HECATE: GODDESS OF LIMINALITY AND MAGIC

Abstract

Hecate is a complex and enigmatic goddess in ancient Greek religion, associated with boundaries, transformation, and magic. Her depiction evolves from a cosmic power in Hesiod’s Theogony to a chthonic, liminal figure in later texts such as the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica, and Lycophron’s Alexandra. She is linked to necromancy, nocturnal rituals, and the supernatural. Hecate is also invoked in curse tablets and Greek magical papyri. This article explores how a range of literary texts, supplemented by ritual and magical evidence where appropriate, establishes Hecate as a powerful mediator between realms, shaping ancient Greek understandings of transition, the divine, and magical practice. By tracing how boundary language (spatial, generational, nocturnal, and ritual) structures these texts, the article argues that Hecate’s liminality is not a later accretion but a coherent literary logic visible across genres.