Temple of Athena the Savior

Hestia, First and Last

Gentlest of the Olympians

The Quiet One

She Who tends the hearth

Goddess of home, of family, of hospitality

Peaceful harmony is Her creed

So precious are the bonds of family to Her

That when Apollo and Poseidon began to quarrel for Her hand

She forsook marriage altogether

So as not to be the cause of conflict

Where before there had been only goodwill.

She desires not power or fame,

Neither does She feel the need to found Her own dynasty

When there are already so many needy souls to attend to.

She is The Heart of All Things,

The Axis round which we revolve,

The peaceful calm that all Gods cycle back to

(Eventually, when Their tempestuous rages have ended)

And She calmly invites Them back in,

For a hot meal and some pleasant conversation.

Hestia is the Home,

She is the fire of love in our hearts,

The serenity of knowing where we stand

That we will always have a place to go to

As long as we can put aside our anger and make peace.

Hestia, so often overlooked,

Because She is deemed not “exciting” enough

Is very often the very thing we need most,

The fire most lacking in modern homes

Where the crackling fire has been replaced

By the glow of multiple smartphone screens

Where meals are eaten in silence

And the family no longer engages with each other

Please, gentle Goddess, return now to Earth,

And teach us again the value of family and hearth

For we surely have need of You now.