Hestia

"You are a good hero, Percy Jackson. Not too proud. I like that. But you have much to learn. When Dionysus was made a god, I gave up my throne for him. It was the only way to avoid a civil war among the gods."

- Hestia

Hestia (Εστια in Ancient Greek ) is the goddess of the hearth and home. She is also the firstborn child of Kronos and Rhea. Her symbols are the flowering branch, fireplace, cooking kettle, and crane. Her Roman counterpart is Vesta. Hestia is known as the oldest and youngest of Kronos and Rhea's children- she was born first, but when she and her siblings were regurgitated by her father, she was the last one out. She is the

History
Hestia was the first born child of the Titans Kronos and Rhea. She was the goddess of the hearth and home, and every household in Greece had a sacrificial flame in her honor. Like Hades, and Poseidon, she was swallowed by Kronos, and spent her childhood inside of his stomach, until her brother, Zeus, to come and rescue her and her siblings. Because she was the first to be swallowed and the last to be to be thrown up by Kronos, she is considered to be the oldest and youngest goddess.

Hestia doesn't appear in any myths except for one myth which is barely spoken of. In this story, she is nearly courted while sleeping. The criminal responsible is Priapus, a minor god of fertility (noted for his permanent erection). He almost succeeded but a donkey woke up Hestia just as he began lowering himself. She then screamed at such a high pitch it woke up the other Olympians, who laughed at his embarrassment.

The Lightning Thief
Hestia is first mentioned by Chiron to Percy while discussing the arguments between Zeus and Poseidon, and how she, along with their sisters, Demeter and Hera, could possibly calm them down.

In the final book of the series, it is revealed that the little girl tending the hearth when Percy first arrived at camp was, in fact, Hestia. This makes her the first of the actual Olympian gods that Percy encountered but the last to have her identity revealed.

The Last Olympian
Hestia makes her second appearance in The Last Olympian. She first appears as an eight-year-old girl in Westport, Connecticut after Percy and Nico meet Ms. Castellan. She tells Percy that in order to understand Luke, his enemy, he must first understand Luke's family. She gives Percy constant visions of Luke's upbringing as a way to gain insight as to what he has gone through and why he made the choices that he did. At Olympus, She helps Rachel realize her destiny as the Oracle of Delphi. In the end, Hestia reminds Percy that when all the other gods are away in the fight, hearth and home are what will always remain. It is this that makes Luke regain control when Annabeth reminds him of his promise to protect her, and his statement that they were a family. Percy also entrusts her with Pandora's Pithos, which Prometheus had given him in order to tempt him into surrender. He claims that she should be its guardian because hope survives best at the hearth, and the Pithos does not continue to follow Percy relentlessly. She also has a minor part in the ultimate battle with Kronos, where she superheats the scythe when it falls in the hearth; assuring it cannot be handled, making her the only shown God to participate in a fight with Kronos. Percy then sees her image in the flames looking disapprovingly at her father. At the end of the series, she is seen again as a little girl tending the hearth at Camp and winking at Percy, implying that she is content not being noticed, as long as some people do notice her once in a while.

Personality
When Dionysus became an Olympian, she gave up her seat on Olympus to avoid conflict, fading into the background to tend the hearth of the Olympians instead. She appears to be of a calm and humble disposition, and tells Percy that not all powers are spectacular. She vowed on the head of Zeus to be a virgin forever, and therefore has no demigod children. She also appeared to like Nico as he was one of the first people to talk to her in years.

Appearance
Hestia is described by Percy (when he first meets her) as an eight year old girl with mousy-brown hair and eyes that are filled with fire (similar to Ares' eyes, although Hestia's are described as being warm and cozy.) She wears a simple brown dress (or sometimes brown robes) with a scarf wrapped around her head, and is often seen with a stick that she uses to tend to fires.

Powers

 * Control over fire as the personification of the hearth.
 * Can allow others to witness events from the past, present, and future that deal with the family
 * As the goddess of home and family, all things related to homes and family relationships are under her power.
 * Can summon delicious food, a power also exhibited by Hera. Percy says that her food tastes like the home-cooked meals everyone should have had growing up with.
 * Possesses the standard abilities of a goddess.

Vesta
Hestia can change her appearance and turn into her Roman counterpart, Vesta. As Vesta, she becomes more disciplined, warlike, and militaristic. In ancient times, the Vestals were virgin priestesses named in honor of the goddess. It was their duty to maintain the sacred fire and spread it to every Roman household. Whereas Hestia was envisioned as the goddess of domesticity, Vesta was considered to be the guardian of the Roman state.

Homeric Hymn
''Hestia, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honor: glorious is your portion and your right. For without you mortals hold no banquet, where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last. --Homeric Hymn to Hestia''

Trivia

 * When asked to describe Hestia's cabin at camp, Riordan said that she has no cabin because it just wasn't her style.
 * Hestia would be the last Olympian as if the thrones of the gods are destroyed, her place is at the hearth and the home so she does not have a throne.
 * The fact that she is the first Olympian encountered by Percy but the last to have her identity revealed may be a reference to her being the first of Kronos' children born but the last regurgetated by him.
 * She is one of the Three Virgin Goddesses, Athena (whose children are born through a meeting of minds, not bodies) and Artemis are the other two.