Goddess of the hearth and home, and protector of suppliants and guests. She represented personal security and happiness, and the sacred duty of hospitality. Characterised as the most gentle, peace-loving, and charitable of the Olympian gods.
Above: Detail from an Athenian red-figure clay vase, about 525-475 BC, Tarquinia, Museo Nazionale Tarquiniese RC 6848 © Museo Nazionale Tarquiniese