Hestia is the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and she is the sister of Zeus. This firstborn of the Olympians is the Goddess of fire, particularly the hearth, the symbol of the home. A newborn child is carried arround the hearth to be received into the family. The center of Greek life was the domestic hearth, which was also used as a sacrificial altar. Hestia, as the Goddess of the hearth, represented personal security and happiness and the sacred duty of hospitality. She is one of the three virgin Goddesses, although both Apollo and Poseidon wooed her as rival suitors following the dethronement of Cronus by Zeus. Hestia at that time vowed by Zeus's head, to remain a virgin forever. A drunken brute named Priapus once tried to violate her, following a feast attended by the Gods and after everyone had passed out from too much food and drink. Luckily for Hestia, a donkey brayed out loud and she awoke to find Priapus about to jump onto her. Her screams sent the startled Priapus running off in comic terror. That myth served to give warning against sacriligious ill-treatment of female guests who are under the protection of the domestic or public hearth. It is notable that even so the donkey is a symbol of lust, he was the one to announce Priapus wicket attempt. Hestia was universally revered, not only because she was the mildest, most upright and most charitable of all the Olympians, but also as having invented the art of building houses. Although she was rarely depicted in art and because of her serene and stable nature, played almost no part in myths, but she was held in the highest honor, by both the Greeks and the Romans. Her temples were circular and were served by virgin priestesses who dedicated their lives to her. Each city also had a public hearth sacred to Hestia, where the fire was never allowed to go out. Many triangular or leaf shaped ladles in stone or clay have been discovered in Cretan and Mycenaean shrines, which seem to have been used for tending the sacred fire. As Goddess of the hearth, she never left the lofty adobe of the eternal Gods and never intervened in the stormy history of the Gods. Among the great Olympians, she never took part in wars or disputes there of. Hestia's brief stories, are too scanty to instruct us. Her traits and not her actions, define her most. These virtues define the goddess Hestia: mild, gentle, forgiving, peaceful, serene, dignified, calm, secure and welcoming. Individualized Goddess symbols for each Goddess were incorporated into the worship of the ancient Goddesses. They were often worn as jewelry and also used within the household decor as talisman, to seek the Goddesses special gifts, blessings or protection. A large number of Goddess symbols have survived in statuary and other works of art. Many symbols come from the legends surrounding a specific Goddess and are characters from her story. The symbols of some, were from the rituals of the ancient rites of worship. Hestia is often represented by her personality trait, the sacred flame and her contributions to civilization, to personal households and to architecture. Often is Hestia associated with Hermes, then both were representative of home and domestic life. In later philosophy Hestia became the hearth of the universe, the personification of the earth as the center of the universe.The Romans identified Hestia with Vesta.