Hestia, << HEHS tee uh, >> was the Greek goddess of the hearth. Hestia is the Greek word for hearth or fireplace. Because fire was essential to existence, the hearth became a symbol of life and was worshiped daily throughout the Greek world. However, the Greeks treated the hearth more as an object than a goddess with human qualities, and thus Hestia acquired no real mythology. The Greek poet Hesiod made Hestia the eldest daughter of the god Cronus and Cronus’s sister Rhea. The unknown Greek author of the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite listed Hestia among the few divinities who were not subject to the desires of love. Vesta, the Roman goddess of the hearth, closely resembles Hestia. See also Vesta.
