HESTIA, the Greek goddess of the domestic and communal hearth, is closely allied to the Roman goddess Vesta. Hestia, the eldest child of Kronos and Rhea, was swallowed by her father at birth, and was the last to emerge from the patriarchal "womb" when Zeus liberated his siblings. The motif of first and last recurs frequently in the traditions associated with her. She receives the first and last libation offered at every feast, no matter what divinity is being honored. Although she was an original member of the Olympian Twelve, there is a tradition that at some point she yielded her place to Dionysos—a tradition but, typically, no story. Indeed, there are almost no stories about this least anthropomorphic of the major Greek divinities.

Hestia's name also served as a common noun designating the hearth and its fire; most essentially, she was the fire at the center...