Big Mama Hekate? - Exploring Hekate Kourotrophos - Sandra Maria Torchbearer Essay

Today, the goddess Hekate is mostly known as the Goddess of witches and as a “dark goddess”. More often than not, she is described as dark and scary, and sometimes even dangerous. Even when Hekate is pressed into the modern concept of “Maiden, Mother and Crone”, she is not seen as a motherly, caring figure, but as ominous and threatening. Hekate's true essence has been minimised and distorted over the years, relegating a vast, powerful, and compassionate goddess to the realm of superstition and fear.

Hekate is not a “Maiden-Mother-Crone” Goddess. Even if she was, she would definitely not be a crone. In ancient times, she was always depicted and described as a maiden or ageless woman. What is missed is her nurturing and caring side and therefore this is what I want to tell you about

I often hear people say that Hekate is not a “Mother Goddess” and has nothing “motherly” to her. These people side-eye the ones in the community calling her “Mother” or who call themselves her “children”. Because, you know, Hekate is this dark, dangerous and harsh Goddess, who has more resemblance with a rigid teacher or a cold empress than with a loving mother.

There is a lot to unpack here. First, the limited view of Hekate and second, the limited view of motherhood or motherly behavior - or the limited view of women in general, you might even say. Let me start with the second part.

How do these people see mothers? Or maybe better, how do we see “mothers” in our modern society? I speak about “mothers” and “women” in this essay because until this day it's mostly women who take (or are forced to take) the role of the care-takers within the family (and in society in general) and especially the role of the care-takers of the children. And yes, I know, not all mothers are great people, but most of them do a great job even under difficult circumstances. (More than three quarters (76.4%) of unpaid domestic care work worldwide is done by women.) They are responsible for the children, the home and the housework. Yes, there has been a change, but it is still mostly the work of women. A man seldom is asked who takes care of his children while he is at work, or how he is managing to take care of his children and have a career at the same time, because, of course his wife is taking care of them, right? Instead men are still applauded for “helping” with the housework in their own home or “babysitting” their own children.

Not only is the unpaid domestic care work of women taken for granted, it is also belittled and degraded. Mothers are these goodhearted, cute little women, that don't know much except how to cook and clean and change diapers, aren't they?

Mothers are so much more. They take care of the children, they feed them, nurture them, wash them AND they are their first teachers, they are managers, healers, guides, examples and role-models, often while working a day-job, too.

It is called “mother language” for a reason, as mothers are the ones spending the most time with the children and speaking with them. Mothers teach us our first steps, how to cope with emotions, how to cook, how to clean and they are the first to answer the curious questions of little children, they deal with all the stress, the drama and the little crises that appear. They are bad-ass and they teach us how this f'in' world functions.

And if the Mother, for any reason, is not able to take care of the child themselves, there is a nanny, or in ancient Greece, the κουροτρόφος (Kourotrophos, 'Kouro' child, 'trophos' nurturer).

In ancient Greek society the families had slaves. The role of the slave in ancient Greece was a little bit different from the ones in ancient Rome or later for example in America or the colonies. The δούλος (doúlos, greek for slave) was a part of the οἶκος (oíkos, household). When new slaves came into the household, they were welcomed like newly wed women and presented with nuts and fruits. The slaves in a way became part of the family which meant, for example, that they took part in ceremonies, political and family. For instance they were allowed to be invited to the Eleusinian Mysteries. The doules may share their master's gods, but they could also maintain their own religious customs if they wished. A slave could seek asylum at a temple or altar, just as a free citizen could and the rape of slaves was illegal, just as it was with free people.

That being said, I want to add that being a slave still wasn't a good thing, even though they had more rights than slaves in other societies or epochs. They weren't free people. Masters could dispose of their slaves as they saw fit by selling or renting them, or by granting them freedom. Slaves could have a spouse and children, but slave familial relationships were not recognized by the state, and the master could scatter the family members at any time. They were allowed to save in order to purchase their freedom, but they weren't allowed to own property and many of them had to work in mines or quarries, just to name a few things.

Doules and especially the Kourotrophos and the Tutors, the ones taking care of the children, were of great importance and had to be loyal, trustworthy and well-educated persons as they were the persons who were responsible not only for the well-being of the child but also for their upbringing and education, as the woman of the house would not have had the time to do that. There were doules who nursed the children along with their own. That means they were often breastfeeding the children of the oíkos, they were the literal kourotrophos. This was the procedure whether the lady of the house survived the birth or not, because it was helpful and convenient, as the lady of the house had other responsibilities.

The trophos raised the kids under the commands of the family and according to the rules of the society. At the right time, an educated male doulos would be brought to the kids for their education and social duties. Boys and girls would be educated differently. The boys would be taught the basics to become citizens, the girls would be taught the basics of organizing the oíkos, the household.

