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Hestia then implored Zeus to allow her to remain a virgin for all time, and Zeus made this his gift to her.

The second tale of Hestia, relates to her leaving of Olympus. Other gods and goddesses were portioning Zeus for a place in Olympus. Twelve though had been designated as the number of Olympians, this lead to infighting by such as Dionysus, as they sought what they felt was their rightful place. Hestia decided to remove herself from all of the quarrels, and stepped down from her rightful place in order to tend to the hearth of Mount Olympus. It was in fact Dionysus who was to take Hestia's place.

There is much conjecture about why Hestia did not take a more active role in the affairs of Greek mythology. It is often thought that as the goddess of the hearth, and the hearth being unmovable, ensured that Hestia herself could not move very far.

The lack of stories about Hestia though did not stop her being worshipped; the fact is that fire and the hearth have been worshipped for many thousands of years. In terms of Greek mythology, every hearth in every home was considered to be an alter to Hestia. No home hearth was allowed to lighted or extinguished without a set ritual being followed.

On a larger scale every new colony that was established by the ancient Greeks would have a new fire lighted from a flame brought from Hestia's own hearth. Large centres of worship were established with hearth temples located at Prinias and Dreros, although the temple of Apollo at Delphi is thought to have been the actual location of Hestia herself. It is rare to find statues of Hestia, as worship was normally made to a fire rather than to a statue.

Hestia has found herself overshadowed by the exploits of her fellow Olympian gods, as well as the mortal heroes, and even in ancient Greece she was not widely worshipped, and temples as previously mentioned were rarely built. She is though linked to a worship that predates even Mount Olympus, and as is her right should keep her place alongside her siblings in ancient tales.

Learn more about this author, Tim Harry.
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