Editing Demeter

{{Short description|Greek goddess of the harvest, grains, and agriculture}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Demeter
| god_of = Goddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility, and sacred law
| member_of = the [[Twelve Olympians]]
| image = Demeter Altemps Inv8546.jpg
| caption = A marble statue of Demeter, [[National Roman Museum]]
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]]
| symbol = [[Cornucopia]], [[wheat]], [[torch]], [[poppy]], [[bread]]
| consort = [[Zeus]], [[Poseidon]], [[Iasion]], [[Carmanor (of Crete)|Karmanor]], [[Mecon (mythology)|Mecon]]
| parents = [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]
| siblings = [[Hestia]], [[Hera]], [[Hades]], [[Poseidon]], [[Zeus]]
| children = [[Persephone]], [[Despoina]], [[Eubuleus]], [[Arion (mythology)|Arion]], [[Plutus]], [[Philomelus]], [[Iacchus]], [[Acheron]], [[Hecate]] {{small|(Orphic)}}
| mount = 
| festivals = [[Thesmophoria]], [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], [[Lithobolia (festival)|Lithobolia]]
| equivalent1_type = Egyptian
| equivalent1 = [[Isis]]
| animals = Pig, serpent, gecko, [[Columbidae|turtledove]], crane, [[screech owl]]
| roman_equivalent = [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]]
}}

{{Special characters}}
{{Ancient Greek religion}}

[[File:IAM 4942T - Relief of Demeter.jpg|thumb|280px|Marble relief of Demeter. Late Classical period, 4th ct. BC. Istanbul Archaeological Museums]]

In [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], '''Demeter''' ({{IPAc-en|d|ɪ|ˈ|m|iː|t|ər|}}; [[Attic Greek|Attic]]: {{lang|grc|Δημήτηρ}} ''Dēmḗtēr'' {{IPA|el|dɛːmɛ́ːtɛːr|}}; [[Doric Greek|Doric]]: {{lang|grc|Δαμάτηρ}} ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian]] goddess of the [[harvest]] and [[agriculture]], presiding over [[crops]], [[grain]]s, [[food]], and the [[fertility (soil)|fertility]] of the earth. Although Demeter is mostly known as a grain goddess, she also appeared as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage, and had connections to the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature |date=1995 |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |isbn=9780877790426 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=eKNK1YwHcQ4C&pg=PA314 314]}}</ref> She is also called '''Deo''' ({{lang|grc|Δηώ}} ''Dēṓ'').<ref>{{LSJ|*dhw/|Δηώ}}</ref> 

In Greek tradition, Demeter is the second child of the [[Titans]] [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]] and [[Cronus]], and sister to [[Hestia]], [[Hera]], [[Hades]], [[Poseidon]], and [[Zeus]]. Like her other siblings except Zeus, she was swallowed by her father as an infant and rescued by Zeus. Through Zeus, she became the mother of [[Persephone]], a fertility goddess and [[Dying-and-rising deity|resurrection deity]].<ref>Lorena Laura Stookey, ''Thematic Guide to World Mythology'', p. 99.</ref><ref>Lee W. Bailey, "Dying and rising gods" in: David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden and Stanton Marlan (eds.) ''Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion'' (2009) {{ISBN|038771801X}} Springer, pages 266–267</ref> One of the most notable ''[[Homeric Hymns]]'', the ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'', tells the story of Persephone's abduction by Hades and Demeter's search for her. When Hades, the King of the Underworld, wished to make Persephone his wife, he abducted her from a field while she was picking flowers, with Zeus' leave. Demeter searched everywhere to find her missing daughter to no avail until she was informed that Hades had taken her to the Underworld. In response, Demeter neglected her duties as goddess of agriculture, plunging the earth into a deadly famine where nothing would grow, causing mortals to die. Zeus ordered Hades to return Persephone to her mother to avert the disaster. However, because Persephone had eaten food from the Underworld, she could not stay with Demeter forever, but had to divide the year between her mother and her husband, explaining the seasonal cycle as Demeter does not let plants grow while Persephone is gone.

Her cult titles include Sito ({{lang|grc|Σιτώ}}), "she of the Grain",<ref>{{LSJ|*sitw/|Σιτώ}}. [[Cf.]] {{LSJ|si{{=}}tos|σῖτος|ref}}.</ref> as the giver of food or grain,<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica]], scholia on [[Homer]], 265.</ref> and [[Thesmophoria|Thesmophoros]] ({{lang|grc|θεσμός}}, ''thesmos'': divine order, unwritten law; {{lang|grc|φόρος}}, ''phoros'': bringer, bearer), "giver of customs" or "legislator", in association with the secret female-only festival called the Thesmophoria.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HZYx__5mqZEC&q=thesmophoros+%22giver+of+customs%22&pg=PT661 |title=The Broadview Anthology of Social and Political Thought - Volume 2: The Twentieth Century and Beyond |publisher=[[Broadview Press]] |page=643 |language=en}}</ref> Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the [[religious law|sacred law]] and the cycle of life and death. She and Persephone were the central figures of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], which promised the initiated a happy [[afterlife]]. This religious tradition was based on ancient agrarian cults of agricultural communities and predated the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian pantheon]], probably having its roots in the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean period]] {{circa|1400}}–1200 BC.<ref>[[John Chadwick]], ''The Mycenean World'', [[Cambridge University Press]], 1976.</ref> 

Demeter was often considered to be the same figure as the [[Anatolia]]n goddess [[Cybele]], and she was identified with the Roman goddess [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]].

== Etymology ==
Demeter may appear in [[Linear A]] as ''da-ma-te'' on three documents ([[Arkalochori|AR]] Zf 1 and 2, and [[Kythera|KY]] Za 2), all three dedicated to religious situations and all three bearing just the name (''i-da-ma-te'' on AR Zf 1 and 2).<ref>Y. Duhoux, "LA > B da-ma-te=Déméter? Sur la langue du linéaire A," Minos
29/30 (1994–1995): 289–294.</ref> It is unlikely that Demeter appears as ''da-ma-te'' in a [[Linear B]] ([[Mycenean Greek]]) inscription ([[Pylos|PY]] En 609); the word {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀅𐀔𐀳}}}}, ''da-ma-te'', probably refers to "households".<ref>Y. Duhoux and A. Morpurgo-Davies, Companion to Linear B, vol. 2 (2011), p. 26. But see Ventris/Chadwick, ''Documents in Mycenean Greek'', p. 242, B.Dietriech (2004), ''The origins of the Greek religion'', Bristol Phoenix Press, p. 172</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=da-ma-te |url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/da/da-ma-te/|website=Deaditerranean. Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B |access-date=13 March 2014 |archive-date=18 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318004206/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/da/da-ma-te/ |url-status=dead}} {{cite web |website=minoan.deaditerranean.com |url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/4560 |publisher=[[University of Oslo]] |title=PY 609 En (1)}}</ref> On the other hand, {{lang|gmy|{{script|Linb|𐀯𐀵𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊}}}}, ''si-to-po-ti-ni-ja'', "[[Potnia]] of the Grain", is regarded as referring to her [[Bronze Age]] predecessor or to one of her [[epithet]]s.<ref>Inscription [[Mycenae|MY]] Oi 701.{{cite web |title=si-to-po-ti-ni-ja|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/si/si-to-po-ti-ni-ja/ |website=minoan.deaditerranean.com |access-date=13 March 2014 |archive-date=20 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320181315/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/si/si-to-po-ti-ni-ja/ |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |publisher=minoan.deaditerranean.com |url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16929 |title=The Linear B word si-to}} {{cite web |website=/www2.hf.uio.no |url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5609 |publisher=[[University of Oslo]] |title=MY 701 Oi (63)}} Cf. {{lang|grc|σῖτος, Σιτώ}}.</ref>

Demeter's character as [[mother-goddess]] is identified in the second element of her name ''meter'' ({{lang|grc|μήτηρ}}) derived from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) ''*méh₂tēr'' (mother).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/mother|title=mother &#124; Origin and meaning of mother by Online Etymology Dictionary|website=etymonline.com}}</ref> In antiquity, different explanations were already proffered for the first element of her name. It is possible that ''Da'' ({{lang|grc|Δᾶ}}),<ref>{{LSJ|da{{=}}2|Δᾶ|shortref}}.</ref> a word which corresponds to ''Gē'' ({{lang|grc|Γῆ}}) in Attic, is the Doric form of ''De'' ({{lang|grc|Δῆ}}), "earth", the old name of the [[chthonic]] earth-goddess, and that Demeter is "Mother-Earth".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/demeter|title=demeter &#124; Origin and meaning of the name demeter by Online Etymology Dictionary|website=etymonline.com}}</ref> Liddell & Scott find this "improbable" and Beekes writes, "there is no indication that [''da''] means "earth", although it has also been assumed in the name of Poseidon found in the Linear B inscription ''E-ne-si-da-o-ne'', "earth-shaker".<ref>{{LSJ|*dhmh/thr|Δημήτηρ|ref|mLSJ}}.</ref><ref name="Beekes">[[R. S. P. Beekes]]. ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 324.</ref><ref>[http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/mycen.html Adams, John Paul, ''Mycenean divinities''] – List of handouts for California State University Classics 315. Retrieved 7 March 2011.</ref> [[John Chadwick]] also argues that the ''dā'' element in the name of Demeter is not so simply equated with "earth".<ref>Chadwick, ''The Mycenaean World'', Cambridge University Press, 1976, p. 87) "Every Greek was aware of the maternal functions of Demeter; if her name bore the slightest resemblance to the Greek word for 'mother', it would inevitably have been deformed to emphasize that resemblance. [...] How did it escape transformation into ''*Gāmātēr'', a name transparent to any Greek speaker?" Compare the Latin transformation ''[[Jupiter (mythology)|Iuppiter]]'' and ''Diespiter'' vis-a-vis ''*Deus pater''.</ref>

