division of powers.
"Nor is her rank diminished because she is the only child of her mother; rather it is increased because Zeus honors her. She greatly aids and blesses her favorites; she sits beside kings in the judgment seat to give them majesty, and in the assembly of the people her favorite is conspicuous. When men put on their armor and make themselves ready for war, which destroys so many, Hecate with her generous aid enables her favorites to win victory and obtain glory. The goddess can if she wishes help and bless a contestant in the games: his strength and vigor win an easy victory and he happily carries home a fine prize and brings honor on his parents. And when men who work on the dark and treacherous sea pray to Hecate and to Poseidon, the god whose mighty blows make the earth quake, the great goddess can easily give them a plentiful catch; or, if she wishes, she can easily take it away from before their eyes.
"Along with Hermes she has power to make the animals on the farm multiply; if she wishes she can make cattle herds and flocks of mountain goats and woolly sheep greatly increase or greatly diminish. Thus Hecate, though the only child of her mother, is endowed with every privilege which the gods possess."
Well. One would be hard put to match that. Hecate was the only daughter of Asteria and Perses, and as such was a grandchild of the Titans who fought against Zeus. So it was unusual that she was so honored when Zeus went out of his way to degrade many of the other Titans and their relations. And you'll notice that, contrary to later writers who make her dark and malicious, Hesiod sees no inherent evil in her. What he does see, obviously, is power.
Although Hesiod does not make her an underworld deity, Hecate was eventually associated with the underworld. I'm not exactly sure why this happens. Perhaps, since she was so powerful, the later myths put her in the Underworld to get her out of the way. The light of Apollo didn't penetrate there, and to the Greeks it remained a region of "shadows and mysteries." It is interesting that Larousse says that Hecate's name "seems to be the feminine form of a title of Apollo's; 'the far-darter...Hecate's lunar character always remained: she and Helios together witnessed the abduction of Kore by Hades." But whereas the Underworld god Hades was more respected than feared by mortals, Hecate took on the negative aspect that made her the counterpart of Kali, the Terrible Mother.
Why did only Hecate become frightful and devouring? The immediate answer is that Greek religion, which was of course male-dominated, needed to denigrate the power of Hecate by making her malicious. But a more complete answer is that Greek religion, unfortunately, had trouble accepting something it didn't understand. It could tolerate the ecstatic prophecies of the Oracles because they were under the control of Apollo, the god of light. The Underworld, on the other hand, was a place that in some ways was quite contrary to the emerging Greek consciousness. It was an unknown quantity, and mortals lost all control when they went there after death. The fear of a powerful woman added to the fear of a mysterious place and a loss of control combined to project fear and loathing onto Hecate.
Does this sound familiar? It took almost 2,000 years before Jung talked about the Shadow, and our (sadly human) inability to look at the fearful or hateful parts of ourselves. We have only to read the daily news to see that projection is one of major diseases of our time. I know I sometimes sound like a doomsayer in this column, but as a planet we'd better conquer this need we have to destroy what we fear, hate or can't understand. And who better to help us look at these things in ourselves than Hecate, the powerhouse of the Underworld? Recall that she comes to the aid of those who put on their armor to make ready for war. The enemy that we all need to face is inside of us, not somewhere "out there." I suppose we've all heard this before, but now as we go into the dark time (both seasonally and electorally) it's a good idea to think about these things again.
Well, what are you waiting for? Put on your armor...Hecate will meet you in the Underworld.