Tutors and trophoi are the slaves who had the most chances of being freed and especially of being freed without material compensation, because of their personal relationship with the master or mistress.

So what does all of this have to do with Hekate?

“From earliest times, Hecate is singled out as a kourotrophos as well. Midway through the Theogony, in his so-called “Hymn to Hecate,” Hesiod calls her this twice, describing it as a characteristic that Hecate has held from the outset. She is also called kourotrophos by Apollonius Rhodius and several other later authors. The pseudo-Herodotean Life of Homer describes Samian women as sacrificing to a kourotrophic goddess at the crossroads, which must, again, indicate Hecate.”

(Sarah Iles. Johnston, Restless Dead)

Kourotrophos is one of Hekate's most ancient epithets. She shares this epithet with other deities such as Athena, Apollon, Hermes, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Gaia and Asclepius. It is an epithet that was given to gods and goddesses who were associated with caring for and the protection of children and young people. These gods and goddess are often depicted sitting or standing while holding a child in their arms. It is a pose in which we see mother-goddesses and kourotrophoi alike. There are depictions of Hekate in this pose, too.

“The two goddesses are also both depicted as Mother Goddesses, holding a child. Isis is shown holding her son Horus (or Harpocrates), in both seated and standing positions. Hekate is likewise shown holding a child, likely the baby Dionysos (Sabazius), though it is possible that it might also represent Apollo or Zeus, as there are hints connecting her to the birth of both these gods (albeit not as their mother).” ( Sorita D'Este. Circle for Hekate)

Statue of Hekate holding a child, with a dog next to her. In the Archeological Museum Sofia, Bulgaria

(c) Sorita d'Este, 2015

Hekate was seen as the Kourotrophos and even as a Mother-Goddess in ancient times. She was often identified with Goddesses like Cybele and Bendis. She shares for example symbols with the Thracian Bendis, like horses, crossroads and spears. They both were considered to be benevolent Mother-Goddesses.

“The depiction and the idea of the Thracian Mother Goddess as Hekate, i.e. as the one who gives birth to the divine son, shouldn’t seem strange to us because of the images found in the territory of Bulgaria of Hekate with a little child in her hands, again accompanied by her sacred dogs-wolves, which are a second naming of the divine son in his winter hypostasis, at the time of his birth.” (Georgi Mishev, Thracian Magic)

Hekate is conflated with other Mother-goddesses, too. In the Metamorphoses, for example, Hekate is mentioned as one of the many names of the Greco-Egyptian Mother Goddess Isis.

“There are further hints that Hekate may have been an older Mother Goddess worshiped at the site, or that she was connected to the secrets of the Mysteries more intimately.” (Eleusis – Sorita D'Este, Circle for Hekate)

Mothers came to her temples and sites to ask her for healing and protection.

“Another smaller group of temples, equally impressive in size and its remarkable survival, are those of Selinunte, in the South West of the island. Here Demeter, Persephone and Hekate – as well as Zeus - were worshipped. An ancient inscription found here appears to be a petition from a mother to Hekate for the sake of her child, reinforcing the idea that Hekate was worshipped, like Artemis, as a goddess associated with children.”

(Sorita D'Este. Circle for Hekate)

Connected to her being seen and worshiped as a mother-goddess is her role in child-birth. There is for example a strong connection to the birth-goddess Eileithyia:

“Hekate’s temple at Argos stood, according to Pausanias, next to that of a sanctuary to the birth-goddess Eileithyia. This goddess is elsewhere equated to Hekate. Pausanias also mentioned two bronze statues of Hekate at the same location.”

(Sorita D'Este. Circle for Hekate)

And there is of course a deep connection to Artemis.

“The Suppliants, a fifth century BCE play by Aiskhylos, names Artemis-Hekate as the goddess who is entreated for both pregnancy and birth: 'And we pray that a succession of guardians of the land be born, and that Artemis Hecate watch over the child-bed of women.'”

(Sorita D'Este. Circle for Hekate)

Sarah Iles Johnston even sees Hekates role as a Kourotrophos and her connection to child-birth as one of the reasons Hekate became popular in folk practices and eventually folk magic.

“[...] Hecate, who was already connected with one form of magic (invocation of the dead) came to be associated with other forms [of magic] as well. Alternatively, the association may be due to Hecate’s prominent role as a birth goddess and kourotrophos, which would have brought her into contact with women and their folk-medicinal practices.”

