Ἑκάτη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Ἑκᾰ́τᾱ (Hekắtā)

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,"^[1] "the far reaching one" or "the far-darter."^[2] Apollo was the twin brother of Artemis, who was very closely associated (and sometimes conflated) with Hekate. Or possibly from an Anatolian language.

Pronunciation

(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 • (Hekắtē) f (genitive Ἑκᾰ́της); first declension

(Greek mythology) Hecate

Inflection

First declension of ἡ Ἑκᾰ́τη; τῆς Ἑκᾰ́της (Attic)

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

Derived terms

Ἑκᾰτεῖον (Hekăteîon)
Ἑκᾰταῖος (Hekătaîos)
Ἑκᾰ́της δεῖπνον (Hekắtēs deîpnon, “Hekate's dinner”)
Ἑκᾰταῖᾰ κᾰτεσθίειν (Hekătaîă kătesthíein, “rapscallion”)

Descendants

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

References

^ Charles Anthon, A Classical Dictionary (Harper & Brothers, 1869)
^ P. E. Wheelwright, Metaphor and Reality (1975, →ISBN

“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 (2006–2025)
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

[1] Charles Anthon, A Classical Dictionary (Harper & Brothers, 1869)

[2] P. E. Wheelwright, Metaphor and Reality (1975, →ISBN

[1]

[2]