[[Martin Litchfield West|M. L. West]] has proposed that the word Demeter, initially ''Damater'', could be a borrowing from an Illyrian deity attested in the [[Messapian language|Messapic]] goddess ''Damatura'', with a form ''dā-'' ("earth", from PIE ''*dʰǵʰ(e)m-'') attached to -''matura'' ("mother"), akin to the Illyrian god [[Deipaturos|Dei-paturos]] (''dei-'', "sky", attached to -''paturos,'' "father"). The Lesbian form ''Dō-'' may simply reflect a different colloquial pronunciation of the non-Greek name.<ref>West 2007, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXrJA_5LKlYC&pg=PA176 p. 176]: "The ∆α-, however, cannot be explained from Greek. But there is a Messapic Damatura or Damatira, and she need not be dismissed as borrowing from Greek; she matches the Illyrian Deipaturos both in the agglutination and in the transfer to the thematic declension (-os, -a). (It is noteworthy that sporadic examples of a thematically declined ∆ημήτρα are found in inscriptions.) Damater/Demeter could therefore be borrowing from Illyrian. An Illyrian Dā- may be derived from ''*Dʰǵʰ(e)m-''"</ref>

Another theory suggests that the element ''De''- might be connected with ''Deo'', an epithet of Demeter<ref>[[Orphic Hymn]] 40 to Demeter (translated by Thomas Taylor: "O universal mother Deo famed, august, the source of wealth and various names".</ref> and it could derive from the [[Crete|Cretan]] word ''dea'' ({{lang|grc|δηά}}), Ionic ''zeia'' ({{lang|grc|ζειά}})—variously identified with [[emmer]], [[spelt]], [[rye]], or other grains by modern scholars—so that she is the mother and the giver of food generally.<ref>Compare sanskr. yava, lit. yavai, Δά is probably derived from δέFα :Martin Nilsson, ''Geschichte der Griechischen Religion'', vol. I (Verlag C.H.Beck) pp 461–462.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/prolegomenatostu00harr|title=Prolegomena to the study of Greek religion|last=Harrison|first=Jane Ellen|date=5 September 1908|publisher=Cambridge [Eng.] : The University press|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> This view is shared by British scholar [[Jane Ellen Harrison]], who suggests that Démeter's name means ''Grain-Mother'', instead of ''Earth-Mother''.<ref name="sacred-texts.com">{{Cite web|url=https://sacred-texts.com/cla/mgr/mgr14.htm|title=Myths of Greece and Rome: Demeter and Persephone (Ceres and Proserpine)|website=sacred-texts.com}}</ref>

An alternative Proto-Indo-European etymology comes through Potnia and [[Despoina]], where ''Des-'' represents a derivative of [[PIE]] ''*dem'' (house, dome), and Demeter is "mother of the house" (from PIE ''*dems-méh₂tēr'').<ref>Frisk, ''Griechisches Etymological Woerterbuch''. Entry 1271</ref> [[R. S. P. Beekes]] rejects a Greek interpretation, but not necessarily an Indo-European one.<ref name="Beekes" />

==Iconography==
[[File:Didrachme de l'île de Paros.jpg|thumb|left|Demeter on a [[Ancient drachma|Didrachme]] from Paros island, struck at the [[Cyclades]].]]
Demeter was frequently associated with images of the harvest, including flowers, fruit, and grain. She was also sometimes pictured with her daughter Persephone. However, Demeter is not generally portrayed with any of her consorts; the exception is [[Iasion]], the youth of Crete who lay with her in a thrice-ploughed field and was killed afterward by a jealous [[Zeus]] with a thunderbolt.

Demeter is assigned the zodiac constellation Virgo, the Virgin, by Marcus Manilius in his 1st-century Roman work Astronomicon. In art, the constellation Virgo holds Spica, a sheaf of wheat in her hand and sits beside constellation Leo the Lion.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stott|first=Carole|title=Planisphere and Starfinder, pp. 69|date=2019-08-01|publisher=Dorling Kindersley Limited|isbn=978-0-241-42169-7|language=en}}</ref>

In Arcadia, she was known as "Black Demeter". She was said to have taken the form of a mare to escape the pursuit of her younger brother, Poseidon, and having been raped by him despite her disguise, she dressed all in black and retreated into a cave to mourn and to purify herself. She was consequently depicted with the head of a horse in this region.<ref name=oxford_companion>Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth, Esther Eidinow, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization''. OUP Oxford, 2014; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42 8.42.1–4].</ref>

A sculpture of the Black Demeter was made by [[Onatas]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausainias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42.7 8.42.7].</ref>

==Description==
In the earliest conceptions of Demeter she is the goddess of grain and threshing, however her functions were extended beyond the fields and she was often identified with the earth goddess ([[Gaia]]). Some of the epithets of Gaia and Demeter are similar showing the identity of their nature. In most of her myths and cults, Demeter is the "Grain-Mother" or the "Earth-Mother". In the older chthonic cults the earth goddess was related to the Underworld and in the secret rites (mysteries) Demeter and [[Persephone]] share the double function of death and fertility. Demeter is the giver of the secret rites and the giver of the laws of cereal agriculture. She was occasionally identified with the ''Great Mother'' [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]-[[Cybele]] who was worshipped in [[Crete]] and [[Asia Minor]] with the music of cymbals and violent rites. It seems that poppies were connected with the cult of the Great Mother.

===As an agricultural goddess===
[[File:Eleusinian hydria Antikensammlung Berlin 1984.46 n2.jpg|thumb|left|320px|Demeter, enthroned and extending her hand in a benediction toward the kneeling [[Metaneira]], who offers the [[wikt:triune|triune]] wheat ({{circa|340 {{small|BC}}}})]]

In epic poetry and [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Demeter is the Grain-Mother, the goddess of cereals who provides grain for bread and blesses its harvesters. In [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'', the light-haired Demeter with the help of the wind separates the grain from the chaff.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Il.+5.499&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134|title=Homer, Iliad, Book 5, line 493|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> Homer mentions the [[Thalysia]] a Greek harvest-festival of first fruits in honour of Demeter .<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hom.+Il.+9.534&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134 Iliad 9.534]</ref> In Hesiod, prayers to Zeus-Chthonios (chthonic [[Zeus]]) and Demeter help the crops grow full and strong.<ref>[[Hesiod]] ''[[Works and Days]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg002.perseus-eng1:448-478 465]</ref> This was her main function at [[Eleusis]], and she became panhellenic. In [[Cyprus]], "grain-harvesting" was ''damatrizein''. Demeter was the ''zeidoros arοura'', the Homeric "Mother Earth [[arura|arοura]]" who gave the gift of cereals (''zeai'' or ''deai'').<ref>Nilsson, (1967), Geschichte Vol I,  461–466</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=zei/dwros|title=Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, ζείδωρος|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

Most of the epithets of Demeter describe her as a goddess of grain. Her name ''Deo'' in literature<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0011,002:1120&lang=original|title=Sophocles, Antigone, line 1115|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> probably relates her with ''deai'' a Cretan word for cereals. In [[Attica]] she was called [[Haloa]]s (of the threshing floor) according to the earliest conception of Demeter as the Corn-Mother. She was sometimes called ''Chloe'' (ripe-grain or fresh-green) and sometimes ''Ioulo'' (ioulos : grain sheaf). ''Chloe'' was the goddess of young corn and young vegetation and "Iouloi" were harvest songs in honour of the goddess. The reapers called Demeter ''Amallophoros'' (bringer of sheaves) and ''Amaia'' (reaper). The goddess was the giver of abundance of food and she was known as ''Sito'' (of the grain) and ''Himalis'' (of abundance ).<ref name=Stalmith116>Stalmith in GRBS48 (2008), 116-117</ref> The bread from the first harvest-fruits was called ''thalysian bread'' ([[Thalysia]]) in honour of Demeter.<ref>Nilsson, (1967), Geschichte Vol I, 468</ref> The sacrificial cakes burned on the altar were called "ompniai" and in Attica the goddess was known as ''Ompnia'' (related to corns). These cakes were offered to all gods.
[[File:Roman copy of the Great Eleusinian relief hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|right|240px|The [[Eleusinian mysteries|Eleusinian trio]]: [[Persephone]], [[Triptolemus]] and Demeter (Roman copy dating to the Early Imperial period and hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of the [[Great Eleusinian Relief]] in the [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]], marble bas-relief from [[Eleusis]], 440–430 BC.)]]

In some feasts big loafs (''artoi'') were offered to the goddess and in [[Boeotia]] she was known as
''Megalartos'' (of the big loaf) and ''Megalomazos'' (of the big mass, or big porridge). Her function was extended to vegetation generally and to all fruits and she had the epithets ''eukarpos'' (of good crop), ''karpophoros'' (bringer of fruits), ''malophoros'' (apple bearer) and sometimes ''Oria'' (all the fruits of the season). These epithets show an identity in nature with the earth goddess.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56574|title=Cults Of The Greek States Vol.3|first=Lewis Richard|last=Farnell|date=20 May 1907|via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>Nilsson(1967) Geschichte Vol I, 412, 467–478</ref><ref name=Stalmith116/><ref name= Cole201>Cole(1994) in Placing the gods 201–202</ref>

The central theme in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]] was the reunion of [[Persephone]] with her mother, Demeter when new crops were reunited with the old seed, a form of eternity.

