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Demeter is the chthonic Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture. Although she is mostly known as a grain goddess, she also appears as a goddess of health and has connections to the Underworld (this is where the term chthonic applies). She is the daughter of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, and the sister of Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Hades, and Poseidon.

Domains

● Crops ● Grains ● Food

● Fertility ● Health ● Birth

● Marriage

Offerings

● Wheat ● Barley ● Bread

● Citrus fruits ● Pomegranate ● Ground nuts

● Poppies ● Magnolias ● Acacia

● Water ● Wine

Festivals

Thesmophoria

The Thesmophoria was a festival held in honour of Demeter and Persephone. It was held annually, mainly around the time that seeds were sown in late autumn - although in some places it was associated with the harvest instead - and celebrated human and agricultural fertility. It was one of the most widely-celebrated festivals. Restricted to adult women, the rites practised during the festival were kept a secret. It is worth noting that while most evidence concerning Thesmophoria is in Athens, there is also information from elsewhere, including Sicily and Eretria.

Eleusinian Mysteries

The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiations held by the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are considered the ‘most famous secret religious rites of ancient Greece’, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The Mysteries represented the myth of the abduction of Persephone by Hades, in a cycle with three phases; the descent, the search, and the ascent, with the main theme being the ascent of Persephone and the reunion with her mother.

Abduction of Persephone

One of Demeter's most famous stories is the abduction of Persephone. Persephone is the daughter of Demeter by Zeus. When Hades wished to make Persephone his wife, he abducted her from a field where she was picking flowers with Zeus’ permission. Demeter searched all over to find her, only to find that she had been taken by Hades. As a result of that, she neglected her agricultural duties, giving birth to a deadly famine which caused many mortals to die. Zeus ordered that Hades return Persephone in order to avert the disaster, however since the goddess had eaten food from the Underworld, she could not remain with Demeter forever. She had to divide the year between her mother and husband, equating to the seasonal cycle, as Demeter does not allow plants to grow while Persephone is gone.

Modern day interpretations of this story like to portray Demeter as an overbearing and controlling mother, however the reality of it is that she denied the world her Graces when hers was taken. The only historical reference we have for the abduction of Persephone is exactly that; an abduction. Demeter was granted the miracle of being reunited with her daughter, which is often something that mothers are unable to do when their child is taken from them, and by denying the world the care of the land, she reacted the same way any mother would to their child being taken.

Epithets

An epithet refers to another name by which a deity may be known. These names can be regional, or even relating to an aspect of said deity!

● Achaea; either from achaine meaning ‘loaf’, or achos meaning ‘grief’

● Aganippe; ‘Night-Mare’, ‘the Mare who destroys mercifully’

● Anesidora; ‘Sender-up of gifts’

● Cabeiraea; ‘related with the Cabeiri’

● Chloe; ‘Green’

● Chthonia; ‘under or beneath the earth’

● Despoina; ‘mistress of the house’

● Europa; ‘broad face or eyes’

● Erinys; ‘Fury’

● Iouli; ‘related with corn-sheafs’

● Karpophorus; ‘fruit bearing’

● Lusia; ‘Bather’

● Malophorus; ‘Apple-bearer’ or ‘Sheep-bearer’

● Melaina; ‘black’

● Potnia; ‘mistress’

● Prosymne; ‘to whom one addresses hymns’

● Sito; ‘she of the Grain’

● Thermasia; ‘Warmth’

● Thesmia; ‘law goddess’

● Thesmophoros; ‘giver of customs’ or ‘legislator’