Hecale

For the Greek epyllion by Callimachus, see Hecale (poem).

In Greek mythology, Hecale (Greek: Ἑκάλη Hekálē), was an old woman who offered succor to Theseus on his way to capture the Marathonian Bull.

On the way to Marathon to capture the Bull, Theseus sought shelter from a storm in a shack owned by an ancient lady named Hecale. She swore to make a sacrifice to Zeus if Theseus was successful in capturing the bull. Theseus did capture the bull but when he returned to Hecale's hut, she was dead.

Theseus built a deme in her honor (Hecale was a deme of the tribe Leontis). The legend is described in a fragmentary poem, the Hecale, by Callimachus and in the "Life of Theseus" by Plutarch.

One of today's Athens northern suburbs, Ekáli, an affluent and very exclusive residential community on the western foot of Mount Penteli, is called by that name.