This festival is to be distinguished from the later sacrifice of a ram to the same goddess on the sixth of the month Thargelion, probably intended as an act of propitiation. 48.) In addition to Zeus, Demeter had a lover, Iasion (a Cretan), to whom she bore Plutus (Wealth; i.e., abundant produce of the soil). Sat. The legend centres on the story of her daughter Persephone, who is carried off by Hades, the god of the underworld. . 138; Orph. Demeter appeared most commonly as a grain goddess. In Cyprus, "grain-harvesting" was damatrizein. Many of her surnames are descriptive of the character of the goddess. iv. Demeter was depicted as a mature woman, often wearing a crown and bearing sheafs of wheat or a cornucopia (horn of plenty), and a torch. The Romans referred to Demeter as Ceres. Lovely delightful queen, by all desired, who dwellest in Eleusis' holy vales retired. ", Callimachus, Hymn 6 to Demeter 58 ff (trans. iii. Fab. "[Demeter mourning Persephone] walked behind . When she had so said, the goddess changed her stature and her looks, thrusting old age away from her [i.e. (4) Thalysia, a thanksgiving festival held in autumn after the harvest in the island of Cos. (5) The Thesmophoria, a women’s festival meant to improve the fruitfulness of the seed grain. 17), is certainly not the original tradition, since the worship of Demeter was introduced into Sicily by colonists from Megara and Corinth. Greek Lyric IV) (C5th B.C.) Only-begotten, much-producing queen, all flowers are thine, and fruits of lovely green. ", Greek Lyric V Scolia, Fragment 885 (trans. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Penn Arts and Sciences - The Department of Classical Studies - Demeter, Demeter - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Demeter - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). § 4; Plin. And as unsandalled and with hair unbound we walk the city, so shall we have foot and head unharmed for ever. Met. v. 3; Cic. Argon. Paus. Met. § 1; Strab. <>Her assault by Poseidon who forcefully coupled with her in the for… i. Met. viii. On the tenth she met Hecate, who told her that she had heard the cries of Persephone, but did not know who had carried her off. Max. 12, iii. Zeus now sent Rhea to persuade Demeter to return to Olympus, and also granted that Persephone should spend only a part of the year (i. e. the winter) in subterraneous darkness, and that during the rest of the year she should remain with her mother. Hail, goddess! DEMETER, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. i. These two etymologies, however do not suggest any difference in the character of the goddess, but leave it essentially the same. Campbell, Vol. . and crowned her hair with chaplets of corn. She presided over the foremost of the Mystery Cults which promised its intiates the path to a blessed afterlife in the realm of Elysium. At Eleusis both were joined by Hecate, who henceforth remained the attendant and companion of Persephone. The Romans identified Demeter with Ceres. ", Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter 182 ff : As the goddess of the earth she was like the other theoi chthonioi, a subterraneous divinity, who worked in the regions inaccessible to the rays of Helios. 912; Diod. Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when a huge crack opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld. Picture of the goddess Demeter mourning the loss of Persephone Demeter and the Earth Goddesses Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) : Orphic Hymn 40 to Demeter (trans. . . 21. p. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C7th or 6th B.C.) 11; Diod. ad Hesiod. to C1st A.D.) : The festival took place, probably sometime in September, at Eleusis. It was also called Proarktouria, an indication that it was held before the rising of Arcturus. . the Nesteia, the second day of the Thesmophoria, a day of fasting]. ; And to them Deo shall give all things to overflowing, even as if they came unto her temple. Lady of much bounty, of many measures of corn.’ As the Basket comes, from the ground shall ye behold it, ye uninitiated, and gaze not from the roof or from aloft--child nor wife nor maid hath shed her hair [i.e. (Paus. Her priestess also initiated young married people into the duties of their new situation. Ov. 35. (Hygin. Tho name Demeter is supposed by some to be the same as gê mêtêr, that is, mother earth, while others consider Deo, which is synonymous with Demeter, as connected with dais and dainumi, and as derived from the Cretan word dêai, barley, so that Demeter would be the mother or giver of barley or of food generally. Greek Name Roman Name Description; Zeus: Jupiter: King of Gods: Hera: Juno: Goddess of Marriage: Poseidon: Neptune: God of the Sea: Cronos: Saturn: Youngest son of Uranus, Father of Zeus: Aphrodite: Venus: Goddess of Love: Hades: Pluto: God of the Underworld: Hephaistos: Vulcan: God of the Forge: Demeter: Ceres: Goddess of the Harvest: Apollo: Apollo: God of Music and Medicine: Athena: Minerva Among the many festivals celebrated in her honour, the Thesmophoria and Eleusinia were the principal ones. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). "To a sacred feast; the blonde goddess [Demeter] came. She wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter, during which time the crops withered and it became perpetual winter. Rhea accordingly descended to the Rharian plain near Eleusis, and conciliated Demeter, who now again allowed the fruits of the fields to grow. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) As the goddess still continued in her anger, and produced famine on the earth by not allowing the fields to produce any fruit, Zeus, anxious that the race of mortals should not become extinct, sent Iris to induce Demeter to return to Olympus. p. 373), in Crete (Schol. : Ovid, Metamorphoses 5. 6. Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow one day when a huge crack opened up in the earth and Hades, King of the Dead, emerged from the Underworld. § 1, 42. 58; Hom. viii. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.) : xiii. Fast. The most prominent part in the mythus of Demeter is the rape of her daughter Persephone by Pluto, and this story not only suggests the main idea embodied in Demeter, but also directs our attention to the principal seats of her worship. 914), or in the neighbourhood of Pisa. Feed our kine, bring us flocks, bring us the corn-ear, bring us harvest! Oed. 21. . The mythus of Demeter and her daughter embodies the idea, that the productive powers of the earth or nature rest or are concealed during the winter season; the goddess (Demeter and Persephone, also called Cora, are here identified) then rules in the depth of the earth mournful, but striving upwards to the all-animating light.