According to the Athenian [[rhetorician]] [[Isocrates]], Demeter's greatest gifts to humankind were agriculture which gave to men a civilized way of life, and the Mysteries which give the initiate higher hopes in this life and the afterlife.<ref>[[Isocrates]], ''Panegyricus'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Isoc.+4+27 4.28]: "When Demeter came to our land, in her wandering after the rape of Kore, and, being moved to kindness towards our ancestors by services which may not be told save to her initiates, gave these two gifts, the greatest in the world – the fruits of the earth, which have enabled us to rise above the life of the beasts, and the holy rite, which inspires in those who partake of it sweeter hopes regarding both the end of life and all eternity".</ref>

These two gifts were intimately connected in Demeter's myths and mystery cults. Demeter is the giver of mystic rites and the giver of the civilized way of life (teaching the laws of agriculture). Her epithet ''Eleusinia'' relates her with the Eleusinian mysteries, however at [[Sparta]] ''Eleusinia'' had an early use, and it was probably a name rather than an epithet.<ref>Robertson in GRBS37(1996), pp. 351, 377–378</ref> Demeter ''Thesmophoros'' (law-giving) is closely associated to the laws of cereal agriculture. The festival [[Thesmophoria]] was celebrated throughout Greece and was connected to a form of agrarian magic.<ref>Burkert(1985), 244</ref> Her epithet {{ill|Damia (Greek mythology)|ca|Dàmia (mitologia)|lt=Damia}} (as paired with [[Auxesia (Greek mythology)|Auxesia]] for Persephone) was the center of the festival called the ''[[Lithobolia (festival)|Lithobolia]]''. Near [[Pheneus]] in Arcadia she was known as Demeter-''Thesmia'' (lawfull), and she received rites according to the local version.<ref>Stalmith in GRBS48 (2008), 127</ref>

Demeter's emblem is the poppy, a bright red flower that grows among the barley.

===As an earth and underworld goddess===
[[File:NAMA 16346 Cornucopia.JPG|thumb|left|240px|Pelike. Plouton with a [[cornucopia]] and Demeter with a sceptre and plough. By the Orestes Painter. 440-430 BC.[[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]]]]
In addition to her role as an agricultural goddess, Demeter was often worshipped more generally as a goddess of the earth, from which crops spring up. Her individuality was rooted to the less developed personality of [[Gaia]] (earth). In [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]] Demeter ''Melaina'' (the black Demeter) was represented as snake-haired with a horse's head holding a dove and dolphin, perhaps to symbolize her power over the Underworld, the air, and the water.<ref>Jeffery (1976), 23</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]|[http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42 8.42.1–4]</ref> The cult of Demeter in the region was related to [[Despoina]], a very old chthonic divinity. Demeter shares the double function of death and fertility with her daughter Persephone. Demeter and Persephone were called ''Despoinai'' (the mistresses) and ''Demeters''. This duality was also used in the classical period (''Thesmophoroi'', ''Double named goddesses'') and particularly in an oath: "By the two goddesses".<ref>Stalmith in GRBS48(2008) 118–119</ref>

In the cult of [[Phlya]] she was worshipped as ''Anesidora'' who sends up gifts from the Underworld.<ref>Anesidora: inscribed against her figure on a [[White ground technique|white-ground]] ''[[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]]'' in the British Museum, B.M. 1881,0528.1, from Nola, painted by the Tarquinia painter, ''ca'' 470–460 BC ([https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=461511&partid=1&searchText=Anesidora+Nola+Tarquinia&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=1 British Museum on-line catalogue entry])</ref><ref>[[Hesychius of Alexandria]] ''s.v.''</ref><ref>[[Scholiast]], ''On [[Theocritus]]'' ii. 12.</ref>

In Sparta, she was known as Demeter-''Chthonia'' (chthonic Demeter). After each death the mourning should end with a sacrifice to the goddess. Pausanias believes that her cult was introduced from [[Hermione (Argolis)|Hermione]], where Demeter was associated with [[Hades]]. In a local legend a hollow in the earth was the entrance to the underworld, by which the souls could pass easily.<ref>Farnell Cults III, 48–49 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56574/page/48/mode/2up Farnell III,48]</ref> In [[Ancient Elis|Elis]] she was called Demeter-''Chamyne'' (goddess of the ground),<ref name=Stalmith116/> in an old chthonic cult associated with the descent to Hades. At [[Levadia]] the goddess was known as Demeter-''[[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]]'' and she was associated with [[Trophonius]], an old divinity of the underworld. The oracle of Trophonius was famous in the antiquity.<ref>Farnell Cults III,30-31 [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56574/page/29/mode/2up Farnell III,30]</ref>

[[Pindar]] uses the rare epithet ''Chalkokrotos'' (bronze sounding). Brazen musical instruments were used in the mysteries of Demeter and the Great-Mother [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]-[[Cybele]] was also worshipped with the music of cymbals.<ref>Raubitschek-Jane Biers, in MVSE vol. 31–32 (1997–1998), 53. [https://mospace.umsystem.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10355/83637/muse1997-98v31-32p53-67.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y MVSE (1997–1998), 53]</ref>
[[File:Attic white calyx crater, 440-430 BC, side B, AM Agrigento, 120965x.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Attic white calyx crater 440-430 BC. Two female figures, probably Demeter and Persephone. Archaeological Museum of Agrigento.]]

In central Greece Demeter was known as [[Temple of Demeter Amphictyonis|Amphictyonis]] (of the dwellers-round), in a cult of the goddess at [[Anthele]] near [[Thermopylae]] (hot gates). She was the patron goddess of an ancient [[Amphictyony]]. Thermopylae is the place of hot springs considered to be entrances to [[Hades]], since Demeter was a chthonic goddess in the older local cults.<ref>Jeffery (1976), The city states, 72-73</ref>

The Athenians called the dead "Demetrioi",<ref name="sacred-texts.com"/> and this may reflect a link between Demeter and the ancient cult of the dead, linked to the agrarian belief that a new life would sprout from the dead body, as a new plant arises from buried seed. This was most likely a belief shared by initiates in Demeter's mysteries, as interpreted by [[Pindar]]: "Blessed is he who has seen before he goes under the earth; for he knows the end of life and knows also its divine beginning."<ref>{{cite book|author=John Ernest Leonard Oulton|author-link=John Oulton|year=1954|title=Alexandrian Christianity The Library Of Christian Classics; Volume II|url=https://archive.org/details/alexandrianchris012826mbp/page/n51/mode/2up|publisher=Westminster Press|quote=And Pindar speaks of the Eleusinian mysteries as follows: "Blessed is he who has seen before he goes under the earth; for he knows the end of life and knows also its divine beginning."|quote-page=48}}</ref>

In Arcadia Demeter had the epithets ''Erinys'' (fury) and ''Melaina'' (black) which are associated with the myth of Demeter's rape by Poseidon. The epithets stress the darker side of her character and her relation to the dark underworld, in an old chthonic cult associated with wooden structures (xoana).<ref name=Cole201/><ref name=Stalmith116/> [[Erinyes|Erinys]] had a similar function with the avenging [[Dike (mythology)|Dike]] (Justice).<ref>C.M. Bowra (1957), 87, 169</ref> In the mysteries of [[Pheneus]] the goddess was known as ''Cidaria''.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.15.3 8.15.3]</ref> Her priest would put on the mask of Demeter, which was kept secret. The cult may have been connected with both the Underworld and a form of agrarian magic.<ref>Nilsson, Geschichte Vol I p. 477-478</ref>

===As a poppy goddess===
[[File:Mycenae gold ring.jpg|thumb|Drawing of a gold ring found at Mycenae showing a seated goddess bearing three poppy seedcases]]
[[Theocritus]] described one of Demeter's earlier roles as that of a goddess of poppies:
{{poemquote|For the Greeks, Demeter was still a poppy goddess
Bearing sheaves and poppies in both hands.|''Idyll'' vii.157}}

[[Karl Kerényi]] asserted that poppies were connected with a Cretan cult which was eventually carried to the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]] in [[Classical Greece]]. In a clay statuette from Gazi,<ref>Heraklion Museum, Kerényi 1976, fig. 15.</ref> the [[Poppy goddess|Minoan poppy goddess]] wears the seed capsules, sources of nourishment and narcosis, in her diadem. According to Kerényi, "It seems probable that the Great [[Mother Goddess]] who bore the names [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]] and Demeter, brought the [[poppy]] with her from her Cretan cult to Eleusis and it is almost certain that in the Cretan cult sphere [[opium]] was prepared from poppies."<ref>Kerényi 1976, p. 25.</ref>

==Epithets==
:''See [[:Category:Epithets of Demeter]]''

