Demeter

Demeter  Goddess of Harvest and Fertility Compiled by Molly Bacon

__**Key Points**__ 1. Pronounced **duh-MEE-tur** 2. Daughter of Cronus and Rhea (**KRO-ness** and **REE-uh**) 3. Had a daughter Persephone (**per-SIF-uh-nee**) with brother Zeus (**ZOOS**) 4. Goddess of Harvest and Fertility 5. Most generous of the Twelve Olypmians 6. Helped to invent and teach the process of agriculture 7. Helped to maintain seasons, the everlasting cycle of life and death, and marriages 8. Carried around wheat, barley, and torches **Family **  **Demeter is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Poseidon, Zeus and Hades are Demeter's three brothers, and Hestia and Hera are Demeter's sisters. Demeter had many children but prefered to keep her personal life a secret. Demeter's most well-known child was her daughter, Persephone. Persephone's father, Zeus, was Demeter's own brother. Although Demeter and Zeus were both siblings and the true parents of Persephone, they did not always get along, for Demeter cared for their child much more than Zeus did. Although none of Demeter's other children have been confirmed, legends believe she had up to seven children: Persephone by Zeus, Despoina and Arion by Poseidon, Plutus and Philomelus by Iasion, Eubolus by Carmanor, and Amphitheus I by Tripolemus.** ** Persephone ** ** Demeter is greatly remembered for defending her daughter, Persephone. Persephone was commonly referred to as the child, Kore, and Cora. Persephone's father was the mighty ruler of the Olympians, Zeus. Demeter was one of Zeus' sisters and one of his early "consorts," before his marriage to Hera. Demeter and Zeus' daughter, Persephone, was a very obedient child. Persephone was often happy and carefree, dancing playfully and picking wildflowers with her mother by their home. The God of the Underworld, Hades, realized Persephone's beauty and quickly fell in love with her.

One day, while Persephone was performing her usual morning ritual of picking flowers, she felt the earth tremble, and the arms of Hades reached up from the Underworld and abducted her. Hearing Persephone's cries, Demeter rushed to find her daughter. Demeter did not find Persephone, so she started to travel the world, refusing to eat or rest until she found Persephone. On Demeter's travels, Poseidon, the God of the Sea, became interested in Demeter. Demeter tried to fool Poseidon by changing herself into a mare and hiding with a herd of horses, but Poseidon did not fall for the trick. Instead, Poseidon went along with Demeter's plan, turning himself into a stallion and taking Demeter at his will.

After many long days of searching, Demeter came up with the idea that Helios, the Goddess of the Sun, most likely saw what had happened to her daughter, Persephone. Sure enough, Helios told Demeter what she had seen. Helios told Demeter that Persephone had been abducted, forced into marrying Hades, and became the Queen of the Underworld. As if Demeter was not appalled enough, Helios went on to tell Demeter that Zeus had sanctioned the marriage, giving Hades the permission to abduct Persephone in the first place. Demeter felt betrayed and decided to renounce her duties and leave Mount Olympus.

Zeus eventually realized Demeter's depression and sent Hermes to command Hades to release Persephone. Before Persephone left the Underworld, Hades gave her a pomegranate to eat. Without knowing that those who eat anything in the underworld prohibited from returning to Earth, Persephone ate the seeds of the pomegranate. Hermes borrowed Hades' chariot and stallions and took Persephone home. Persephone and her mother were both ecstatic that Persephone was home; however, since Persephone had eaten the pomegranate seeds, she had to return to the Underworld for four months of every year. Although Demeter and her daughter were disappointed that they would not be together throughout the spring, they were still very happy to be reunited. **

**Power ** **Demeter is one of the twelve Olympians. According to Greek Mythology, Demeter was the most generous of all the great Olympian goddesses. Demeter was the only Greek goddess involved in the daily lives of common folk. The Goddess of Harvest was also the only Greek goddess that truly empathized with the human experience of suffering and grief, for she had previously experienced it herself. Demeter was most well known for her work as the Goddess of Harvest and Fertility; however, she was also responsible for many other functions. While carrying around torches and also bundles of wheat or barley, Demeter is honored for helping to nourish the earth and its seasons, preserving marriage under the sacred law, and maintaining the everlasting cycle of life and death. Demeter is particularly popular with farmers, for she gave the world the gift of harvest. Not only did Demter introduce harvest and agriculture to the world, but she also helped to teach the activities to humans by showing them how to sow seeds, plough, and harvest. Apart from being the Goddess of Harvest, legends believe Demeter played a large role in controlling the seasons. Most myths agree that Demeter’s power on the seasons came from her ability to destroy all life on Earth whenever she desired. ****  Astrology Demeter is one of the main belt asteroids. This asteroid is twenty-five kilometers in diameter and was discovered in 1929 by K. Reinmuth while in Heidelberg. **



** Fun Fact On the back of a Nirvana album, Kurt Cobain lists the people he thanks, and includes "The Goddess Demeter." This album also contains various mythological symbols related to Demeter. ** LINKS [|**Demeter Family Tree**]  <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: Georgia, serif;">**[|Greek Goddess Demeter Information] [|Ceres, The Roman Demeter]** <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">[|**Demeter - Wikipedia**]

Photo of Demeter wearing an orange robe: different symbols of the goddess. Photo of Persephone being returned to Demeter: Allison's "Persephone" wikispace. For a video on Demeter and Persephone, click [|here.]

[|works cited molly.doc]