Today’s topic is other deities and entities related to the deity. As the Hellenic Pantheon is in essence one large family and Hestia’s “close” family encompasses over 100 deities (if you include the Titan deities like Helios, Selene, Hekate, and Prometheus) I am focusing more on another entity. Each person, and each household as well, had what was called an Agathos Daimon (trans. Good Spirit) — what would be called in this day and age a “guardian angel”.

This being would serve in as the household’s protective spirit and was actually given cultus in the ancient world because of that protective role. Because of this connection to the household, there is a logical connection between the Agathos Daimon and Hestia. Also, because the hearth is the center of the household and families would tend to occupy the same home for generations, Hestia also has connection with the ancestral spirits of the oikos.

Guests were also considered to be under her special protection. This is something that I will also be going into more in another post so I’m only going to be touching on it here.