Hestia

Hestia (Greek: Ἑστία, "hearth" or "fireside") is the virgin goddess of the hearth, architecture, and the right ordering of domesticity, the family, and the state in ancient Greek religion and mythology. She is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and sister to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Demeter. Hestia is often depicted as a modest and peaceful goddess, who was honored in every household as the symbol of the family's unity and welfare. In Roman mythology, she is known as Vesta, and in Etruscan mythology, she is known as Vestia. The Hebrew translation for Hestia is חסטיה. Hestia's role was so central to Greek life that she had a public temple and a public hearth in the agora (marketplace) of every ancient Greek city, and in Athens, her priestess was the highest-ranking female official in the city. She was also one of the twelve Olympians, but she gave up her seat to Dionysus to maintain peace among the gods. Her Roman equivalent, Vesta, was similarly revered, and the Vestal Virgins, her priestesses, held significant religious and political influence in ancient Rome.