* '''[[Antaea]]''' ([[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]]: Ἀνταία): 'A goddess whom man may approach in prayers'. The epithet belongs not only to Demeter but also to Rhea and [[Cybele]].<ref>''[[Orphic Hymn]]'' to Mother Antaia (40), 1; [[Apollonius of Rhodes]] 1.1141; [[Hesychius of Alexandria]], Ἀνταία.</ref>
* '''[[Amphictyonis]]''' (Ancient Greek: Ἀμφικτυονίς): The form of Demeter who symbolizes wine and friendship between nations, worshiped at [[Anthela (Thessaly)|Anthela]] because it was a meeting place for the [[amphictyons]] of [[Thermopylae]], where sacrifices were offered to her at the start of every meeting.<ref>[http://www.theoi.com/Cult/DemeterTitles.html Titles of Demeter & Kore: Ancient Greek religion<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
* '''[[Azesia]]''' (Ancient Greek: Ἀζησία): This epithet was the subject of several ancient Greek [[Proverb|proverbs]]. One was "Amaia looked for Azesia", with "Amaia" being an epithet for Demeter, and Azesia in this instance indicating Persephone, and referring to Demeter's long search for her daughter after she had been kidnapped by Hades. It was used to refer to someone who took a long time to do something.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Azesia |encyclopedia=Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names |publisher=Llewellyn Publications |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FVyHTUQnnBgC |last=Sheard |first=K. M. |date=2011 |pages=86 |language=English |isbn=9780738723686 |authorlink= |accessdate=2025-02-06}}</ref> Similarly, "Amaia has found Azesia" was an expression used to indicate that something greatly missed and sought after has been found.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roterodamus |first=Desiderius Erasmus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vwf_62ogNK4C |title=Collected Works of Erasmus |date=1992 |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |isbn=0802028314 |series= |volume=34 |pages=36 |language=English |translator-last=Mynors |translator-first=R.A.B. |authorlink=Erasmus |accessdate=2025-02-06}}</ref>
* '''[[Chloe]]''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Χλόη): "Blooming", "fertility", "young, green foliage" or "shoots of plants in spring".<ref>{{LSJ|xlo/h|χλόη|longref}}</ref>
* '''[[Chrysaor]]os''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Χρυσαόρος): Demeter's epithet as "Lady of the Golden Blade", a reference to golden blades of [[wheat]].<ref>[[Homeric Hymn]] 2 ''[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0137%3Ahymn%3D2 To Demeter]''</ref>
* [[Chthonia|'''Chtonia''']] (Ancient Greek: Χθονία). 'Of the earth'. It was an epithet of Demeter<ref>''[[Orphic]] Hymn 39 to Demeter'' 12</ref><ref>[[Apollonius Rhodius]], 4.987</ref> and several other [[chthonic]] goddess, such as [[Hecate]],<ref>Apollonius Rhodius, 4.148; ''Orphic Hymn'' 35.9</ref> [[Nyx]]<ref>''Orphic Hymn 3 to Nyx'' 8</ref> or [[Melinoe]].<ref>''Orphic Hymn 70 to Melinoe'' 1</ref>
* '''[[Daduchos]]''' (Ancient Greek): δᾳδοῦχος "torch-bearer", from δᾶις+ἔχω): An epithet of Demeter seeking her lost daughter Persephine with a torch. It was also an epithet of Hecate<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=MORELLI |first=DONATO |date=1959 |title=Parte Prima: FONTI |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24172474 |journal=Studi Classici e Orientali |volume=8 |pages=1–73 |issn=0081-6124 |jstor=24172474}}</ref> and [[Artemis]], two goddesses associated with torches. It was also the title of the second priest (ranking after the [[Hierophant]]) at the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]. This title was given in the [[Rhodes|Rhodes Island]] in [[Greece]].<ref name=":0" />
*

==Worship==
[[File:Demeter figurine - Museo Archeologico Regionale - Agrigento - Italy 2015 (2).JPG|thumb|left|Terracotta Demeter figurine, Sanctuary of the Underworld Divinities, Akragas, 550–500 BC]]

===In Crete===
In an older tradition in Crete the vegetation cult was related with the deity of the cave.<ref>Dietrich [https://books.google.com/books?id=TZVsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA169 p. 169].</ref> During the Bronze Age, a goddess of nature dominated both in Minoan and Mycenean cults. In the Linear B inscriptions ''po-ti-ni-ja'' (potnia) refers to the goddess of nature who was concerned with birth and vegetation and had certain chthonic apects. Some scholars believe that she was the universal mother goddess.<ref name="Dietriech181">Dietrich, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TZVsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181 pp. 181–185].</ref> A Linear B inscription at Knossos mentions the potnia of the labyrinth ''da-pu-ri-to-jo po-ti-ni-ja''. Poseidon was often given the title ''wa-na-ka'' (''[[wanax]]'') in Linear B inscriptions in his role as King of the Underworld, and his title ''E-ne-si-da-o-ne'' indicates his chthonic nature. He was the male companion (paredros) of the goddess in the Minoan and probably Mycenean cult.<ref name="Dietriech181"/> In the cave of [[Amnisos]], ''Enesidaon'' is associated with the cult of [[Eileithyia]], the goddess of childbirth, who was involved with the annual birth of the divine child.<ref>Dietrich, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TZVsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA141 p. 141].</ref> Elements of this early form of worship survived in the Eleusinian cult, where the following words were uttered: "the mighty Potnia had born a strong son."

===On the Greek mainland===
[[File:Marble Statue of Demeter.jpg|thumb|[[Demeter of Knidos]], [[Hellenistic]] marble sculpture, around 350 BC]]
Tablets from Pylos of {{circa|1400|1200}} BC record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two Queens and Poseidon" ("to the Two Queens and the King":''wa-na-ssoi'', ''wa-na-ka-te''). The "Two Queens" may be related to Demeter and Persephone or their precursors, goddesses who were no longer associated with Poseidon in later periods.<ref name="Mylonas159"/> In Pylos ''potnia'' (mistress) is the major goddess of the city and "wanax " in the tablets has a similar nature with her male consort in the Minoan cult.<ref name="Dietriech181"/> Potnia retained some chthonic cults, and in popular religion these were related to the goddess Demeter. In Greek religion ''potniai''(mistresses) appear in plural (like the Erinyes) and are closely related to the Eleusinian Demeter.<ref>Dietrich, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TZVsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA189 pp. 189-190].</ref>

Major [[cult (religion)|cults]] to Demeter are known at Eleusis in Attica, Hermion (in Crete), [[Megara]], Celeae, [[Lerna]], [[Aegila]], [[Munychia]], [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]], [[Delos]], [[Priene]], [[Agrigento|Akragas]], [[Iasos]], [[Pergamon]], [[Selinus]], [[Tegea]], [[Thoricus]], Dion (in Macedonia)<ref>Cohen, A, Art in the Era of Alexander the Great: Paradigms of Manhood and Their Cultural Traditions, Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 213. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nX8F_ZV83vUC&pg=PA213 Google book preview]</ref> [[Lycosura|Lykosoura]], [[Mesembria (Zone)|Mesembria]], [[Enna]], and [[Samothrace]].

Probably the earliest [[Amphictyony]] centred on the cult of Demeter at [[Anthele]] (Ἀνθήλη), lay on the coast of [[Malis (region)|Malis]] south of Thessaly, near Thermopylae.<ref>L. H. Jeffery (1976) ''Archaic Greece: The City States c. 700–500 BC''. Ernest Benn Ltd., London & Tonbridge pp. 72, 73, 78 {{ISBN|0-510-03271-0}}</ref><ref>The Parian marble. Entry No 5: "When [[Amphictyon]] son of [[Hellen]] became king of Thermopylae brought together those living round the temple and named them ''Amphictyones''; [http://www.ashmolean.org/ash/faqs/q004/q004008.html]</ref>

Mysian Demeter had a seven-day festival at Pellené in Arcadia. The geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] passed the shrine to Mysian Demeter on the road from Mycenae to [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argos]] and reports that according to Argive tradition, the shrine was founded by an Argive named [[Mysius]] who venerated Demeter.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:7.27.9 7.27.9].</ref>[[File:Whitehead Coins of the Punjab Museum Plate XI Azes Demeter and Hermes.jpg|thumb|center|[[Azes]] coin in [[India]], with Demeter and [[Hermes]], 1st century BC]]
{{Clear}}

===="Saint Demetra"<span class="anchor" id="Saint Demetra"></span>====
[[File:Saint Demetra.jpg|thumb|180px|The statue of Saint Demetra, [[Fitzwilliam Museum]]]]

Even after [[Theodosius I]] issued the [[Edict of Thessalonica]] and banned [[paganism]] throughout the [[Roman Empire]], people throughout [[Greece]] continued to pray to Demeter as "Saint Demetra", [[patron saint]] of [[agriculture]].<ref name="Keller-1988">{{Cite journal |last=Keller |first=Mara Lynn |date=1988 |title=The Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone: Fertility, Sexuality, and Rebirth |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25002068 |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=27–54 |jstor=25002068 |issn=8755-4178}}</ref> Around 1765–1766, the antiquary [[Richard Chandler (antiquary)|Richard Chandler]], alongside the architect [[Nicholas Revett]] and the painter [[William Pars]], visited Eleusis and mentioned a [[Caryatids of Eleusis|statue of a caryatid]] as well as the [[folklore]] that surrounded it, they stated that it was considered sacred by the locals because it protected their crops. They called the statue "Saint Demetra", a saint whose story had many similarities to the myth of Demeter and Persephone, except that her daughter had been abducted by the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]] and not by [[Hades]].<ref name="Cosmopoulos-2015">{{Cite book |last=Cosmopoulos |first=Michael B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPkKCgAAQBAJ&dq=Saint+Demetra+of+Eleusis&pg=PA35 |title=Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-36823-7 |pages=35 |language=en |author-link=Michael Cosmopoulos}}</ref> The locals covered the statue with flowers to ensure the fertility of their fields.<ref name="Sharma-2005">{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Arvind |author-link=Arvind Sharma |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6YrsMcVqS4C&pg=PA47 |title=Goddesses And Women In The Indic Religious Tradition |date=2005 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12466-0 |pages=47 |language=en}}</ref> This tradition continued until 1865,<ref name="Keller-1988" /> when the statue was forcibly removed by [[Edward Daniel Clarke]] and donated to the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref name="Cosmopoulos-2015" /><ref name="Sharma-2005" /> The statue is now located in the [[Fitzwilliam Museum]], the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/65755|title=Upper part of a caryatid: GR.1.1865|website=[[Fitzwilliam Museum|The Fitzwilliam Museum]]|publisher=[[University of Cambridge|The University of Cambridge]]|access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref>

===Festivals===
{{Main|Eleusinian Mysteries|Thesmophoria}}
Demeter's two major festivals were [[sacred mysteries]]. Her [[Thesmophoria]] festival (11–13 October) was women-only.<ref>Benko, Stephen, ''The virgin goddess: studies in the pagan and Christian roots of mariology,'' BRILL, 2004, note 111 on pp. 63 – 4, and p. 175.</ref> Her Eleusinian mysteries were open to initiates of any gender or social class. At the heart of both festivals were myths concerning Demeter as the mother and Persephone as her daughter.

