Ἑκάτη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• Ἑκᾰ́τᾱ (Hekátā)

Etymology

Possibly the feminine equivalent of Ἑκατός (Hekatós) or ἑκάεργος (hekáergos), an obscure epithet of Apollo, derived from ἑκάς (hekás, “far away”), variously interpreted as "one who works/operates from afar," "one who drives off," "the far reaching one" or "the far-darter." Apollo was the twin brother of Artemis, who was very closely associated (and sometimes conflated) with Hekate. Or possibly from an Anatolian language.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /he.ká.tɛː/ → /eˈka.ti/ → /eˈka.ti/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /he.ká.tɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /(h)eˈka.te̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /eˈka.ti/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈka.ti/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈka.ti/

Proper noun

Ἑκᾰ́τη • (Hekátē) f (genitive Ἑκᾰ́της); first declension

1. (Greek mythology) Hecate

Inflection

First declension of ἡ Ἑκᾰ́τη; τῆς Ἑκᾰ́της (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Ἑκᾰ́τη hē Hekátē
Genitive	τῆς Ἑκᾰ́της tês Hekátēs
Dative	τῇ Ἑκᾰ́τῃ têi Hekátēi
Accusative	τὴν Ἑκᾰ́την tḕn Hekátēn
Vocative	Ἑκᾰ́τη Hekátē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Ἑκᾰτεῖον (Hekateîon)
• Ἑκᾰταῖος (Hekataîos)
• Ἑκᾰ́της δεῖπνον (Hekátēs deîpnon, “Hekate's dinner”)
• Ἑκᾰταῖᾰ κᾰτεσθίειν (Hekataîa katesthíein, “rapscallion”)

Descendants

• English: Hecate
• Greek: Εκάτη (Ekáti)
• Latin: Hecatē
• → Russian: Гека́та (Gekáta)

Further reading

• “Ἑκάτη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἑκάτη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Ἑκάτη in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,012
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN