Hestia
The virgin goddess of the hearth and home, was Hestia. She also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparing of the family meal. She was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and she received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. Also a part of her domain included the communal feast of sacrificial meat.
Hestia was the first child of Cronus and Rhea. She was instantly swallowed by her father after she was born. Cronus had been told that one of his children would grow up and overrule him and take over his throne. He swallowed all of his children except for his last one which was Zeus. Zeus was hidden in a cave by his mother and raised by another woman. Hestia and her other siblings were regurgitated from Cronus after Rhea gave him an herb.
Hestia is said to be one of the12 great gods. Hestis was also noted to be the goddess of domestic life and the giver of all domestic happiness and blessings. She vowed to be a virgin forever although Apollo and Poseidon tried to win her hand. It was believed that Hestia dwelled inside every home. She was also given the credit of inventing the art of building houses. She was believed to be present at all sacrifices. It is said that every prytaneum was a sanctuary of this goddess and was entitled to a portion of each sacrifice. There was a separate temple of Hestia at Hermione. The temple did not contain a statue of her, it only contained an altar. Her sacrifices consisted of fruit, water, oil, wine, and cows of one year old.
Hestia had many siblings. They were Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, the muses, Zeus, Jupiter, Tinia, and possibly more. As mentioned before, Hestia’s father, Cronus, had a wondering eye and this left her with many siblings with the same father, but many had a different mother. Siblings with the same mother and father were, Demeter, Hera, Haides (also known as Hades), Poseidon, and Zeus. When Zeus was hidden in a cave to keep his father from swallowing him, Rhea gave him a rock dressed in baby clothes and he swallowed it. When he regurgitated the children after Rhea gave him the herb, he regurgitated the rock first, then the children in the reverse order that he swallowed them. Hestia was the first born and swallowed and the last one to be regurgitated. Later on Zeus and some of his siblings cast Cronus and the rest of the Titans into the Underground world to remain there forever.
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