Mix-Tape to Hestia

Every month, Hellenion members pour a libation to a different Hellenic God or Goddess. While I did not continue this practice into the new Hellenic year, I did do it for a year before that. To make the day more special, I created mix-tapes of songs which either described or would speak to the deity in question. With just twelve months and Dionysos in place of Hestia, Hestia never got a mix-tape. One of this blog's faithful readers and all-round wonderful person, Jacen, contacted me yesterday. He had found my mix-tape series and was wondering if there were any songs that reminded me of Hestia, a Goddess he has built much kharis with. Instead of answering him, I'm doing this mix-tape, because I have always felt She did deserve one. If there is another Theos you would like to have a mix-tape of, let me know?

Hestia is the virgin Goddess of the hearth and presided over both the hearth of the city as well as every home in it. She presides over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. she is the Goddess of the sacrificial flame and every sacrifice starts and ends with a sacrifice to Her. The cooking of the communal feast of sacrificial meat was naturally a part of her domain. Hestia is a very female-oriented Goddess. Caring for the household was a task solely intended for women and it is because of this, very few stories about Hestia were made or recorded; the male-dominated culture cared little for Her. Yet, it was also the male head of household who travelled to the city fire for a new flame when his home fire burned out; the Gods have great respect for Her, and so should mankind. In the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, this is made very clear:

"Zeus the Father gave her [Hestia] a high honour instead of marriage, and she has her place in the midst of the house and has the richest portion. In all the temples of the gods she has a share of honour, and among all mortal men she is chief of the goddesses." [5.7]

Capital Cities - Safe And Sound

"Hestia... who dwellest amidst great fire's eternal flame; in sacred rites these ministers are thine, mystics much blessed, holy and divine. In thee the Gods have fixed their dwelling place, strong, stable basis of the mortal race." [Orphic Hymn 84 to Hestia]

This mix-tape is going to be about love. Not all of it, but most of it, I can already tell. The first song that popped into my mind was Capital Cities' 'Safe And Sound', which is--in essence--a love song. It shows the confidence of the singer, who knows he will be able to take care of his partner, no matter what. This, I relate very strongly to Hestia.

"You could be my luck / Even if the sky is falling down / I know that we'll be safe and sound."

Dionne Warwick - A House Is Not Home

This song must be on this list. There are no two ways about it. Dionne Warwick's song is a true classic and it sums up my thoughts of Hestia's influence on a house perfectly.

"I'm not meant to live alone / Turn this house into a home / When I climb the stair and turn the key / Oh, please be there still in love with me."

Daughter - Still

Hestia, to me, has always represented the heart of not only the house, but the seed of love that makes a house a home. No matter how bad the relationship may be, how much it's about to end; if you are still living together, and you still love, Hestia guards not only your home but your relationship. The strength it takes to work through relationship issues is where you find Hestia's greatest power: the spark of domestic bliss.

"Still with feet touching / still with eyes meeting / still our hands match / still with hearts beating."

Clean Bandit - Rather Be feat. Jess Glynne

This song is my current obsession, and it's a wonderful song for this list, as it highlights one of Hestia's most beautiful features: she inspires our home with the sense of peace and belonging that makes you want to return to it again, and again, and again, because it's where you belong.

"We staked out on a mission to find our inner peace / Make it everlasting so nothing's incomplete / It's easy being with you, sacred simplicity / As long as we're together, there's no place I rather be."

HAIM - Honey & I

To me, this song represents the importance of the home, but also the reminder that Hestia's power is a blanket, lying over cities and countries, and the entire world. I like being home. I much prefer it to the outside world, but some songs can't be played at home, be played alone--for some things in life you need to go out and have a beutiful life out there. And Hestia will still be there for you, regardless.

"Love wasn't what I thought it once was / But I thought it once was / Telling each other everything / Picking up your wedding rings / No, now I know and now I see / I'm not afraid no more / So why are you always trying to stay at home? / This song can't be played alone / It was made to be played with / My honey and I."