===Conflation with other goddesses===
[[File:Kykladitisses exhibition in the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens Greece 175.jpg|thumb|240px|Terracotta plaque relief of Demeter in profile wearing ears of corn, 1st century BC–AD, Archaeological Museum of [[Amorgos]], Greece.]]

In the Roman period, Demeter became conflated with the Roman agricultural goddess [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]] through [[Interpretatio graeca#Interpretatio romana|interpretatio romana]].<ref>''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', [[The Book People]], Haydock, 1995, p. 215.</ref> The worship of Demeter has formally merged with that of Ceres around 205 BC, along with the ''[[Ceres (mythology)#Middle Republic|ritus graecia cereris]]'', a Greek-inspired form of cult, as part of Rome's general religious recruitment of deities as allies against Carthage, towards the end of the [[Second Punic War]]. The cult originated in southern Italy (part of [[Magna Graecia]]) and was probably based on the Thesmophoria, a mystery cult dedicated to Demeter and Persephone as "Mother and Maiden". It arrived along with its Greek priestesses, who were granted [[Roman citizenship]] so that they could pray to the gods "with a foreign and external knowledge, but with a domestic and civil intention".<ref>[[Spaeth, Barbette Stanley]], ''The Roman goddess Ceres'', University of Texas Press, 1996, pp. 4, 6–13, citing [[Arnobius]], who mistakes this as the first Roman cult to Ceres. His belief may reflect its high profile and ubiquity during the later Imperial period and possibly the fading of older, distinctively Aventine forms of her cult.</ref> The new cult was installed in the already ancient Temple of Ceres, [[Liber]] and [[Libera (mythology)|Libera]], Rome's [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] patrons of the [[plebs]]; from the end of the 3rd century BC, Demeter's temple at Enna, in [[Sicily]], was acknowledged as Ceres' oldest, most authoritative cult centre, and Libera was recognized as Proserpina, Roman equivalent to Persephone.<ref>[[John Scheid|Scheid, John]], "Graeco Ritu: A Typically Roman Way of Honoring the Gods," ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', 97, Greece in Rome: Influence, Integration, Resistance, 1995, p.23.</ref>

Their joint cult recalls Demeter's search for Persephone after the latter's abduction into the Underworld by [[Hades]]. At the Aventine, the new cult took its place alongside the old. It did not refer to Liber, whose open and gender-mixed cult played a central role in plebeian culture as a patron and protector of plebeian rights, freedoms and values. The exclusively female initiates and priestesses of the new "[[Ritus graecus|greek style]]" mysteries of Ceres and Proserpina were expected to uphold Rome's traditional, [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]]-dominated social hierarchy and [[mos maiorum|traditional morality]]. Unmarried girls should emulate the chastity of Proserpina, the maiden; married women should seek to emulate Ceres, the devoted and fruitful mother. Their rites were intended to secure a good harvest and increase the fertility of those who partook in the mysteries.<ref>Spaeth, Barbette Stanley, ''The Roman goddess Ceres'', University of Texas Press, 1996, pp. 13, 15, 60, 94–97.</ref>

Beginning in the 5th century BCE in [[Asia Minor]], Demeter was also considered equivalent to the Phrygian goddess [[Cybele]].<ref>Eur.Hel.1301–45 and Melanippid.764PMG.</ref> Demeter's festival of Thesmophoria was popular throughout Asia Minor, and the myth of Persephone and [[Adonis]] in many ways mirrors the myth of Cybele and [[Attis]].<ref name=Persephone_asia_minor>[http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBody.aspx?lemmaId=10541#noteendNote_11 Kore / Persephone]. Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor. http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBody.aspx?lemmaId=10541#noteendNote_11</ref>

Some late antique sources syncretized several "great goddess" figures into a single deity. For example, the [[Platonist]] philosopher [[Apuleius]], writing in the late 2nd century, identified Ceres (Demeter) with Isis, having her declare:
<blockquote>I, mother of the universe, mistress of all the elements, first-born of the ages, highest of the gods, queen of the shades, first of those who dwell in heaven, representing in one shape all gods and goddesses. My will controls the shining heights of heaven, the health-giving sea winds, and the mournful silences of hell; the entire world worships my single godhead in a thousand shapes, with divers rites, and under many a different name. The Phrygians, first-born of mankind, call me the Pessinuntian Mother of the gods; ... the ancient Eleusinians Actaean Ceres; ... and the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning, honour me with the worship which is truly mine and call me by my true name: Queen Isis.
:--[[Apuleius]], translated by E. J. Kenny. ''[[The Golden Ass]]''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Apuleius|title=The Golden Ass|date=1998|publisher=Penguin classics}}</ref></blockquote>

==Mythology==
===Lineage, consorts, and offspring===
[[File:Demeter MKL1888.png|thumb|left|260px|[[Pompeii]]an relief of Demeter in her aspects of [[mother goddess]] and goddess of agriculture]]

Hesiod's ''[[Theogony]]'' (c. 700 BC) describes Demeter as the second child of the Titans [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], and the sister of [[Hestia]], [[Hera]], [[Hades]], [[Poseidon]], and [[Zeus]]. Alongside the rest of her sisters and brothers with the exception of her youngest brother Zeus, Demeter was swallowed as a newborn by her father due to his fear of being overthrown by one of his children; she was later freed when Zeus made Cronus disgorge all of his children by giving him an emetic. Zeus then led his siblings in a war against their father and the other Titans. Cronus was supplanted by this new generation of deities; and Demeter thus became one of the Olympian gods, the new rulers of the cosmos, alongside her brothers and sisters.<ref>Grimal, s.v. [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofclas00grim/page/115/mode/2up?view=theater Cronus].</ref>

Demeter is notable as the mother of [[Persephone]], described by both Hesiod and in the ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'' as the result of a union with Zeus.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+912&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130 912]; [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'' (2)].</ref> An alternate recounting of the matter appears in a fragment of the lost [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic]] theogony, which preserves part of a myth in which Zeus mates with his mother, Rhea, in the form of a snake, explaining the origin of the symbol on [[Hermes]]' staff. Their daughter is said to be Persephone, whom Zeus, in turn, mates with to conceive [[Dionysus]]. According to the Orphic fragments, "After becoming the mother of Zeus, she who was formerly Rhea became Demeter."<ref>[[Proclus]], ''Commentary on Plato's Cratylus'' 403 e (90, 28 Pasqu.) [=Orphic [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/188/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 145 Kern]; West 1983, p. 217.</ref><ref>Kerényi 1976, p. 112.</ref>[[File:Triptolemos Louvre G187.jpg|thumb|left|320px|[[Triptolemus]], Demeter and Persephone by the Triptolemos-painter, c. 470 BC, [[Louvre]]]]

There is some evidence that the figures of the Queen of the Underworld and the daughter of Demeter were initially considered separate goddesses.<ref>Zuntz, G., Persephone. Three essays in religion and thought in Magna Graecia (Oxford, 1971), p. 75-83.</ref> However, they must have become conflated by the time of Hesiod in the 7th century BC.<ref name="Persephone_asia_minor" /> Demeter and Persephone were often worshipped together and were often referred to by joint cultic titles. In their cult at Eleusis, they were referred to simply as "the goddesses", usually distinguished as "the older" and "the younger"; in [[Rhodes]] and [[Sparta]], they were worshipped as "the Demeters"; in the Thesmophoria, they were known as "the thesmophoroi" ("the legislators").<ref>Martin Nilsson (1967) ''Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion'' pp.463, 477</ref> In Arcadia they were known as "the Great Goddesses" and "the mistresses".<ref>Martin Nilsson (1967) ''Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion'' pp. 463–465</ref> In [[Mycenaean civilization|Mycenaean]] Pylos, Demeter and Persephone were probably called the "queens" (wa-na-ssoi).<ref name="Mylonas159">"Wa-na-ssoi, wa-na-ka-te, (to the two queens and the king). Wanax is best suited to Poseidon, the special divinity of Pylos. The identity of the two divinities addressed as wanassoi, is uncertain ": George Mylonas (1966) Mycenae and the Mycenean age" p. 159 :Princeton University Press</ref>[[File:Villa Carmiano triclinio 2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Dionysus (Bacchus) and Demeter (Ceres), antique fresco in [[Stabiae]], 1st century]]According to [[Diodorus Siculus]], in his ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' written in the 1st century BC, Demeter and Zeus were also the parents of Dionysus. Diodorus described the myth of Dionysus' double birth (once from the earth, i.e. Demeter, when the plant sprouts) and once from the vine (when the fruit sprouts from the plant). Diodorus also related a version of the myth of Dionysus' destruction by the Titans ("sons of [[Gaia]]"), who boiled him, and how Demeter gathered up his remains so that he could be born a third time (Diod. iii.62). Diodorus states that Dionysus' birth from Zeus and his older sister Demeter was somewhat of a minority belief, possibly via conflation of Demeter with her daughter, as most sources state that the parents of Dionysus were Zeus and Persephone, and later Zeus and Semele.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html Book III].</ref>

