She was the first child born to Kronos and Rhea, and the first to be swallowed by her father when he learned that his children would overthrow him. When Zeus finally freed his siblings, Hestia emerged last—making her both the eldest and the youngest of the original Olympians. The Greeks called her 'Hestia First and Last,' and every prayer, every sacrifice, every feast began and ended with her name.
Both Poseidon and Apollo sought her hand in marriage, but Hestia wanted neither of them. She went to Zeus and swore a great oath upon the River Styx: she would remain a virgin goddess forever, tending the sacred flames rather than taking a husband. Zeus honored her choice and gave her a place at the center of every home. The hearth became her altar, and no Greek house was complete without a...