Hestia
Hestia (© Copyright: Yves-Hsu)
Hestia
The only goddess that was not worshiped publicly, Hestia was the Goddess of Family, Domestic Life and Hearth. "Hestia" (def. derived from "House & hearth") also represented the alliance between colonies and the mother cities.
Being the sister of Zeus, but not in a deep relationship with the Olympian gods, she was later replaced in Greek Mythology by Dionysus.
In the ancient world, it was hard to find a temple or even a shrine that was attributed to her. This was a fact that came into contrast with goddess Vestra, the Roman equivalent of Hestia, who also represented the public hearth.
Hestia took a vow to remain a virgin throughout her life, thus denying the callings of Poseidon and god Apollo. The old myth says that goddess Hestia was once raped by Priapus, a lesser divine figure of fertility and that she was saved by the braying of a mule.