In Arcadia, a major Arcadian deity known as Despoina ("Mistress") was said to be the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. According to Pausanias, a [[Thelpusa|Thelpusian]] tradition said that during Demeter's search for Persephone, Poseidon pursued her. Demeter turned into a horse to avoid her younger brother's advances. However, he turned into a stallion and mated with the goddess, resulting in the birth of the horse god [[Arion (mythology)|Arion]] and a daughter "whose name they are not wont to divulge to the uninitiated".<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.25.5 8.28.5–7].</ref> Elsewhere, he says that the [[Phigalia]]ns assert that the offspring of Poseidon and Demeter was not a horse, but Despoina, "as the Arcadians call her".<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42.1 8.42.1].</ref>

In [[Orphic literature]], Demeter seems to be the mother of the witchcraft goddess [[Hecate]].<ref name="fr. 41 Kern">Orphic frr. 400 I (I p. 334) [= [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/112/mode/2up fr. 41 Kern] = [[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 3.467], 400 II (I p. 334) Bernabé [= [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/112/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 42 Kern] = Scholia on [[Theocritus]], 2.12].</ref>

Both [[Homer]] and Hesiod, writing c. 700 BC, described Demeter making love with the agricultural hero [[Iasion]] in a ploughed field during the marriage of [[Cadmus]] and [[Harmonia]].<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:5.92-5.144 5.125]; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:963-1002 969–974].</ref> According to Hesiod, this union resulted in the birth of [[Plutus]].

Demeter took [[Mecon (mythology)|Mecon]], a young Athenian, as a lover; he was at some point transformed into a poppy flower.<ref>Smith, s.v. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DM%3Aentry+group%3D14%3Aentry%3Dmecon-bio-1 Mecon]; [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] on [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Georgics]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0092%3Abook%3D1%3Acommline%3D212 1.212]</ref>

The following is a list of Demeter's offspring, by various fathers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! scope="col" style="width: 100pt;" | Offspring
! scope="col" style="width: 95pt;" | Father
! scope="col" style="width: 55pt;" | Source
! scope="col" style="width: 70pt;" | Date
! class="unsortable" scope="col" style="width: 10pt;" |
|-
| [[Persephone]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Zeus]]
| [[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Theogony|Theog.]]''
| data-sort-value=1 | 8th cent. BC
| <ref>Gantz, p. 64; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:901-937 912&ndash;914].</ref>
|-
| [[Dionysus]]
| [[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
| data-sort-value=15 | 1st cent. BC
| <ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=demeter-bio-1&highlight=demeter%2Cdionysus s.v. Demeter]; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html#62.5 3.62.5]; [[Scholia]]st on [[Pindar]], ''Pythian Odes'' 3.177{{primary source inline|date=October 2024}}.</ref>
|-
| [[Arion]], [[Despoina]]
| [[Poseidon]]
| [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>Tripp, s.v. Arion or Areion, p. 101; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.25.7 8.25.7].</ref>
|-
| [[Plutus]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Iasion]]
| [[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Theogony|Theog.]]''
| data-sort-value=1 | 8th cent. BC
| <ref>Morford, p. 339; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:963-1002 969—974].</ref>
|-
| [[Philomelus]]
| Hyg. ''[[De astronomia|De astr.]]''
| data-sort-value=16 | 1st cent. BC/AD
| <ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Philomelus (1); Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.4.7 2.4.7].</ref>
|-
| [[Hecate]]
| rowspan="2" | ''No father mentioned''
| [[Orphic]] frr.
| data-sort-value=50 |
| <ref name="fr. 41 Kern"/>
|-
| [[Eubuleus]]
| [[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
| data-sort-value=15 | 1st cent. BC
| <ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#76.3 5.76.3].</ref>
|}

===Abduction of Persephone===
{{Main|Rape of Persephone}}
[[File:Demeter in horse chariot w daughter kore 83d40m wikiC Tempio Y di Selinunte sec VIa.JPG|thumb|left|280px|Demeter drives her horse-drawn chariot containing her daughter [[Persephone|Persephone-Kore]] at [[Selinunte]], Sicily, 6th century BC.]]
Demeter searched for her missing daughter Persephone ceaselessly for nine days, preoccupied with her grief. [[Hecate]] then approached her and said that while she had not seen what happened to Persephone, she heard her screams. Together the two goddesses went to [[Helios]], the [[Solar deity|sun god]], who witnessed everything that happened on earth thanks to his lofty position. Helios then revealed to Demeter that her brother Hades, god of the Underworld, had snatched a screaming Persephone to make her his wife with the permission of Zeus, the girl's father. Demeter was then filled with anger, and so the seasons halted and all living things ceased their growth and began to die.<ref>Kerényi 1951, pp.&nbsp;232–241 and notes 784–798.</ref> Faced with the extinction of all life on earth, Zeus sent his messenger [[Hermes]] to the Underworld to bring Persephone back to her mother. Hades agreed to release her if [[Taboo#In religion and mythology|she had eaten nothing]] while in his realm, but Persephone had eaten a small number of [[pomegranate]] [[seed]]s. This bound her to Hades and the Underworld for certain months of every year, most likely the dry Mediterranean summer, when plant life is threatened by drought,<ref>As in Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' (Harvard, 1985) p. 160.</ref> despite the popular belief that it is autumn or winter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/gpr/ |title=Martin Nilsson, ''The Greek popular religion'', The religion of Eleusis, pp 51–54 |publisher=Sacred-texts.com}}</ref> There are several variations on the basic myth; the earliest account, the ''[[Homeric hymn|Homeric Hymn to Demeter]]'', relates that Persephone is secretly slipped a pomegranate seed by Hades<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html|title=HOMERIC HYMN TO DEMETER|website=www.uh.edu}}</ref> and in Ovid's version,<ref>Ovid, ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' ([https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph5.htm#479128843 ''Book V'', ln. 533–571])</ref> Persephone secretly eats the pomegranate seeds, thinking to deceive Hades, but she was discovered and made to stay. Contrary to popular perception, Persephone's time in the Underworld does not correspond with the unfruitful seasons of the ancient [[Greek calendar]], nor her return to the [[Upper World (Greek)|upper world]] with springtime.<ref>Graf, "Demeter" in ''Brill's New Pauly''</ref> Demeter's descent to retrieve Persephone from the Underworld is connected to the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/32/the-eleusinian-mysteries-the-rites-of-demeter/|title=The Eleusinian Mysteries: The Rites of Demeter|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2019-04-27}}</ref>[[File:Demeter rejoiced, for her daughter was by her side.jpg|thumb|''Demeter rejoiced, for her beloved daughter was by her side''.]]

The myth of the capture of Persephone seems to be pre-Greek. In the Greek version, Ploutos (πλούτος, wealth) represents the wealth of the corn that was stored in underground silos or ceramic jars (''pithoi''). Similar subterranean ''pithoi'' were used in ancient times for funerary practices. At the beginning of the autumn, when the corn of the old crop is laid on the fields, she ascends and is reunited with her mother, Demeter, for at this time, the old crop and the new meet each other.<ref>[https://sacred-texts.com/cla/gpr/gpr07.htm#page_48 Martin Nilsson, ''Greek Popular Religion''.] pp 48–50</ref>

[[File:Terracotta Baubo figurine.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Greek terracotta figurines|Greek terracotta figurine]] of Baubo, of the face-in-torso type]]
In the [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic tradition]], while she was searching for her daughter, a mortal woman named [[Baubo]] received Demeter as her guest and offered her a meal and wine. Demeter declined them both because she mourned the loss of [[Persephone]]. Baubo then, thinking she had displeased the goddess, lifted her skirt and showed her genitalia to the goddess, simultaneously revealing [[Iacchus]], Demeter's son. Demeter was most pleased with the sight and delighted she accepted the food and wine.<ref>[[Clement of Alexandria]], ''[[Protrepticus (Clement)|Exhortation to the Greeks]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/215#2.11 2.11]; Grimal, s.v. Baubo.</ref><ref>Graves, p. 92.</ref> This tale survives in the account of [[Clement of Alexandria]], an early [[Christian]] writer who wrote about pagan practices and mythology. Several [[Baubo#Baubo figurines|Baubo figurines]] (figurines of women revealing their [[vulva]]s) have been discovered, supporting the story.

