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Hestia is the Olympian virgin Goddess of the Hearth, Architecture, and Family.
Greek mythology
In Greek Mythology, Hestia was the virgin goddess of the hearth (both private and municipal) and the home. As the goddess of the family hearth she also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. Hestia was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. The cooking of the communal feast of sacrificial meat was naturally a part of her domain.
In myth Hestia was the first born child of Cronos and Rhea who was swallowed by her father at birth. Zeus later forced the old Titan to disgorge Hestia and her siblings. As the first to be swallowed she was also the last to be disgorged, and so was named as both the eldest and youngest of the six Kronides. When the gods Apollo and Poseidon sought for her hand in marriage, Hestia refused and asked Zeus to let her remain an eternal virgin. He agreed and she took her place at his royal hearth.
Hestia was depicted in Athenian vase painting as a modestly veiled woman sometimes holding a flowered branch (perhaps a chaste-tree). In classical sculpture she was also veiled, with a kettle as her attribute.
Trivia
- Along with her sister Demeter, she has not appeared in the series.
- Because of this they are the last of the original six Olympians.
- As she and Hades are the oldest of their siblings, they suffered the longest inside their father Cronos.