Triform Hekate, Apotropaic Goddess
CARIA, Halicarnassus. Hadrian. AD 117-138. Æ 26mm (10.59 g, 6h). Struck circa AD 117-125. AYTOKPATOP TPAIAN[OC AΔ]PIANOC KAIC, laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder / AΛIKAP-NACCЄΩN, triform Hekate standing facing, holding torch in each hand. SNG Kayhan -; SNG München -; SNG Tübingen -; SNG Copenhagen -; SNG von Aulock -; SNG Righetti -; BMC -; Lindgren & Kovacs -; Lindgren III -; MPR II -; McClean -; Weber -; Mionnet -. VF, some surface pits. Apparently unpublished, and one of only a handful of types known for Hadrian from Halicarnassus.
Although perhaps originally conceived as cthonic goddess similar to Artemis, in Greek mythology Hekate was transformed into a nefarious deity associated with witches, ghosts, and curses. The origin of her cult can perhaps be traced to Caria, where her most prominent cult site of Lagina was located and where names stemming from Hekate (itself apparently derived from Hekatos, or “far-shooting”, an epithet of Apollo) are well-attested. From at least the Classical period she was shown in triplicate form as a goddess of the crossroads, comparable to the Roman Trivia, whose image was set up at boundaries to keep out evil spirits.
