Virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and chastity. She is a daughter of Rhea and Cronus, and a sister of Zeus. Not often identifiable in Greek art, she appeared as a modestly veiled woman. Her symbols are the hearth (fire) and kettle. In some accounts, she gave up her seat as one of the Twelve Olympians in favor of Dionysus. In the earlier time she played a bigger role in Greek myths, because she protected the fire place, where the life in a house took place. Her Roman counterpart Vesta, however, was a major deity of the Roman state.

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