Hecate Trivia
An epithet of Hecate as goddess of crossroads and three-way intersections, where offerings were left at night to appease her and the restless dead.
The Myth of Hecate Trivia
Hecate Trivia — Trioditis in Greek, Trivia in Latin — governed the dangerous liminal spaces where three roads met. She was an ancient goddess, a Titan who retained her honours under Zeus after the Titanomachy. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, it was Hecate who heard her cries and later guided Demeter with torches to find her daughter. She became Persephone's companion in the Underworld, escorting souls between the realms of living and dead. At crossroads, Greeks placed three-faced images of Hecate called hekataion, and each month's deipna (suppers) were left at these junctions for the goddess and her retinue of ghosts and restless spirits. Her association with Medea, Circe, and all practitioners of magic made her the patron goddess of witchcraft, herbalism, and necromancy.
Parents
Perses (Titan), Asteria
Symbols
Fun Fact
The English word "trivial" comes directly from Hecate's Latin epithet Trivia (three roads). Something "trivial" was originally something found at crossroads — common, picked up anywhere. The goddess of witchcraft and the dead accidentally gave us our word for "unimportant," which is arguably the greatest demotion in etymological history.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Hecate
⚡ godGoddess of crossroads, magic, and the liminal
The triple-formed goddess of crossroads, sorcery, and the boundaries between worlds — honoured by Zeus above all other deities.
Hecate
⚡ godGoddess of crossroads, magic, and the moon
A powerful Titan goddess associated with crossroads, doorways, magic, witchcraft, and the night. Hecate was one of the few Titans honored by Zeus after the Titanomachy.
Trivia
⚡ godCrossroads, magic, night, the underworld
Roman goddess of crossroads and sorcery, equivalent to the Greek Hecate
God of Crossroads
💭 conceptCrossroads, boundaries, transitions, travellers
Hermes and Hecate both guard crossroads, where travellers face choices between paths and worlds intersect.
Diana
⚡ godHunt, moon, wilderness, crossroads
Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and wild places, identified with the Greek Artemis
Melinoe
⚡ godUnderworld
A chthonic goddess of ghosts and nightmares who drove mortals to madness with spectral visions
Empousa
🐉 creaturedemons
A shape-shifting demoness with one bronze leg and one donkey leg who preyed on travellers
Persephone
⚡ godQueen of the Underworld
The daughter of Demeter who became queen of the dead — the goddess who bridges the living world and the realm of the departed.
Atropos
goddessdeath, the cutting of the life-thread, inevitability
The eldest and most feared of the three Moirai, Atropos cuts the thread of life at the moment of death, choosing how each person dies.
Perses
🏔 titanTitan of destruction and ravaging
A Titan associated with destruction who fathered Hecate, the goddess of crossroads and magic.
Charites
⚡ godGrace, beauty, and festivity
Collective name for the three Graces who embodied charm, beauty, and creative inspiration
Proserpina
⚡ godSpring, underworld, renewal
Roman queen of the underworld and goddess of spring growth, equivalent to the Greek Persephone