===Demeter at Eleusis===

Demeter's search for her daughter Persephone took her to the palace of [[Celeus]], the King of Eleusis in Attica. She assumed the form of an old woman and asked him for shelter. He took her in, to nurse [[Demophon of Eleusis|Demophon]] and [[Triptolemus]], his sons by [[Metanira]]. To reward his kindness, she planned to make Demophon immortal; she secretly anointed the boy with [[ambrosia]] and laid him in the hearth's flames to gradually burn away his mortal self. But Metanira walked in, saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright. Demeter abandoned the attempt.<ref name=":1" /> Instead, once Persephone returned from the underworld, she and Demeter taught Triptolemus the secrets of agriculture, and he, in turn, taught them to any who wished to learn them. Thus, humanity learned how to plant, grow and harvest grain.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Siculus |first=Diodorus |year=1939 |title=The Library of History, Book V, 47-84 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> The myth has several versions; some are linked to figures such as [[Eleusis (mythology)|Eleusis]], [[Rarus]] and [[Trochilus (mythology)|Trochilus]]. The Demophon element may be based on an earlier folk tale.<ref name=":1">Nilsson (1940), p. 50: "The Demophon story in Eleusis is based on an older folk-tale motif which has nothing to do with the Eleusinian Cult. It is introduced to let Demeter reveal herself in her divine shape".</ref>
[[File:Demeter, Mourner, marble relief, Knossos, 1st-2nd century AD, AMH, 145408.jpg|thumb|Demeter in mourning, marble relief from [[Knossos]], [[Archaeological Museum of Heraklion]].]]

===Demeter and Iasion===
Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]'' (c. late 8th century BC) contains perhaps the earliest direct references to the myth of Demeter and her consort [[Iasion]], a Samothracian hero whose name may refer to [[bindweed]], a small white flower that frequently grows in wheat fields. In the ''Odyssey'', [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] describes how Demeter, "without disguise", made love to Iasion. "So it was when Demeter of the braided tresses followed her heart and lay in love with Iasion in the triple-furrowed field; Zeus was aware of it soon enough and hurled the bright thunderbolt and killed him."<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' 5.125 ff (trans. Shewring)</ref> However, [[Ovid]] states that Iasion lived up to old age as the husband of Demeter.<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DI%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Diasion-bio-1 s.v. Iasion]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/141#9.418 9.421]</ref> In ancient Greek culture, part of the opening of each agricultural year involved the cutting of three furrows in the field to ensure its fertility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Iasion.html|title=IASION - Greek Demi-God of the Samothracian Mysteries|website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>

Hesiod expanded on the basics of this myth. According to him, the liaison between Demeter and Iasion took place at the wedding of [[Cadmus]] and [[Harmonia (mythology)|Harmonia]] in Crete. Demeter, in this version, had lured Iasion away from the other revellers. Hesiod says that Demeter subsequently gave birth to [[Plutus]].<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:963-1002 969—974]; Gantz, p. 64; Tripp, s.v. Iasion; ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', s.v. Iasion.</ref>

===Demeter and Poseidon===
[[File:Demeter Altemps Inv8596.jpg|thumb|left|Roman copy of 4th century BC Greek bust ([[National Roman Museum]])]]
In Arcadia, located in what is now southern Greece, the major goddess [[Despoina]] was considered the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon Hippios ("''Horse-Poseidon''"). In the associated myths, Poseidon represents the river spirit of the Underworld, and he appears as a horse, as often happens in northern European folklore. The myth describes how he pursued his older sister, Demeter, who hid from him among the horses of the king [[Onkios]], but even in the form of a mare, she could not conceal her divinity. Poseidon caught and raped his older sister in the form of a stallion. Demeter was furious at Poseidon's assault; in this furious form, she became known as ''Demeter Erinys''. Her anger at Poseidon drove her to dress all in black and retreat into a cave to purify herself, an act which was the cause of a universal famine. Demeter's absence caused the death of crops, livestock, and eventually of the people who depended on them (later Arcadian tradition held that it was ''both'' her rage at Poseidon and her loss of her daughter caused the famine, merging the two myths).<ref name=oxford_companion/> Demeter washed away her anger in the River [[Ladon (river)|Ladon]], becoming ''Demeter Lousia'', the "bathed Demeter".<ref>Other ritually bathed goddesses were Argive [[Hera]] and [[Cybele]]; [[Aphrodite]] renewed her own powers bathing herself in the sea.</ref>

"In her alliance with Poseidon," Kerényi noted,<ref>Kerényi 1951, p. 185.</ref> "she was [[Gaia (mythology)|Earth]], who bears plants and beasts, and could therefore assume the shape of an ear of [[grain]] or a mare." Moreover, she bore a daughter [[Despoina]] ({{lang|grc|Δέσποινα}}: the "Mistress"), whose name should not be uttered outside the Arcadian Mysteries,<ref>"In Arcadia, she was also a second goddess in the Mysteries of her daughter, the unnameable, who was invoked only as 'Despoina', the 'Mistress'" (Kerényi 1967, pp. 31ff., citing Pausanias, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.37.9 8.37.9].</ref> and a horse named [[Arion (mythology)|Arion]], with a black mane and tail.

At [[Phigaleia]], a ''[[xoanon]]'' (wood-carved statue) of Demeter was erected in a cave which, tradition held, was the cave into which Black Demeter retreated. The statue depicted a [[Medusa]]-like figure with a horse's head and snake-like hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, which probably represented her power over air and water:<ref>L. H. Jeffery (1976). ''Archaic Greece: The Greek city states c. 800-500 B.C.'' (Ernest Benn Limited) p 23 {{ISBN|0-510-03271-0}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The second mountain, Mount Elaius, is some thirty stades away from Phigalia, and has a cave sacred to Demeter surnamed Black ... the Phigalians say, they concluded that this cavern was sacred to Demeter and set up in it a wooden image. The image, they say, was made after this fashion. It was seated on a rock, like to a woman in all respects save the head. She had the head and hair of a horse, and there grew out of her head images of serpents and other beasts. Her tunic reached right to her feet; on one of her hands was a dolphin, on the other a dove. Now why they had the image made after this fashion is plain to any intelligent man who is learned in traditions. They say that they named her Black because the goddess had black apparel. They cannot relate either who made this wooden image or how it caught fire. But the old image was destroyed, and the Phigalians gave the goddess no fresh image, while they neglected for the most part her festivals and sacrifices, until the barrenness fell on the land.|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]|[http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42 8.42.1–4].}}

===Demeter and Erysichthon===
[[File:Plate 80- Ceres' Nymph Telling Famine to Strike Erysichthon (Insatiabili fame Erisichtonem torquet Fames), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' MET DP866521.jpg|thumb|''Demeter orders Famine to strike Erysichthon'', Elisha Whittelsey Collection]]

Another myth involving Demeter's rage resulting in famine is that of [[Erysichthon of Thessaly|Erysichthon]], king of [[Thessaly]].<ref name=oxford_companion/> The myth tells of Erysichthon ordering all of the trees in one of Demeter's sacred groves to be cut down, as he wanted to build an extension of his palace and hold feasts there. One tree, a huge oak, was covered with votive wreaths, symbols of the prayers Demeter had granted, so Erysichthon's men refused to cut it down. The king used an axe to cut it down, killing a [[dryad nymph]] in the process. The nymph's dying words were a curse on Erysichthon. Demeter punished the king by calling upon [[Limos (mythology)|Limos]], the spirit of unrelenting and insatiable hunger, to enter his stomach. The more the king ate, the hungrier he became. Erysichthon sold all his possessions to buy food but was still hungry. Finally, he sold his daughter, [[Mestra]], into slavery. Mestra was freed from slavery by her former lover, [[Poseidon]], who gave her the gift of shape-shifting into any creature to escape her bonds. Erysichthon used her shape-shifting ability to sell her numerous times to make more money to feed himself, but no amount of food was enough. Eventually, Erysichthon [[Autocannibalism|ate himself]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D8%3Acard%3D728 8.738–878]; [[Callimachus]], ''Hymn VI to Demeter'' [https://archive.org/details/callimachuslycop00calluoft/page/126/mode/2up?view=theater 34 ff.].</ref>

In a variation, Erysichthon tore down a temple of Demeter, wishing to build a roof for his house; she punished him the same way, and near the end of his life, she sent a snake to plague him. Afterwards, Demeter put him among the stars (the constellation [[Ophiuchus]]), as she did the snake, to continue to inflict its punishment on Erysichthon.<ref>Hyginus, ''De astronomia'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.14.4 2.14.4]</ref>

In the [[Pergamon Altar]], which depicts the battle of the gods against the Giants ([[Giants (Greek mythology)|Gigantomachy]]), survive remains of what seems to have been Demeter fighting a Giant labelled "Erysichthon."<ref>McKay, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SsEeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93 p. 93]</ref> Demeter is also depicted fighting against the Giants next to Hermes in the [[Gigantomachy by the Suessula Painter|Suessula Gigantomachy vase]], now housed in the [[Louvre]] Museum.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Louvre+S+1677&object=Vase | publisher = [[Tufts University]] | website = www.perseus.tufts.edu | title = Louvre S 1677 (Vase) | access-date = February 22, 2023}}</ref> Usually, ancient depictions of the Gigantomachy tend to exclude Demeter due to her non-martial nature.{{sfn|Smith|Plantzos|2018|page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1FVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA409 409]}}

===Wrath myths===
[[File:Склеп Деметры.JPG|thumb|left|Demeter in an ancient Greek [[fresco]] from [[Panticapaeum]], 1st century [[Crimea]].]]
According to [[Ovid]], Demeter gave the Sirens, the companions of Persephone, wings to search for her daughter when she was abducted by Hades.<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' V, 551.</ref> However, the ''Fabulae'' of [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] has Demeter cursing the sirens for failing to intervene in the abduction of Persephone. <ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#141 141]</ref><ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 141 (trans. Grant).</ref>