(Sarah Iles Johnston, Restless Dead)

Being a Goddess associated with birth and the health and well-being of children made her a beloved and important Goddess for women and families. Of course you would want her protection for your home and family. This may be the origin of the Hekataia which were placed at the entrances of homes:

“In fact, it is in order to explain why hekataia were erected in front of houses that the scholiast on Aristophanes’ Wasps tells us that Hecate was considered the kourotrophos of all, which suggests that the goddess’s kourotrophic abilities were one of the main reasons that domestic hekataia were erected.”

(Sarah Iles Johnston, Restless Dead)

So it is safe to say, that Hekate in her role of Kourotrophos, became the “Kourotrophos of all” for her devotees, and this lead to erecting Hekataia at the entrance of the home, in order to bless and protect not only the children but all members of the household:

“If the statues were erected simply to solicit Hecate’s and Enodia’s blessings, however, they could have stood anywhere within domestic spaces; the scholiast’s remark seems to imply their location at the entrances to houses, as Aristophanes describes, was directly related to their kourotrophic potency.”

(Sarah Iles Johnston, Restless Dead)

The placement at the entrance of the home may have a symbolic connection to her presence as a Kourotrophos, a nurse, at the beginning and at the end of a human life. Her presence in the liminal spaces, the thresholds of life, the passages, the in-between.

Hekate Kourotrophos had an important role in the day-to-day lives of the people and they came to her for protection and health, because Hekate was seen as a caring, benevolent Goddess. We see that in the way she was portrayed and worshiped, like shown above and we also see this in the myths.

Let us look for example at the famous myth of Persephone's abduction. Here Hekate plays an important role which shows her compassion and sense of justice, but also her wisdom and her ability to walk between the worlds and to guide souls. There she helps Demeter, who doesn't know what has happened, to find her daughter Persephone. Hekate had heard the cries of Persephone when she had been abducted and when Demeter roamed the world in search of her daughter Hekate was the one to tell her what has happened and help her get her daughter back. Beyond that, after the reunion of the mother and daughter, she becomes Persephone's guide and companion who accompanies her to Hades in the fall and back again in the spring time of every year.

“The scholiast to Theocritus’s second Idyll more specifically calls Hecate the trophos of Persephone, a function that she also displays, perhaps, in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, when she embraces Persephone upon her return from the Underworld and promises to watch over her thereafter.”

(Johnston, Sarah Iles. Restless Dead)

Another myth that shows that Hekate is indeed a caring Goddess, especially for the marginalized and victims of injustice, is the myth about the birth of Heracles in which Hera tried to interfere out of jealousy. The handmaid of Heracles' mother was able to protect Heracles, but as a result she was punished by Hera, who turned her into a polecat. Compassionate Hekate felt for the handmaid and took her as one of her companions, this is why polecats are associated with Hekate by the way.

There are also the legends of Medea and Circe who are sometimes referred to as Hekate's daughters:

“[...] Hekate is given as the granddaughter of Helios, wife of the mortal king Aeetes, and mother to Kirke and Medea, as well as a son Aigialeus.”

(Sorita D'Este. Circle for Hekate)

And regardless whether she was literally their mother or not, Hekate once more is considered to be a mother figure.

All of this, the myths, the history of ancient Greece, the ancient statues, texts and other findings show us, that there is evidence, that in ancient times Hekate was seen as a benevolent and motherly Goddess, that she has strong caring and nurturing aspects that have been worshiped for hundreds and thousands of years. This doesn't mean that she has no dark aspects, but she is so much more than that.

In the beginning of this essay I wrote about how it bothers me, that Hekate's caring and nurturing side is often withhold or even denied. I have tried to show here that our society's patriarchal view of women and especially mothers and our internalized misogyny also effects our view of Goddesses and in this case, Hekate. Women are diverse people, with diverse interests, skills and talents. Womanhood is diverse and motherhood is too. And if we humans can be such diverse beings, how much more so do you think a Goddess can be.

Hekate is a multi-faceted Goddess. She is the Queen of Witches, she is a Titaness, she is a fierce fighter, she is a teacher of herbalism and poison craft, she is a guide, she is a teacher, she is the Queen of the Crossroads, of liminal spaces, she rules over the heavens, earth and sea, she is the World Soul and she is the Kourotrophos of all.

(c) Georgi Mishev

Sources:

• D'Este. Sorita. Circle for Hekate - Volume I: History & Mythology (The Circle for Hekate Project Book 1). Avalonia 2017

• Johnston, Sarah Iles. Restless Dead: Encounters between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece. University of California Press. 1999

• Mishev, Georgi. Thracian Magic: Past & Present. Avalonia 2012

• Global Gender Gap in Unpaid Care: Why Domestic Work Still Remains a Woman’s Burden

  https://freepolicybriefs.org/2021/12/20/gender-gap-unpaid-care/

• Slavery in ancient Greece https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_ancient_Greece