Geography/Culture: Pre-Olympian Greek: Thrace. Samothrace. Caria. Also the coasts of Asia Minor and the east coast of Greece, especially in Aegina. She had a temple at Lagina, circa 125-90 BC.
Linguistic Note: Greek orthography 'epsilon-kappa-alpha-tau-eta, (hekate).
Description: Great Three-headed Crone Goddess of the dark moon, wisdom, magical knowledge, death and regeneration; Presider over the bringing of youth to maturity; She Who wields Her ancient power of bestowing on, or withholding from, mortals, any desired gift; She Who circles wolfishly; Queen of witches and the real ruler of Tartarus; She Whose special protegès are enchanters and sorceresses; perhaps Crone Goddess of harvested grain.
Mighty three-fold Goddess, Supreme ruler of heaven, earth and sea (or more probably Tartarus); Bestower of wealth, fertiltiy, magical powers and all the blessings of daily life.
She Whose influence extends to war, athletic games, fertility, the birth and youth of wild animals, human birth and marriage, cattle tending, hunting, law-courts and assemblies of the people; She Who is in attendance when the soul leaves the body; Haunter of graves; Protectress agains madness when invoked to be so.
When earth became primarily associated with the lower world, Hecate assumed Her familiar association with night, ghosts, demons and negative sorcery.
To Whom Sacred: black poplars; hemlock; weasel (Thessalanian witches disguised as weasels were Her attendants); snake (symbol of re-generation because they slough their skins); horse; (sacrifice); black-she-lamb (sacrifice); dog, perhaps especially a hound, (symbol of the moon and death because they eat corpses and howl at the moon); dog sacrifice (especially of black-puppies); bitch (especially a white one); torch (symbol of the moon's light); whip; dagger; brazen sandal; keys (of the Underworld); the number 3; the meeting point of three roads; triangle.
Festival: More precisely the ritiual Hekates deipnon, 'Hekate's Dinner', a meal (probably fish, eggs and honey) set out, by rich people, on the 30th, (a convention for the last day), of each lunar month for beggars and paupers.
Iconography: Single-form -- clad in a long robe holding burning torches. Later represented in Triple-form -- with three bodies standing back to back, in Her six hands are torches, sometimes a snake, a key, a whip or a dagger. Pillars called hekataea stood at cross-roads and door ways. She is also portrayed with three-heads (human or dog, mare, and, lion) indicating the tripartite year beginning with the dog, ie Sirius.
Male Associates: Ceberus, The-Hound-of-Hell. Possibly he was originally Herself as bitch. Consort (or lover) Aietes, Landman, {is this a variant of Hades?}. Perhaps it was She, in Her bitch form, Who suckled Asclepious.

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As Triple Hecate, Goddess of the sea,
perhaps composed of:
Maiden Electra, Amber Mother Iphigeneia, Mothering-a-Strong-Race Crone Chrysothemis, Golden-Order (Who is linked under Iphigeneia).
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Titles/Variants, etc:

• Perhaps title: Agriope, see below.
• Identified with, and title of, Artemis, qv.
• Variously called Mother or Daughter of Asterie, qv Eurynome.
• Hecate has many points in common with Thracian Bendis, qv.
• Her brazen sandal seems to relate Her to Irish Celtic Brigit, qv to whom a brass shoe is sacred.
• Cretan Britomartis is sometimes identified with Hecate.
• She is Mother of Circe, probably by some connection with Her wolfish circling.
• Perhaps Crone aspect of Triple Demeter.
• Roman Diana, qv, is identified with Her.
• Aspect or title: Eidyia, qv Ida.
• Mother of the Empusae, see below.
• Erigone, qv, may be an aspect of Her.
• Some think Her triple form is the Erinyes, or certainly they are Her companions.
• Associated with Galanthis, qv Alcmene.
• Perhaps She was originally Egyptian Heket. As well as the apparent similarity of the name, Heket is also noted for Her magical powers.
• Her emissaries are the Lamiae, qv Lamashtu.
• In human form Iphigeneia, qv, was a priestess of Hecate.
• Sometimes considered equivalent to Canaanite Lilith.
• Mother of Medea, Cunning-one, Who in human form was a priestess of Hecate.
• Like the meaning of the Nornir, (qv), Hecate's triple-headedness has been interpreted as signifying past/birth/, present/life, future/death.
• Also called Perseis, or Daughter of Perses the Titan.
• She is associated with Persephoneia, qv.
• Title: Prosymne, Addressed-with-Hymns. See also Hera.
• Scylla, qv, is sometimes considered an aspect, or daughter, of Hecate.
• Some suggest the Seirenes were mortal priestesses of Hers.
• Hecate is also called daughter of Selene, qv Phoebe.
• Also called Tauropolus, see Iphigeneia.
• Title: Triformis, see below.
• Iphigeneia, as a mortal is sometimes called the Younger-Hecate.
Source: Encyc Brit: Hecate; Grave GMv1/92-3, 115, 122-5, 130, 142, 177, 190, 263, 301; GMv2/74, 80, 89, 110, 237; GRARE/84; IGEL/235. Also check references: GR.WG/73, 173, 194, 198, 200, 211, 376, 386, 400-1.

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Agriope, Savage-Face.
Description: Goddess of the underworld.