Hestia was a goddess of the Greek
Unlike most goddesses, she was unique
She was the goddess of fire
And her personality was one to admire
Mild, gentle, forgiving and peaceful was she,
Secure, stable, and welcoming is the way to be.

Rhea was her mother, Cronus was her dad
When Hestia was their first child, Cronus got mad
He swallowed her up, just like the rest
Thank goodness his stomach did not at all digest
For Rhea wanted her babies back, so she thought of a scheme on her own
She finally tricked him instead of eating a baby, to eat a solid stone.
And he swallowed it with some water from a cup,
Rhea’s plan worked, for all her babies came back up!

Hestia refused to marry all her life
Even when both Apollo and Poseidon asked her to be their wife,
She had made an un-wedding pact with Zeus
And she decided that was a good enough excuse
Because she wanted to remain alone
And learn to live out on her own.
As a reward, Zeus gave her the key to the thrown
Then forever and ever she called Mount Olympus her home.
Hestia always welcomed a guest
And she always kept Mount Olympus looking its best
There were always clean clothes, and good food to eat,
Of all the goddesses, Hestia was the elite.

One night the lustful Priapus came to her bed,
He had planned to rape her, and then she would be forced to wed
The donkey is the symbol of lust,
And it must have magically sensed Priapus’ unjust
For right then he made a great noise, that awoke Hestia so,
And Priapus fled before they managed to say hello.

Hestia is sometimes confused as a famous hotel
But it is the name of many places to dwell.
She was associated with such great hospitality
That her name grew into franchise immortality
Many taverns, inns, hotels, and restaurants are named alike,
But none can compare to what Hestia’s comfort was like.
As the Complete Goddess, she is known
And she became perfectly well balanced all on her own,
Of all the gods and goddesses she was most gentle
When anyone was arguing, she never was involved or became judgmental.
She had an unconditional love for all,
Even though in recent times she is hard to recall
For in the present she has been forgotten, as most heroes do
Although most of her traditions we still pursue
The Olympic Torch is held in her name,
We may not know it, but the never-ending fire was her claim to fame.
Also when a candle is lit by two newly-weds
It is Hestia’s blessing that the tradition spreads.

For a modernly unknown goddess, she sure did a lot,
It is uncanny how someone so miraculous could be forgot.
So now we must spread her teachings, as good people do
She taught us to be kind people, and to be pure to yourself,
Because she understood the only way to learn about love, is to love
oneself.

 
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