While travelling far and wide looking for her daughter, Demeter arrived exhausted in [[Attica]]. A woman named Misme took her in and offered her a cup of water with pennyroyal and barley groats, for it was a hot day. Demeter, in her thirst, swallowed the drink clumsily. Witnessing that, Misme's son [[Ascalabus]] laughed, mocked her, and asked her if she would like a deep jar of that drink.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph5.htm#479128841 5.446-461]; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#24 24]; Tripp, s.v. Ascalabus.</ref> Demeter then poured her drink over him and turned him into a [[gecko]], hated by both men and gods. It was said that Demeter showed her favour to those who killed geckos.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#24 24].</ref>

Demeter pinned [[Ascalaphus (son of Acheron)|Ascalaphus]] under a rock for reporting, as sole witness, to [[Hades]] that Persephone had consumed some [[pomegranate]] seeds.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.5.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022#note6 1.5.3].</ref> Later, after [[Heracles]] rolled the stone off Ascalaphus, Demeter turned him into a short-eared owl instead.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.5.12&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022#note6 2.5.12].</ref> In other versions, Persephone was the one who transformed Ascalaphus into the bird by sprinkling him with water of the river [[Phlegethon]].<ref>Ovid. ''Metamorphoses''. Book V, 534.</ref>

Before Hades abducted Persephone, he had kept [[Minthe]] as his mistress. But after he married Persephone, he set Minthe aside. Minthe would often brag about being lovelier and more queenly than Persephone and say Hades would soon come back to her and kick Persephone out of his halls. Demeter, hearing that insult towards her daughter, grew angry and trampled Minthe; from the earth then sprang a lovely-smelling [[Mentha|herb]] named after the nymph.<ref>[[Oppian]], ''Halieutica'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Oppian/Halieutica/3*.html#482 3.485 ff]</ref> In other versions, Persephone herself is the one who kills and turns Minthe into a plant.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+8.3.14&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198 8.3.14.]</ref><ref>[[Scholia]] ad [[Nicander|Nicandri]] ''Alexipharmaca'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy2LWzF4v3oC&pg=PA212 375]</ref><ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph10.htm#484521431 10.728]</ref>

In an [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argive]] myth, when Demeter travelled to [[Argolis]], a man named Colontas refused to receive her in his house, whereas his daughter [[Chthonia]] disapproved of his actions. Colontas was punished by being burnt along with his house, but Demeter took Chthonia to [[Hermione (Argolis)|Hermione]], where she built a sanctuary for the goddess.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.35.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.35.4]</ref>

Once, the Colchian princess [[Medea]] ended a famine that plagued [[Corinth]] by making sacrifices to Demeter and the nymphs.<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Pindar]]'s ''Olympian Odes'' [https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg5034.tlg001a.perseus-grc1:13.74/ 13.74]</ref>

===Favour myths===
[[File:Head of statue of Demeter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Head of a statue of Demeter, marble, [[Roman imperial period (chronology)|Roman imperial period]], 2nd century CE]]

During her wanderings, Demeter came upon the town of [[Pheneus]]; to the Pheneates that received her warmly and offered her shelter, she gave all sorts of pulse, except for beans, deeming it impure.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D15%3Asection%3D3 8.15.3].</ref> Two of the Pheneates, Trisaules and Damithales, had a temple of Demeter built for her.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D15%3Asection%3D4 8.15.4].</ref> Demeter also gifted a [[fig]] tree to [[Phytalus]], an [[Eleusis|Eleusinian]] man, for welcoming her in his home.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.37.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 1.37.2]; Grimal, s.v. Phytalus, p. 373.</ref>

Demeter gave [[Triptolemus]] her serpent-drawn chariot (one of the serpents that drew this chariot was [[Cychreides|Kykreides]]) and seed and bade him scatter it across the earth (teach humankind the knowledge of agriculture). Triptolemus rode through [[Europe]] and [[Asia]] until he came to the land of [[Lyncus]], a [[Scythian]] king. Lyncus pretended to offer what's accustomed of hospitality to him, but once Triptolemus fell asleep, he attacked him with a dagger, wanting to take credit for his work. Demeter then saved Triptolemus by turning Lyncus into a [[lynx]] and ordered Triptolemus to return home airborne.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph5.htm#479128845 5.642-678]</ref> [[De astronomia|Hyginus]] records a very similar myth, in which Demeter saves Triptolemus from an evil king named [[Carnabon]] who additionally seized Triptolemus' chariot and killed one of the dragons, so he might not escape; Demeter restored the chariot to Triptolemus, substituted the dead dragon with another one, and punished Carnabon by putting him among the stars holding a dragon as if to kill it.<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.14.2 2.14.2].</ref>[[File:Statue of Demeter at the Academy of Athens on May 23, 2022.jpg|left|thumb|340px|Statue of Demeter by [[Leonidas Drosis]] in the façade of the [[Academy of Athens (modern)|Academy of Athens]], [[Greece]].]]

When her son [[Philomelus]] invented the plough and used it to cultivate the fields, Demeter was so impressed by his good work that she immortalized him in the sky by turning him into a [[constellation]], the [[Boötes]].<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.4.7 2.4.7]; Grimal, s.v. Philomelus, p. 366.</ref>

In the tale of [[Eros]] and [[Psyche (mythology)|Psyche]], Demeter, along with her sister [[Hera]], visited [[Aphrodite]], raging with fury about the girl who had married her son. Aphrodite asks the two to search for her; the two try to talk sense into her, arguing that her son is not a little boy, although he might appear as one, and there's no harm in him falling in love with Psyche. Aphrodite took offence at their words.<ref>[[Apuleius]], ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/TheGoldenAssV.php#anchor_Toc348436733 5.28-31]</ref> Sometime later, Psyche in her wanderings came across an abandoned shrine of Demeter, and sorted out the neglected sickles and harvest implements she found there. As she was doing so, Demeter appeared to her and called from afar; she warned the girl of Aphrodite's great wrath and her plan to take revenge on her. Then Psyche begged the goddess to help her, but Demeter answered that she could not interfere and incur Aphrodite's anger at her, and for that reason, Psyche had to leave the shrine or else be kept as a captive of hers.<ref>[[Apuleius]], ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/TheGoldenAssVI.php#anchor_Toc349118610 6.1-4]</ref>

[[Hierax (mythology)|Hierax]], a man of justice and distinction, set up sanctuaries for Demeter and received plenteous harvests from her in return. When the tribe neglected Poseidon in favour of Demeter, the sea god destroyed all of her crops, so Hierax sent them instead his own food and was transformed into a hawk by Poseidon.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Collection of Transformations'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#3 3]</ref>

Besides giving gifts to those who were welcoming to her, Demeter was also a goddess who nursed the young; all of Plemaeus's children born by his first wife died in a cradle; Demeter took pity on him and reared herself his son [[Orthopolis]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.5.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.5.8].</ref> Plemaeus built a temple to her to thank her.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.11.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.11.2].</ref> Demeter also raised [[Trophonius]], the prophetic son of either [[Apollo]] or [[Erginus of Orchomenus|Erginus]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D9%3Achapter%3D39%3Asection%3D5 9.39.5]; Grimal, s.v. Trophonius, pp. 459–460.</ref>

===Other accounts===
Demeter seems to have accompanied Dionysus when he descended into the Underworld to retrieve his mother [[Semele]] in order to visit her now married daughter, and perhaps lead her back to the land of the living for the remainder of the year.{{sfn|Kerenyi|1967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/eleusisarchetypa0000kern/page/42/mode/2up?view=theater 42-43]}}{{sfn|J. Paul Getty Museum|1983|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 31, especially note 58]}} In many vases from Athens Dionysus is seen in the company of mother and daughter.{{sfn|J. Paul Getty Museum|1983|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 30]}}

Once [[Tantalus]], a son of [[Zeus]], invited the gods over for dinner. Tantalus, wanting to test them, cut his son [[Pelops]], cooked him and offered him as a meal to them. They all saw through Tantalus' crime except Demeter, who ate Pelops' shoulder before the gods brought him back to life.<ref>[[Lycophron]], ''Alexandra'' [https://archive.org/details/alexandragreichi00lycouoft/page/98/mode/2up?view=theater 152-155]; [[Fabulae|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#83 83]; Grimal, s.v. Pelops.</ref>

==Genealogy==
{{Family tree of the Olympians|title=Demeter's family tree|collapsed=yes|cap_deme=y}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Ancient Greece|Myths|Religion}}
* [[Family tree of the Greek gods]]
* [[Greek mythology in popular culture#Demeter|Greek mythology in popular culture]]
* [[Osiris myth|Isis and Osiris]]
* [[Demophon of Eleusis]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
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* [[Homer]], ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]]'' 2 ''to Demeter'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:1-39 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
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==External links==
{{Commons category|Demeter}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110722185007/http://earlywomenmasters.net/demeter/index.html Hymn to Demeter, Ancient Greek and English text, Interlinear Translation edited & adapted from the 1914 prose translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, with Greek-English glossary, notes and illustrations.]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=9gkkDkThbKAC Foley P. Helene, ''The Homeric hymn to Demeter: translation, commentary, and interpretive essays'', Princeton Univers. Press, 1994.] with Ancient Greek text and English translation.
* [http://uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html Text of Homeric Hymn to Demeter]
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/gpr/ Online book of Martin P. Nilsson, ''Greek Popular Religion'']
* [http://www.jiesonline.com/issues/ "The Political Cosmology of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter"]
* [http://goddessnike.com/goddess_nike_sanctuary_sophian_prayers.php#prayertodemeter "The Sophian Prayer to Demeter"]
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000209 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Demeter)]
{{Twelve Olympians}}
{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}

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