Hestia is the Greek word for the hearth, which held the fire central to any house, family, or city. As the all-important hearth, she doesn't leave the house to socialize with the other gods, so she rarely appears in myth. In ritual, however, she received libations and offerings of food at the beginning of meals, so held a prominent place in the personal lives of the Greeks. Her status as one of the three virgin goddesses is explained in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite .