fire

Symbol of purity, purification, or divinity in many religions and cultures, in which sacrifice is or has been a central ritual. In Christianity, however, the fires of hell are traditionally opposed to the light of God and heaven.

In classical antiquity, fire was the attribute of Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, and in Rome the Vestal Virgins guarded the sacred flame of Vesta in her shrine in the Forum. In classical mythology, fire was stolen from the gods and given to humans by Prometheus. In Indian Vedic ritual, Agni was honoured as the sacrificial fire that mediated between gods and humans, and which was the responsibility of the Brahmans. In Zoroastrianism, fire is the son of the supreme god Ahura Mazda. A remnant of symbolic purification still persists in the bonfires lit at Halloween to chase away evil spirits.