Hestia & Vak – The Voice In The Flame Of The Goddess At The Center Of Indo-European Faith !

https://aryaakasha.com/2022/01/21/hestia-vak-the-voice-in-the-flame-of-the-goddess-at-the-center-of-indo-european-fa ith /

Hestia & Vak – The Voice In The Flame Of The Goddess At The Center Of Indo-European Faith !

I enjoyed the alternative translations I found in this blog:

Plato’s Phaedrus may make memorable mention of, to quote directly:

“Zeus, the mighty lord, holding the reins of a winged chariot, leads the way in heaven, ordering all and taking care of all; and there follows him the array of gods and demigods, marshalled in eleven bands; Hestia alone abides at home in the house of heaven; of the rest they who are reckoned among the princely twelve march in their appointed order.”
[Jowett translation]

Or, to present in the paraphrase of the concept by that well-known purveyor of fiction, Rick Riordan; in dialogue which he ascribes to his rendition of Her:

“I am here because when all else fails, when all the other mighty gods have gone off to war, I am all that’s left. Home. Hearth. I am the last Olympian.”

This reminds me strongly of Neil Gaiman’s Death character, just to touch on pop culture again.

The Hestia Hymnal found in the Orphic canon

“Daughter of Kronos, venerable dame,
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.
Eternal, much formed, ever florid queen,
Laughing and blessed, and of lovely mien;
Accept these rites, accord each just desire,
And gentle health and needful good inspire.”
[Taylor translation]

“It is therefore no wonder that She is so directly correlated with not only the hearth-fire which makes a Home, but also with that more august flame which centres a City, a Nation. Indeed, we might go so far as to suggest – a Cosmos (in multiple senses of that particular ancient Greek term).”

This idea of Hestia being a/the Cosmos is one that has been raised in a couple of other blogs I have read: I’ll find them again and share them.

The linguistic aspect is also thought-provoking.

“The etymology for ‘Hestia’ : which directly comes from an Ancient Greek term for a fireplace, ‘Hearth’, or altar : ἑστίᾱ (‘Estia’).”

“There is some further mytholinguistic speculation we could indulge in as to just why the terms ‘Hestia’ and ‘Estia’ may ultimately derive from a PIE (Proto-Indo-European) designation for a ‘place to be’ – whether it’s due to the hearth being at the center of the dwelling, or indeed the other way around … with the fire being … where the Goddess is invoked into and therefore ‘dwells’, as we have seen elsewhere – and with particular reference, per the Orphic hymnal, for the Gods having been invoked Themselves into the flame of Her.”

I am not in the position to comment on the Vedic aspect of this blog as that is definitely not an area that I have studied.

As a polytheist, I will just state my world view that the Mysterious Ones are separate individuals, much like you and I. Just as you and I might share an interest, or friends, or a profession, or have gone to the same school or university, there may be areas of overlap, but I am still me, and you are still you.

Common ground is fascinating, however, and this is a really interesting blog article. Arya-Akasha has other blogs about other Greek Deities that I am definitely going to check out!

Fire, Walk with Me!