Demeter

Born of the cauldron, the gods were created with great, immeasurable power. Power too great for even themselves to understand, though through time they learned to control it. Control it and use it to their benefits, though that just made them even more dangerous. For even with their great power they were driven from every hearth and home they found. Dragons feared them, drove them out, fought against them until they could do nothing more than flee.

Until they found the clan. Where they were welcomed with open doors, for fearsome creatures meant a stronger defense against the world outside that threatened to tear them apart. A stronger wall before the coming darkness. A wall they were more than happy to help build and maintain, for the Queen that showed them such kindness, for the Princess who stole their hearts (in many cases, in a realer way then expected, for many of them [especially Aphrodite] wanted to claim her as a lover, only to be disappointed in her Consort standing in their way [or, in Ares’ case, disappointed that her Consort Xena had chosen Princess Gabrielle over him instead]), for the clan that had welcomed them in so easily.

They had a place to settle, a place to call their own, and for that, they were happy.

For they had been born of the cauldron, born with powers immeasurable, and it was here that their destiny was about to begin.

Greek Goddess of Agriculture, Fertility, Sacred Law and the Harvest

Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and presides over grains and the fertility of the earth. Although she was most often referred to as the goddess of the harvest, she was also goddess of sacred law and the cycle of life and death.

Her virgin daughter Persephone was abducted by the god of the underworld, HADES, and Demeter endlessly searched for her, preoccupied with loss and grief. The seasons halted and living things stopped growing and died. At this point, ZEUS had to intervene and send his messenger Hermes to the underworld to bring Persephone back and prevent the extinction of all life on Earth.

Hades agreed to Persephone’s relief but gave her a pomegranate as she left. When she ate the pomegranate seeds, she was bound to him for one third of the year, either the dry Mediterranean summer, when plant life is threatened by drought, or the autumn and winter.

Demeter and Persephone were also the central figures to the Eleusinian Mysteries – a series of large and secretive concerts held every five years. These mysteries represented the abduction of Persephone by Hades in three phases. The “descent” (loss), the “search” and the “ascent”. The main theme is the “ascent” of Persephone and the reunion with her mother.

Facts about Demeter

• Demeter was the daughter of Cronos and Rhea.
• She was the goddess of harvest and fertility.
• She had one daughter, Persephone; Zeus was Persephone’s father.
• After Hades abducted Persephone, Demeter grieved. The earth became barren through her neglect; thus, the winter season and its manifestations were a reflection of Demeter’s emotional state during Persephone’s absence.
• She revealed to man the art of growing and using corn.
• Only women attended the Thesmophoria, a fertility festival held in honor of Demeter.
• The fields of grain and the threshing-floor were under her protection. They were temples at which she could occupy at any moment.
• Her chief festival came at the harvest time. It began as a humble feast and over time morphed into a mysterious worship. This great festival occurred only every five years.
• Demeter and Dionysus were worshipped at Eleusis, a little town near Athens. Their worship was referred to as the Eleusinian Mysteries.
• Demeter was older than Dionysus. They were the two great gods of THE EARTH.
• Metaneira, a mother herself, comforted Demeter in Persephone’s absence. In fact, Demeter nursed one of Metaneira’s children. She doted on the child and anointed him with ambrosia on a daily basis. Demeter’s attachment to the child alarmed Metaneira, and the two ultimately went their separate ways.
• Still angry over the abduction of Persephone, Demeter subjected the world to famine. Zeus sent the gods to Demeter one by one to try and bring her out of her despondency. Demeter and Persephone were ultimately reunited at Zeus’s decree.
• Demeter was granted four months per year with Persephone; her daughter would remain with Hades for the remaining months.
• Men called Demeter the “Good Goddess” despite the desolation she had brought about as a result of her grief.
• She named Triptolemus her ambassador to men.
• She taught Triptolemus and Celeus her sacred rites.
• In ancient art, Demeter was pictured wearing a wreath made of ears of corn.
• The snake and the pig were sacred to her.
• The torch is often depicted in connection with Demeter because of her persistent search for Persephone.
• Demeter came to Eleusis during the reign of King Erechtheus of Athens.