HESTIA

According to Greek Mythology, Hestia is the goddess of the hearth, of domestic life and of the family, who received the first offering in every sacrifice that took place in a household and was not publicly worshipped. Her name means “house and hearth”: the house and its tenants and symbolizes the alliance between the colonies and their mother cities. Hestia is the eldest daughter of Rhea and Cronus, sister of Zeus, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Demeter. Initially, she joined the Olympian gods, but, later, she offered the throne to Dionysus in order to end the feuds and disputes between them. He then tended the sacred flame on Mount Olympus, and never left. Her altars included every family hearth. Immediately after their birth, Kronos swallowed Hestia and her siblings, except for Zeus, who later rescued them, leading them to war against Kronos and the other Titans. She vowed to remain a virgin forever, refusing the advances of her brother Poseidon and Apollo. Hestia, Athena and Artemis were the only goddesses over whom Aphrodite, who had subjugated, gods and men alike, had no power.