Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Hecale ( ''Hekálē'') was an old woman who offered succor to

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

on his way to capture the Marathonian Bull.

Mythology

On the way to

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

to capture the Bull, Theseus sought shelter from a storm in a shack owned by an ancient lady named Hecale. She swore to make a sacrifice to

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

if Theseus was successful in capturing the bull. Theseus did capture the bull but when he returned to Hecale's hut, she was dead. Theseus built a

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

in her honor ( Hecale was a deme of the tribe Leontis). The legend is described in a fragmentary poem, the '' Hecale'', by

Callimachus Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which ...

and in the "Life of Theseus" by

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

. Translation of Plutarch's text:

"Theseus, wishing to be actively employed, and at the same time to win the favour of the people, went out against the Marathonian bull, which was causing no small annoyance to the inhabitants of the Tetrapolis, and he overcame the bull and drove it through the city to exhibitit, after which he sacrificed it to Apollo Delphinius. Hecale and the legend of her reception and entertainment (of Theseus) seem to be not quite without some portion of truth. For the demes round about used to meet and hold a Hecalesian festival in honour of Zeus Hecalus, and honoured Hecale, whom they called by the pet name Hecaline, because when she entertained Theseus, who at the time was quite young, she addressed him as an old woman would and greeted him with that sort of pet names. When Theseus was setting out to the contest she vowed in his behalf to offer a sacrifice to Zeus if he came back safe. She died, however, before his return, and received the above mentioned honours, in return for her hospitality, by order of Theseus, as Philochorus relates."

One of today's Athens northern suburbs, Ekáli, an affluent and very exclusive residential community on the western foot of

Mount Penteli Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part wi ...

, is called by that name.

Hecalesia

Hecalesia (Εκαλήσια), a festival at Athens in honour of

Hecalesius (Ἑκάλειος Ζεύς) and Hecale.Plutarch, Theseus, 14
/ref>

References

External links

* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Lives'' with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
Women in Greek mythology Mythological people from Attica {{Greek-myth-stub