Hecate has been seen in multiple cultures.  She was referenced by the Chaldean's in the Chaldean Oracles. Today many Wiccans hold her as the Crone aspect of the triple goddess.

I think it is difficult for us to look at a deity today and really know if that image we see today is actually what is intended.  I believe that we as humans use the magical to explain what we cannot understand and to help us be better people.
The attributes of deities, protectors, defenders these are the things that we want to embody.  These are the things that we hold dear to us.  We create these beings to remind us of what we can be.