Hecate
Hecate,
in Greek mythology, goddess of darkness, and the daughter
of the Titans Perses and Asteria. Unlike Artemis, who represented
the moonlight and splendor of the night, Hecate represented
its darkness and its terrors. On moonless nights she was
believed to roam the earth with a pack of ghostly, howling
dogs.
She
was the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft
and was especially worshiped by magicians and witches, who
sacrificed black lambs and black
dogs to her. As goddess of the crossroads, Hecate and her
pack of dogs were believed to haunt these remote spots,
which seemed evil and ghostly places to travelers.
In
art Hecate is often represented with either three bodies
or three heads and with serpents entwined about her neck.
"Hecate,"
Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001 http://encarta.msn.com
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